3 Reasons to Digitize Your Construction Safety Programs

Posted on by GoCanvas Team

3 Reasons to Digitize Your Construction Safety Programs

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Construction safety is a top priority for all firms and contractors. That’s why more construction pros are moving to digitize their construction safety programs to create more visibility into their operations. 

The Data Dilemma 

A study from FMI research found that 96% of data goes unused in the construction industry. This highlights the challenge and opportunity that exists for companies to become more data-driven. 

The Challenge

With a distributed workforce that is on different job sites or has multiple subcontractors, it can be difficult to gather data in a consistent way. Traditional safety measures that rely on paper forms make it difficult to roll up that information for reporting and the data becomes lost on paper forms or siloed across the business. This high level of business complexity is a challenge for construction companies, but can be solved by focusing on improving its data processes and culture.

The Opportunity

Countless studies have shown the importance of using data to make business decisions. When data is accurate and available in near real-time, organizations are able to gain greater visibility into their operations and use that information to take appropriate next steps. The opportunity to take advantage of data starts with digitizing programs to improve the data that is captured, ultimately leading to better reporting and processes for construction safety. Key outcomes of digitization include lowered risk and liability, greater productivity, and higher employee satisfaction.

The data dilemma that construction firms and contractors face is the need to move away from paper forms and manual processes through digitization and automation that can streamline operations and provide greater insights. While this requires careful upfront planning and dedicated resources, the upside can be highly beneficial for achieving better construction safety outcomes in the long term.

3 Reasons to Digitize Your Construction Safety Programs

#1. Better Data Capture

Accurate reporting relies on having the best data possible. By improving the quality of the data you’re collecting, this allows you to make the best decisions for your business. 

This all starts with data capture. For field operations, the core component of capturing better data in the field relies on mobile technology. Digitizing your construction safety programs often starts with the data that is captured in the field. Traditionally on the paper forms and sheets, now is captured through mobile devices and tablets that sync the information in real-time to the cloud.

In terms of your safety management programs, this would include all types of data that needs to be captured. Examples include:

  • OSHA Forms
  • Inspections and Audits
  • Job Safety Analysis
  • Safety Meetings 
  • Incident Reports
  • Hazard Management
  • Safety Data Sheets

All of these paper forms are opportunities to digitize how data is captured, using simple mobile forms to capture better data from the field. 

Digital forms reduce errors and standardize how data is collected. While paper forms are error-prone and can become lost over time, digital forms can require information and can always be accessed securely through the cloud.

With better practices for data capture in the field, you’re able to take that information and use it for better analytics and reporting.

#2. Greater Data Visibility

Tracking the progress of your safety programs can be difficult on paper forms and manual processes. Just getting the information ready for reporting can become a heavy lift for your teams, making it less likely that you can do the analysis you want in the end. 

By eliminating paper and digitizing safety data, all of those key safety data points are available for reporting. Using safety management software, data is captured in real-time and available for you to run as reports, dashboards, or analytics. Are there job sites that are falling behind on compliance? Can you spot trends in your incident reporting over time? Have safety meetings been held and attended? 

Setting up your data capture around the KPIs and business questions you want to answer can help you with data analytics. Better processes for data capture, leads to more accurate and complete data. If you are looking for real-time data exploration and analysis, safety management software can help you to capture better data and serve it for instant insights to drive decision-making. 

#3. Improved Data Processes and Culture

Tools and technology for construction safety will help you with the data capture and reporting components. But it will also help you to improve processes and your culture over time.

Digitizing your construction safety programs provides a central solution for employees and managers. There is accountability and structure, so everyone knows where to go when they need to take an action. For example, employees may be looking for an SDS sheet, file an incident report, or attend a safety meeting. With a comprehensive safety management solution, all of these resources are clearly documented and available to access when they are needed. 

In the digital era that we live in today, employees prefer using their phones or mobile devices to access information. This has the benefit of simplifying data forms and eliminating manual work that is a drain on productivity and morale. 

A robust safety program that is managed digitally is a clear sign to employees that their well-being is a top concern, helping with retention and satisfaction on the job. Clear processes and a culture of safety can have a positive impact on the business, making it a clear return on investment for digitizing construction safety.

If you’re ready to go digital, reach out to the team at GoCanvas to learn more about our comprehensive and easy-to-use safety management solutions.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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Why Go Digital with Inspection Checklists?

Posted on by GoCanvas Team

Why Go Digital with Inspection Checklists?

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Inspection checklists are an essential task for many industries and workplaces. This could be a safety inspection to spot potential hazards, equipment inspections and preventative maintenance, property or residential inspections, and much more. For all types of inspections, the checklist is a useful tool because it provides a clear list for inspectors to follow and helps to ensure a thorough inspection takes place each time. 

Why Go Digital with Inspection Checklists?

With the rise of mobile apps and forms, completing inspections can be performed on a tablet or mobile device, quickly and easily on a job site. This article covers how digital inspection checklists help to simplify the process for inspectors and for management.

Digital checklists simplify the process for inspectors

A traditional paper checklist can take a long time for inspectors to complete and bring back the forms to the office before manually creating a report. Take for example Lumen, a US based IT services company that used paper forms for preventative maintenance inspections before switching to digital forms instead. Before going digital with inspections, their technicians on site had to complete paper inspection forms, return the forms to a central office, scan the form, and then attach the scanned reports to particular database entries. 

Seeing how much time was being spent on administrative work, Lumen made the switch to digital forms and realized a 35 to 40 percent reduction in admin work, with savings of up to $1 million in their first year of going digital.

Digital checklists and forms allow inspectors to spend less time on admin work and streamline the process for collecting data in the field. Digital forms also allow for more standardization, meaning that required fields and drop down lists ensure that accurate data is submitted the first time. While paper forms can be filled out illegible or incomplete, digital forms provide a greater level of control of the format of data that is submitted from the field.

Other benefits include the ability for managers to schedule out and assign inspection checklists to be completed on a regular cadence. This notifies employees when an inspection is due and allows them to work collaboratively using cloud-based tools to help with productivity. Instead of spending hours on manual work to create inspection reports, the process is done automatically from the inspection app and sent via email to the appropriate groups of people and saved to the cloud.

Rod Badley, Critical Infrastructure Manager at Lumen explained this in simple terms – “The more time we can spend doing actual work instead of doing administrative work means more money and more savings for us.”

Digital checklists simplify the process for management

The entire organization benefits when efficiencies are gained by reducing manual work. Beyond the cost savings from efficiencies, management teams and business owners also benefit in a number of ways by having their checklists managed digitally instead of on paper.

One benefit is the ability to manage all records digitally, in a cloud-based platform that is secure and accessible. For many businesses performing critical inspections, like a job site safety inspection or equipment inspection, it can be incredibly valuable to have a central place to manage all of these documents. In case of an accident or incident, you can understand if proper protocols were followed on site. In the case of an OSHA inspection or audit, having the proper documentation can mean compliance with OSHA regulations and avoidance of fines. Paper forms leave too much up to chance, running the risk of becoming destroyed or lost over time. Moving this important documentation from inspection checklists will help to lower your risk and liability, with infrastructure to help you better manage your records.

Another benefit for organizations is the ability to track compliance. Many businesses have complex operations, with teams in different locations performing inspection checklists. This organization structure can make it difficult to roll up information quickly to verify that inspections are taking place in different locations. With digital checklists and a mobile data platform, you can perform analysis and run reports to track compliance. This type of technology can enable your organization to use analytics to gain greater transparency into operations and ensure that the appropriate action can be taken if non-compliance is found. Switching from paper checklists can empower your organization with greater insights

Take for example US Inspect, a leader in residential inspections that switched their paper processes over to digital forms with GoCanvas and realized an annual cost savings of $720,000. 

“It sounds crazy but GoCanvas has given our company tremendous long-term competitive advantages. US Inspect is not your father’s inspection company – we have morphed into a wickedly excellent data collection enterprise which just happens to produce inspection reports,” explained JB Haller, President & CEO of US Inspect.

To learn more about how inspection checklists can benefit your field teams and your business, contact the GoCanvas team any time to set up a quick introductory conversation.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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How Inspection Software Saves Your Business Time and Money

Posted on by GoCanvas Team

How Inspection Software Saves Your Business Time and Money

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Looking to implement inspection software to increase your workforce productivity? There’s never been a better time to embrace technology for the construction job site and office.

As we have seen to date in 2021, there is no shortage of obstacles and challenges facing construction firms. Some of the top challenges include:

  • Labor. 81% of construction firms are having a hard time filling some or all positions (AGC)
  • Productivity. 1% productivity growth annually for the past two decades in construction (McKinsey)
  • Safety. 20% of deaths each year occur in construction even though it makes up only 5% of the workforce (OSHA)
  • Supply Chain. Issues in the supply chain are increasing material costs and resulting in longer lead times (Construction Dive) 
  • Regulations. 10.9% increase in regulatory costs over the past five years (Construction Dive)

With all of these challenges to manage, technology can make an impact on the organization by saving you time and money through productivity and efficiency gains. This article provides real-world examples to help explain how construction businesses can use technology to help reduce costs and create a competitive advantage. 

How Inspection Software Saves You Time and Money

Need to make the business case for inspection software? Here are the top reasons why construction companies go digital with inspections versus managing them with paper forms.

#1. Streamline Your Operations and Improve Workflow

Managing inspections on paper forms requires a great deal of manual effort and redundant work. Paper sheets used in the field must be returned to the office and then require manual data entry to copy the information into a computer. Inspection software eliminates the back and forth, by allowing field employees to leverage their mobile devices to collect and share information back to the office.

Inspection software also gives the office tools to dispatch and assign jobs, or hand off inspections to multiple employees at a time. All of this leads to greater productivity for workers when they are able to share information in real-time and automate manual processes.

Example:

True Homes, a building construction company, found that their business growth was causing paper forms to pile up. With inspection processes at each construction site, the amount of paper forms was slowing down their business and creating manual workflows for employees to deal with on a daily basis.

After implementing inspection software for building inspections, they were able to save 450 hours per month for their office staff and they were able to increase communication with clients by having information available in real-time from their inspections.

Overall they found that by eliminating manual processes and workflows, they were able to see an increase in customer satisfaction, employee productivity, and better processes for their data collection and reporting. 

Follow this link to read the full story from True Homes and to learn more about building inspection software designed for the construction industry.

#2. Standardize Data Collection

Paper forms can lead to some data collection challenges. For example, you may have someone skip over a question or you may have illegible handwriting that makes it difficult to interpret. Both of these require rework and going back to find the required information.

Inspection software is built with features that enable best practices for data collection. You can make certain fields required and ensure that the data submitted is in the proper format to keep your information consistent for reporting.

You can also leverage dynamic forms that reduce the number of fields based on certain criteria. For example, if you select “Condo” as the type of building in a home inspection, you will only see the relevant boxes and can cut out any of the fields that aren’t relevant for that type of inspection.

Companies have found that standardized data and digital processes enable them to move faster with inspections and avoid rework or manual workarounds to fix messy data.

Example:

Lincs, an Electrical Contractor in the UK, found it hard to scale their business with the growing amount of paperwork. They decided to implement software for inspections, saving their field staff 15 hours per technician on a weekly basis by eliminating manual processes.

Once they deployed software for safety inspections, they were able to collect, share, review, and submit reports all in real-time.

With their new digital inspection software, “Required Fields” helped to ensure that field technicians always complete their reports with the necessary information. 

Reports are now completed much faster than on paper, and they have standard practices to ensure that reports are generated quickly and accurately. Investing in better data practices with digital technology for inspections has helped their contracting business to realize significant cost savings and increase in overall productivity.

Follow this link to read the full case study from Lincs and to learn how construction management software can help digitize inspections.

#3 Effortless Reporting and Analysis

Paper forms make it difficult to have immediate visibility into the data being collected and require additional work to turn the information into reports. With inspection software, reports are generated automatically and sent via email to the appropriate parties. Sign off on documents digitally and have them stored in a central cloud location to reference any time you need the information.

This level of real-time information sharing is a key reason why companies invest in software for inspections. Instead of relying on paper forms that can be lost or damaged over time, inspection software brings a modern and digital experience for your business. Go one step further and use the information collected using inspection software for advanced analytics to spot trends and gain greater visibility into your field or job site operations.

Example:

US Inspect, a leader in residential inspections in the US, found that their paper-intensive processes hindered their efficiency. They implemented software for home inspections with the goal of saving their technicians time in the field and to create a competitive advantage for the business.

They found that inspection software helped their teams in the field save time and produce better reports. Forms that used to take them thirty minutes now only take them five minutes, with required fields helping to ensure data accuracy.

They also found that the home inspection software helped them streamline their reporting and allow them greater insight into their data. With better data visibility they are now able to more accurately understand how the business is doing and where there are opportunities to improve. 

Follow this link to read the full case study from US Inspect and how software can be used for residential and home inspections.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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6 Things to Look for in a Time Card App

Posted on by GoCanvas Team

6 Things to Look for in a Time Card App

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Time card apps are growing in popularity to replace the traditional form of punching in and punching out. A digital time card allows employees to record their hours worked by using a mobile app on a phone, tablet, or computer.

Time card apps are helpful for a company’s payroll systems. By recording hours worked through the mobile app, it can sync to your accounting software to initiate payment for your employees. This process runs much more efficiently than paper time cards. Instead of logging hours on a paper form, spreadsheet, or Google Sheet, you can use simple time card apps to collect hours worked and have it synced in real-time for faster payments and less work for your operations staff. 

6 Things to Look for in a Time Card App

As a leading provider of mobile forms and apps, GoCanvas has helped thousands of companies to digitize their processes and work more efficiently using time card apps and more. If you’re thinking about going with digital time card apps, this article covers some of the top things to look for when selecting a platform for mobile apps and forms.

#1. Simplicity

Time cards should be simple for employees to fill out. The time card template should be easy to complete and time cards can be edited or modified, if needed. Some time card systems will allow you to pre-fill information based on data that is already known. For example, if you are a contractor and billing to a certain client, you may have a unique client ID that is referenced when completing the time card app with data from your CRM or other database. This saves time during the time card process and the goal is to make the process fast for your employees in the field or on a job site. 

#2. Mobility 

It goes without saying that your time card apps need to be accessible via mobile device and tablets, even when your employees do not have access to the internet. Time card apps can be completed offline and then synced back to the cloud when WiFi is available again. Mobile time card apps make it simple for anyone to complete their timesheet, and your business does not have to provide the hardware in most cases. Most employees can use their own mobile devices to complete simple time cards, making it easy for them to complete and easy for your business to process. 

Another native feature with a mobile device is GPS tracking. Time card apps can be enabled with the GPS tracking feature to confirm that work has taken place at a specific location. This can help ensure that your team is clocking in and out from the job location and you can have an accurate record of where work has been performed. This can be a hidden feature collected automatically from the mobile device or it can be part of the form submission fields in the digital timecard.

#3. Customization

Customization is another important aspect of time card apps. For example, your business may need to bring in specific fields in addition to the standard fields on a timesheet. It’s important that your time card app is highly customizable to account for these unique business needs that you will have. You may have different categories of workers that require different timesheet templates, or you may require timesheets to be filled out on different cadences (daily, weekly) depending on the type of project. Having a high level of customization gives you the flexibility to design your time sheet app templates to your exact requirements.

#4. Workflow

Beyond making it easy for employees to fill out their timesheets, apps also help your managers and operations staff with better workflows. Time cards can be automatically assigned to employees, saving your staff from having to manually remind employees to fill out their time cards or track down information. 

Time card apps can also be assigned to multiple people, so if you have a project with multiple contributors, you can have the timesheet roll up with hours worked from the entire team. Once the timesheets are completed, easily collect digital signatures within the app to get managers’ approval. Going digital removes much of the back and forth that is required when dealing with paper forms or spreadsheets. Simplifying workflows can reduce wasted efforts and free up your staff to focus on other work.

#5. Automatic Calculations

If you are dealing with paper sheets, Google sheets, or spreadsheets, there’s always the possibility of an unforeseen calculation error. It’s common for these types of mistakes to occur, but they can create additional rework to spot and resolve the calculation error.

Mobile time card apps have built-in calculations, to help your business eliminate manual errors that can occur during paper time card processes. This improves data accuracy and brings efficiency to your business by eliminating the time-consuming process of manually tallying the hours worked by each employee. 

#6. Integrations and Analytics

Another important consideration when selecting a time card app is your business needs for its data processes. You will want to decide if an integration between your time card apps and your payroll system like Quickbooks or Sage is necessary for your business. Most time card apps can integrate directly with these systems and other databases, to streamline your processes and sync data between systems in real-time. Instead of manual data re-entry, you can have your information flow from your time card directly into your accounting system for a seamless billing process. This level of automation can help your business operate more efficiently, saving you time and money. 

On the topic of data, another important feature for your business is analytics. Having the ability to run analytics reports on your time sheet data and form submissions will allow you greater visibility into projects and work that is being done. This can help to spot potential issues or inefficiencies across the business, giving you the opportunity to become more data-driven with decisions. 

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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3 Reasons to Digitize Your Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)

Posted on by GoCanvas Team

3 Reasons to Digitize Your Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)

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You’re required to have safety data sheets if your business handles hazardous chemicals. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard states that “Employers must ensure that the SDSs are readily accessible to employees for all hazardous chemicals in their workplace.”

Most safety management solutions on the market today have the ability for your business to digitize their safety data sheets. More companies are implementing digital programs for safety management, bringing this information online using cloud-based tools. Continue reading this article to learn the top reasons why you should go digital with your safety management programs.

Reason 1: Greater accessibility for employees

Digitizing your SDS sheets and your larger safety management programs can benefit your business by providing greater accessibility for employees. The safety management system becomes a central solution for employees when they need to take action. This makes it easy for employees to find the resources they need, for example when they go to find an SDS sheet, file an incident report, or attend a safety meeting. Having all of these resources available in a software tool for safety will benefit employees by having clearly documented processes, in a digital format that can be easily completed from anywhere on a mobile device or tablet.

All of this goes to build an organization’s culture of safety. By providing easy access to safety programs in a digital format, employees are encouraged to follow best practices and there is a clear investment in employee safety. Robust safety programs managed digitally help to promote employees’ well-being and ensure that accidents and incidents are avoided. If an accident does occur on-site, SDS sheets and other important safety documentation are easy to find when needed and the appropriate response can be taken.

Reason 2: More visibility for management

Another important factor for implementing digital safety management systems is greater visibility for management. With a distributed workforce, across many different job sites and locations, it can become difficult for companies to effectively track safety compliance. Specifically for SDS sheets, it’s hard to know with paper sheets if they are being accessed in the field. Are employees viewing the documents? Is the latest or updated version available on site?

With digital documentation, management has a greater understanding of how documents are being used and can ensure compliance across job sites. Digital systems provide the ability to keep records of who has viewed the safety document, giving companies the insight needed to take action and avoid potential safety and compliance issues.

Going digital provides real-time job site visibility and analytics that can enable management and operations teams to spot safety trends and make data-informed decisions. A recent study found that 96% of data in the engineering and construction industry goes unused, suggesting that harnessing there’s potential for organizations to leverage their data to have an impact on key outcomes like safety and productivity. Safety management solutions help build better data processes for the business and enable faster reporting to make that information actionable and available to anyone that needs it.

Reason 3: Compliance with OSHA

As mentioned throughout the article, compliance with OSHA is a requirement for businesses, and failure to comply will inevitably lead to fines, penalties, and negative outcomes for the business. 

Digital tools for safety management and SDS sheets will help to ensure that your job sites are always prepared in the case of an OSHA inspection. Most safety management solutions today will allow you to store the SDS sheets digitally for easy access, as well as hosting your other safety programs to stay in compliance. 

This includes things like hazard management, incident reporting, job safety analysis, inspections, audits, and more. Having a central and cloud-based system for safety management in place will make it easier to track compliance and be prepared in case of an on site inspection with OSHA.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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Beginner’s Guide to Digital Inspection Form Builders

Posted on by GoCanvas Team

Beginner’s Guide to Digital Inspection Form Builders

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What is an inspection form?

Inspection forms are used during the inspection process to collect information that is compiled into a report. An inspection form can be completed using a standard sheet of paper or it can be completed digitally using software for inspections on a mobile form.

Many different types of inspection forms exist and will depend on the use case. For example, there are home inspections, commercial vehicle inspections, building inspections, safety inspections, equipment inspections, operational inspections, and even more. Each of these inspection types will require different form fields to collect the information that is relevant to that industry. Checklist forms are commonly used for many inspection types to give the inspector a simple checklist to ensure all items are filled out.

Inspection forms are most commonly used in the fields of construction, service industry, oil & gas, transportation & logistics, utilities, and various other industries. These industries can benefit greatly from software designed to streamline the inspection process for field teams collecting data.

Why do businesses need software for inspections?

Companies are adopting software to transform their business operations in many different ways. Inspections are a perfect example of a paper-based process that works more efficiently when performed digitally. The reason for buying inspection form builder software is to save time and money for your business. Here is how most companies make the business case and ROI for inspection form builder software:

Eliminating cumbersome data entry from the field

Inspection form builder software allows field teams to capture data from the field using inspection forms. Data is captured in real-time and shared with anyone that needs to see it, rather than relying on paper forms and manual data entry.

Avoiding risk and liability

Most inspections contain information that is very important to a business and needs to be kept safe. With paper documents, there is no way to control if documents are lost or illegible. With digital inspections using software and forms, organizations reduce their risk by having the information automatically saved to the cloud. Inspections can even be performed offline and then synced to the cloud when an internet connection is available again. This ensures that inspection reports are always available, whenever they are needed.

Gaining insights into field operations

It’s really difficult to spot trends and have meaningful insights into your business in real-time when manual processes and paper forms are involved. You may get to the reports, but your staff spends too much time creating reports on a daily and weekly basis. Moving the inspection process to software will give your organization the ability to analyze trends and potential problems. You can even get alerts to know when inspections fail, so you can send someone to resolve the issue right away. All of the reporting is done in real-time and available in the cloud, giving your business greater visibility into field operations.

How does inspection form builder software work?

There are many different features and functionality offered for inspection form builder software and forms. Here are some of the main ways that inspection software can be used:

Dispatch

One key feature of inspection form builder software is dispatch. With Dispatch, you can create, assign, and send tasks to your team from the software application. Field technicians can then head directly to the next call without ever having to check in with status updates. The software will also let you create custom report approvals between employees and supervisors using workflows. The goal of dispatch is to send jobs directly to your workers in the field to improve their productivity and reduce their downtime.

Forms and checklists

Another feature of inspection software is the form builder for field data collection. Forms and checklists that were once paper-based, now become a digital process for technicians to complete on tablets or mobile devices. The best form builder inspection software will allow you to build customized inspection forms using a low-code or no-code platform. This means that you can easily create customizable forms and apps on the platform, without any advanced technical knowledge. Mobile forms and checklists for inspections make the entire process simple. Easily collect all of the relevant information for your industry’s inspection, collect electronic signatures on the spot, and have the information digitized for record-keeping.

Reports

Once the inspection is completed in the field, the next step in the process is to generate a report. Without software for inspections, this might require several hours of additional work to compile the reports and send them to the appropriate parties after the job has been completed. Inspection form builder software streamlines this process by generating a digital report in real-time that can be shared via email and other communication channels.

Analytics

Another important feature of inspection form builder software is the ability to perform analytics across inspections. For many industries, this is useful for visualizing what’s happening across the business and distributing findings throughout the organization. Analytics is designed to allow you to drill down into one facet of your business or keep track of everything in a high-level view. All of this is meant to empower data-driven decision-making that can result in improved productivity and greater profitability.

Getting Started with Inspection Form Builder Software and Forms

The best part about inspection form builder software and forms is that the process to get started is simple. You can get started for free by signing up for an account with GoCanvas and companies that use the platform see a very fast time to value with digital inspections. Here are some common inspection form templates and examples.

Inspection Form Templates and Examples

Building Inspection Form

Looking for a customizable inspection form for your business? This versatile inspection form is designed for building inspections and can be adapted to fit your needs. This digital inspection form simplifies the processes to assess home condition and safety.

The inspection template covers general property condition topics covered during the inspection process, including cleanliness, safety and overall condition. Jot down notes about whether or not the home is in good condition and add photos.

Follow this link to try the GoCanvas Building Inspection Form.

Quality Control Inspection Form

The Quality Control Inspection form enables inspection of mechanical devices and equipment inspections. The form is designed for quality management and can be used by many different industries.  The form is designed to help you detect problems and identify where quality improvement  through corrective measures is needed. The digital quality control inspection form allows you to make recommendations in real-time using inspection form builder software to streamline the process for your business.

Follow this link to try the GoCanvas Quality Control Inspection Form.

Vehicle Inspection Form

Vehicle inspection forms can be used during the pre-purchase phase of the vehicle, to ensure that the car is ready to be sold. Vehicle inspection technicians can use this mobile form to review the vehicle’s condition and assess what repairs are needed in order to have the vehicle in top condition for the new owner. Use this inspection form to ensure customer satisfaction and document your dealership’s attention to detail when performing vehicle inspections for the customer.

Follow this link to try the GoCanvas Vehicle Inspection Form.

Housekeeping Inspection Form

The housekeeping inspection form is designed for companies that provide cleaning services and janitorial services. Use the mobile form to add specific details about the building, including areas that need extra attention from cleaning staff, and the overall condition of inspected areas.

This inspection form helps to ensure that the highest level of standards are met and inspections are performed consistently using the template form provided to employees. Going digital with this type of inspection form allows your teams to complete inspections faster and provide instant feedback from their inspections. For example, if an issue is detected during the inspection, an image can be attached to the report and submitted instantly to have the item corrected as soon as possible.

Follow this link to try the GoCanvas Housekeeping Inspection Form.

Food Service Inspection Form

The Food Service Inspection Form helps restaurants to perform full  inspections of food service operations electronically.

The food establishment inspection form includes all areas of the food service facility and can be completed on a mobile device with a report that is automatically generated with the results of your inspection. This form is essential for restaurants and other service businesses to ensure the quality and cleanliness standards are met.

Follow this link to try the GoCanvas Food Service Inspection Form.

Looking for something different? See another helpful resource that is a compiled list of inspection templates and examples for many different use cases and industries. You can also find all of our inspection apps on the GoCanvas App Store.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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How Apps for Contractors Strengthen the Customer Experience

Posted on by GoCanvas Team

How Apps for Contractors Strengthen the Customer Experience

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The construction industry and contractors benefit when they deliver excellent customer service and make it easy for customers to do business. That’s why more companies are investing in technology, relying on mobile apps that can streamline customer interactions and improve productivity for workers.

Research from Gartner explains that “customer loyalty depends on how easy you make it for your customers to do business with you.” The key takeaway from the study is that companies who make business interactions effortless for their customers will have a competitive advantage.

Using apps for contractors, companies can work toward strengthening the customer experience. The short and long term benefits to a business include:

  • Repeat Business –  More likely to work with you again.
  • Referrals – More likely to recommend you to their network.
  • Reviews –  More likely to leave positive assessments of your business online.
  • Competitive edge – Stand out from the competition.
  • Increased revenue – More business for you and your company.

When used as part of an overall strategy to build the customer experience, apps for contractors can improve your business’s internal efficiency and help create a more seamless customer experience.

How Digital Forms Improve Customer Interactions

Apps for contractors are designed to transform how you do business with customers.

Traditional paper forms create manual work for your employees, and it gives your business and the customer very limited visibility into the work being performed. Savvy contractors are instead relying on digital forms and communications instead of paper, so they can provide greater transparency for the customer. With apps for contractors, the entire process is handled digitally.

How it works

Our contractor apps enable you to streamline your process by digitizing the paper forms you use. Digital records reduce the time your team spends completing standard forms and allow them to be more productive. Mobile checklists can be completed in the field on a smartphone or tablet and shared immediately. Our apps for contractors eliminate the duplication of effort and the possibility of clerical errors that often occur when generating routine daily, weekly, or monthly reports. Routine reports are generated from digital data, enabling you to collect, process, analyze, and share information in minutes.

Apps for contractors help to increase transparency and communication with customers, suppliers, and the home office. Real-time data reporting will help you streamline and integrate every step of your business process, from the initial contact with your customer to invoice and payment processing. Additionally, by digitizing your data with apps, the information you need is at your fingertips, whether in the office or the field.

From Quote to Cash

With GoCanvas’ apps for contractors, you can streamline the quote or estimate, invoice digitally, process payment, and easily share digital reports detailing all of the transactions. Digital data ensures that calculations are accurate and error-free by removing the need for duplication of entries. In addition, GoCanvas apps ensure that your sales team and field service representatives always have the latest pricing information when data is pulled from the cloud to their mobile device on-site.

Digital Quotes and Estimates

Using apps like our digital estimate template, you can turn your paper estimates into dynamic digital forms that simplify the bidding process. Our mobile digital estimates app is an intuitive, easy-to-use, and comprehensive app that eliminates inefficient duplication of paperwork, reducing costly errors, and increasing your profitability.

With our digital estimates app, data such as prices and parts is auto-populated into the form, reducing time and errors. As a result, your field representatives can quickly and accurately calculate material and labor costs and provide estimates immediately. In addition, because data is stored in the cloud, estimates can be shared, reviewed, and updated instantly anytime or anywhere.

Digital Invoicing 

Digital Invoices with GoCanvas help to simplify the invoice process for your field technicians and enable them to generate professional, branded invoices directly from their mobile devices. Field representatives can collect and enter pertinent data on the site, automatically calculate costs, and create invoices immediately before leaving the location. 

In addition, data can be integrated with your accounting and inventory software (QuickBooks or similar systems) to eliminate the need to duplicate data entries manually.

Payment Processing

Finally, when the job is over, GoCanvas provides digital payment processing in our app that integrates directly with Square to enable you to collect payments quickly and immediately.

Invoices along with detailed digital reports are produced rapidly on-site, and payment processing is at your fingertips. Our apps for contractors can improve your cash flow, eliminating the need to create and send paper invoices and wait for the client’s payment. Customers will prefer this experience, giving them the ability to review documents digitally and pay securely through a credit card.

Strengthen the Customer Experience and Win More Business

GoCanvas apps for contractors are powerful tools that can help you strengthen the customer experience and provide the digital interactions that customers have come to expect in today’s digital era. Using GoCanvas templates and digitizing your paper forms, your field representatives and technicians can improve the accuracy and efficiency of customer interactions. 

Through powerful integrations, you can enable your teams on-site and in the field with the latest information and give them the ability to quickly and easily perform work digitally. This saves time for your workers, creates efficiencies for your business, and creates an effortless experience for the customer. Contact us any time to learn more about the GoCanvas suite of tools for contractors.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Three inspection workers on job site.

The Ultimate Guide to Quality Control Inspections

Managing a construction project is a complex and stressful process. Among other things, you have to coordinate project team members, materials, and equipment and ensure that contractors are not afflicted by the potential risks and hazards present at the construction site. That said, quality means different things to different people which is why you should…

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see for yourself
A electrician inspecting equipment.

See how VIP Lighting optimized efficiency with GoCanvas

VIP Lighting is a retail lighting and electrical maintenance business that services over 10,000 retail locations all over Australia and New Zealand. Before GoCanvas, VIP Lighting had two separate systems that were impossible to integrate, leading to inefficiencies. GoCanvas made it easy to integrate their systems into single, centralized platform…

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The Ultimate Guide to Construction Inspections

Posted on by GoCanvas Team

The Ultimate Guide to Construction Inspections

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When you’re in the process of building a commercial property or a home, you’ll discover that it’s a requisite to conduct regular construction inspections to ascertain that the construction process meets all the quality and safety procedures and standards. However straightforward it may sound, this process can be tasking, given the multiple tasks involved in construction projects. Among other things, you have to coordinate project team members, materials, and equipment and ensure that the contractors are not afflicted by the potential risks and hazards present at the construction site. 

This article covers an in-depth look at all aspects of construction inspections to help you have a better grasp of the process and to share how technology can be leveraged to streamline the process. 

What is a construction site inspection?

Construction inspection is a contractual duty held by the contractor to assess the progress of a construction project. It entails ensuring that procedures and materials comply with the plan and specifications – monitoring a contractor’s schedule, conducting field testing, and going over the drawings to pick out any errors.

Upon completing the inspection, the building inspector issues the contractor with a construction inspection report. This document acts as evidence that proper tests were conducted to uphold the structural integrity of the building. 

6 reasons why construction inspections are important

Below are some of the benefits you’ll accrue from construction site inspections: 

#1 Protection against deficiencies in the work

The inspection process ensures that the installation materials and equipment comply with the design plans, contract documents, specifications, and the approved drawings. As such, it offers assurance that the contractor gets materials and quality of work specified, and the building owner gets their money’s worth. 

#2 Identification of hazards

Safety should always be the number one priority of a project manager. Construction inspections can help you ensure that the contractors and people who reside around the locality of the construction site are safe from any harm.

The inspections prioritize safety by identifying safe gear for workers to wear, safe roads to transport various materials and equipment, and potential risks and hazards that might occur on the construction site. After all, the construction profession is a dangerous one. The inspections ensure that the necessary precautions are put in place for workers and site safety, so your project flows seamlessly without any instances of work-related injury litigations.

#3 Better communication

Smooth communication between all the parties involved in the project is essential for its efficient completion. An inspection can address a construction team’s communication if the operations aren’t in line with the proper codes and regulations.

In most construction projects, careful coordination of various work processes is essential to limit any possible risks. Inspectors are tasked with communicating with the contractor, anticipating risks, and documenting progress and potential design and construction issues with the owner. 

#4 Enhancement of the quality of the construction

Most, if not all, companies strive to offer quality when working on a given project. It not only helps build your reputation but your team members pride in their artistry.

That said, to produce quality work, you need to set high standards, and what better way to do that than through inspections. They will help you identify any code errors or non-adherence to construction regulations.

Producing top-notch work and abiding by the construction regulations will ensure that you present your client with a well-constructed structure. 

#5 Better focus on the task at hand

While inspection may be a thorn to construction workers at times, it helps them be alert when working on the project.

Inspections ensure that agents and construction workers focus on the task at hand so that they don’t violate any construction regulations. To add to that, construction workers and agents work more efficiently since they know the pre-established standards they should attain. 

#6 Eco-friendly construction

There are environmental regulations that are geared towards ensuring that the construction industry promotes a greener construction environment.

Routine inspections contribute to ensuring that construction companies heed to them. Failure to follow these regulations may lead to construction companies or building owners incurring heavy penalties. 

Understanding the different types of construction inspections

Construction is a precarious and hazardous industry encompassing a wide range of activities such as remodeling, repair, and commercial construction.

While performing their tasks, construction workers are subjected to various kinds of harm, including unguarded machinery, electrocution, getting hit by heavy equipment, and falling off rooftops.

Developing a construction inspection checklist addressing the above risks and outlining the various construction regulations your project needs to heed will ensure that you pass your inspection with flying colors when the inspectors come to review your site.

That said, which types of inspection should you perform? Here is an outline of the different types of construction inspections: 

Daily site inspections

Just like the name suggests, these inspections are carried out daily.

These inspections assess several activities, including the number of workers on-site in a given day, the types of equipment used, whether the day’s work met quality standards, any unusual happenings on the site, whether there was damage to government property, whether the project is on schedule, among other issues. 

Health and safety inspections

One of the areas that the construction inspection covers is the health and safety of workers. Contractors have to ensure that the site meets the health and safety standards set out by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The health and safety inspections can be conducted externally by a regulating body, internally by the contractor, or through third-party audits. Among the health and safety standards that are checked during this inspection include: 

  • Asbestos risks
  • The soundness of electrical systems
  • Provision of welfare services such as handwashing facilities and toilets
  • The management of various respiratory risks
  • The prevention of unauthorized people from accessing the site
  • The structural stability of the construction
  • Provision of personal protection equipment (PPE) such as helmets, goggles, or other garments. 
  • Provision of personal fall protection systems among other fall prevention equipment
  • The condition of the vehicles, plant, and other equipment, among other things.

The timing of health and safety inspections should be as frequent as possible and be accompanied by accurate reports and actionable measures. 

Quality control inspections

Quality control inspections are those that are geared towards ensuring that construction workers comply with the construction requirements and regulations.

These controls encompass the products and materials, the execution of the project, and the completion of the construction works. Quality control inspections are a way of ensuring that the finished works meet the set standards. It helps refine the work before it’s presented to the client so that if there is anything that doesn’t comply with the standards it’s fixed. 

The international standard that governs the construction industry is the ISO 9000 set of standards. It includes reports, technical guides, and specifications on the efficiency of a construction company’s quality management system.

Typically, the principles that dictate quality management in the construction industry are the budget of the project, the scope of the construction project, and the scheduled completion time.

Some of the construction inspections related to quality include checks for equipment and materials, work processes, units, and services planned and designed by the construction company to comply with the quality requirements of the contract. Quality control inspections lead to a monthly quality report that identifies various issues and monitors the project’s progress. 

Building regulation compliance inspections

Building inspections are usually conducted by an approved third party or a building control local authority. Depending on details such as the scope of the project, these inspections vary in frequency and number. Generally, the building inspections are required in the following stages of the project: 

  • Commencement
  • Excavation stage (prior to the filling of excavations)
  • Foundation stage (before the foundation is covered up)
  • When laying the damp proof courses
  • Installation of new drains (before covering up)
  • When constructing the primary structure
  • When installing insulation
  • Construction of the roof
  • Completion of the project

OSHA inspections

OSHA conducts periodic inspections and consultations to ensure contractor compliance and protect workers. The OSHA inspector will look at procedural problems or physical hazards like equipment lockout procedures, inadequate machine guards, respiratory issues, noise, availability of PPE for construction workers, among other issues. 

Among the reasons OSHA may come to inspect your site include workplace fatalities and hospitalizations, imminent danger situations, referrals and complaints concerning potentially hazardous conditions, scheduled inspections, and follow-up inspections.

Depending on the inspection findings, a contractor may receive a report detailing the violations found, what has to be corrected, the duration within which to make the corrections, and the monetary fines for the violations. 

Other types of inspections

Some other inspections that contractors should expect include: 

  • Insurance inspections
  • Environmental inspections on pollution (water, smoke, and noise) 
  • Fire inspections—availability of fire protection systems, fire escapes, and storage of certain materials
  • Planning inspections to ascertain whether you complied with planning permissions, obligations, and conditions
  • Inspection of the release of finances (by relevant agencies)
  • Archaeological inspections (in case of excavations)
  • Inspection of street works conducted by highway authorities in the case of road and sewer constructions

Best practices for construction inspections

Here is an outline on some of the best practices to heed for construction inspections:

  • Ensure that you have a checklist: Your construction inspection checklist will help you identify any violations of the construction regulations and have them rectified before the inspection. 
  • Budget: Ensure that all your construction inspection checklists that have monetary dealings reference the project budget. Make sure that you complete the project with the allotted budget. Also, use your inspection to ascertain that every spending meets the budgetary allocations as you move from one phase to the next until the completion of the project. 
  • Schedule: Remember, your project should not affect your client’s budget. As such, not completing the project in time will make them dissatisfied. Use the inspection to monitor the schedule of your project daily, weekly, and monthly. Also, ensure that you inform the relevant parties of any delays. 
  • Scope of the project: The inspection process should be led by the defined scope of the project. Ensure that you notify your client of any adjustment to the scope of the project. Also, make sure that you use the construction inspection to confirm that everything is running according to the project’s scope. 
  • Plan ahead: You can do this by undertaking a pre-task session that allows workers to identify and avoid mishaps. 

Benefits of using mobile apps and forms to manage construction inspections

As you probably know, the construction industry has cutthroat competition. As such, you need proper productivity tools to gain a competitive edge.

Given the fast rate at which the construction industry is adopting digital solutions, you cannot afford to lag behind.

Construction project management software will give your construction business a leg up that you need to stay ahead of your competition. Here are some of the key benefits of mobile forms and apps:

  • The improvement of communication between various parties in the construction project: Mobile apps and forms eliminate communication gaps by enabling you to dispatch information to various parties of the project directly via a mobile phone.
  • Incorporating photos into documents: Enabling the photo capture feature on your mobile forms app will allow you to add pictures directly into your documents. You can, therefore, better describe construction progress issues and achievements.
  • Capturing digital signatures: Mobile app forms allow you and your client to sign and save various documents directly via the program.
  • Improved document organization: This app enables you to keep track of paperwork and files so that you always know where to retrieve them from.
  • Mobilization of document construction: With this app, you can go with your documents wherever you want without the fear of losing them or being damaged. 

Get started with GoCanvas for construction inspections

Are you looking for an easy-to-use mobile forms app that can help improve the operations of your construction company? GoCanvas is your go-to tool for construction inspection reports, checklists, and more. Try out GoCanvas and all its features with a free trial or contact our team to learn more.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Three inspection workers on job site.

The Ultimate Guide to Quality Control Inspections

Managing a construction project is a complex and stressful process. Among other things, you have to coordinate project team members, materials, and equipment and ensure that contractors are not afflicted by the potential risks and hazards present at the construction site. That said, quality means different things to different people which is why you should…

Read the blog
A man using GoCanvas for the digital transformation of his workflow.

Constructions Digital Transformation

Your competition is finding faster ways to capture data and get critical insights from the field into their existing systems. In short, they’re not going bigger, they’re getting smarter. In this 15-minute broadcast on the construction industry’s digital transformation, find out why the trend is to modernize workflows – and how you can stay ahead of the curve…

see for yourself
A electrician inspecting equipment.

See how VIP Lighting optimized efficiency with GoCanvas

VIP Lighting is a retail lighting and electrical maintenance business that services over 10,000 retail locations all over Australia and New Zealand. Before GoCanvas, VIP Lighting had two separate systems that were impossible to integrate, leading to inefficiencies. GoCanvas made it easy to integrate their systems into single, centralized platform…

read their story

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

3 Key Integrations for Construction Time Card Apps

Posted on by GoCanvas Team

3 Key Integrations for Construction Time Card Apps

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Time cards are widely used in the construction industry to keep an accurate record of hours worked, for project management and payroll purposes. 

The basic function of a time card is to collect employee data. While many businesses have traditionally relied on paper forms or spreadsheets as a way to track hours worked, more companies are now starting to embrace technology solutions for construction project management and reporting.

Paper forms and spreadsheets are now being replaced with mobile forms — allowing workers to complete their time cards simply by using their mobile phones on the job site.

As a standalone application, a construction time card app is fairly basic in its functionality. It will track standard fields like hours worked, type of hours (regular time, over time, or double time), and things like a signature for approval. It goes without saying that the exact fields on a mobile time card app can be customized based on business needs, and no-code solutions make it easy to design the app to your exact requirements.

Although time cards are relatively simple applications, they can become a powerful asset when digitized through mobile apps and integrated into other core business processes.

3 Ways to Elevate Your Business Operations with Technology

This article covers how time card apps can be integrated into the larger business technology and data ecosystem. The ideal state is to make it easy for employees to fill out and automate manual processes for operational staff in the office. Here are three ways to leverage time card apps into your business operations:

#1 Leveraging Reference Data to Save Employees Time

Depending on the nature of the work being performed, employees may need to input data on their timesheets that are specific to the project, customer, or type of work. While this can certainly be done manually each time, it winds up costing employees additional time to fill out all of the form fields by hand or referencing other sources of information.

GoCanvas time sheet apps are built with a feature called Reference Data, which allows you to integrate apps with other databases that you own. Instead of looking up the data on your own, GoCanvas will automatically fill out form fields using data that exists in another database. Pull in specific project codes, customer information, accounting fields, and anything else that you need to include on that time card sheet.

Anywhere your company stores data can be pulled into GoCanvas automatically, allowing employees in the field to leverage pre-filled form fields or drop-down lists to capture information faster. 

Not only does the reference data feature help employees spend less time filling out forms, but it also enables your company to standardize how data is submitted. Required fields and drop-down lists can ensure that no mistakes are made or critical information is missing. All of this allows your employees to spend less time on busy work and gives you better, more accurate data in real-time.

#2 Streamline Operations for Accounting

We covered how you can bring data into GoCanvas to simplify form fills, but you can also connect this data from the field to then sync with other applications your business uses in the office. 

For construction time card apps, the most common example of this would be an integration with your accounting system like or Xero. Not only can data be brought into GoCanvas, but submissions from GoCanvas apps can be automatically synced into those core accounting systems that your business uses.  

Paper forms and spreadsheets create additional manual work for teams. A manual workflow usually requires:

  • Data entry in the field 
  • Ensuring there are no mistakes
  • Communicating back and forth between teams via email
  • Manually entering or uploading information back into the accounting system

All of this creates additional steps in the workflow that are not necessary. With GoCanvas apps, all of this manual work is eliminated and once a timesheet is submitted, it’s automatically recorded in the accounting system. This can help to process payroll and any other accounting tasks faster when data is available instantly from job sites. 

This type of automation and data integration is essential for growing businesses. Paper forms and manual work can not scale efficiently. Anywhere you can leverage technology like GoCanvas to automate workflows will save you time and money that impacts overall profitability.

#3 Integrated Data for Reporting Purposes

Another key benefit for organizations that digitize their time cards is the ability to integrate that data for reporting purposes. 

With construction time cards, you can have them sync with your construction daily reports, giving project managers and stakeholders a real-time view of work performed. GoCanvas helps construction site managers instantly share their daily reports via email as a designed PDF document with images and relevant updates. 

Digitizing time cards and daily reports can have a significant impact on productivity and cost savings. For example, one general contracting company was able to realize a $120,000 cost savings on an annual basis by switching to GoCanvas for mobile daily reports.

Beyond reports, mobile form data can also be used for data analytics performance. This could be in the form of a dashboard that is monitored by owners or project managers to understand how things are tracking toward the plan. For construction projects, these types of analytics insights can help to avoid cost overruns or delays, and having the insights in real-time can allow you to communicate the issues quickly and take any proactive measures.

A study found that 96% of construction data goes unused. Your data that is collected in the field can be a powerful asset when rolled up for analytics. Mobile data platforms like GoCanvas allow you to collect data through forms, and create custom dashboards right in GoCanvas for analytics purposes. GoCanvas also allows you to take the submission data and integrate it with other BI applications your business uses, opening up the possibilities for you to integrate GoCanvas into your broader data ecosystem.

Want to learn more about how mobile data platforms can impact your construction business? Check out our playbook on the power of data analytics for commercial construction.

Playbook: 3 Keys to Unleashing the Power of Data Analytics in Commercial Construction
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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Three inspection workers on job site.

The Ultimate Guide to Quality Control Inspections

Managing a construction project is a complex and stressful process. Among other things, you have to coordinate project team members, materials, and equipment and ensure that contractors are not afflicted by the potential risks and hazards present at the construction site. That said, quality means different things to different people which is why you should…

Read the blog
A man using GoCanvas for the digital transformation of his workflow.

Constructions Digital Transformation

Your competition is finding faster ways to capture data and get critical insights from the field into their existing systems. In short, they’re not going bigger, they’re getting smarter. In this 15-minute broadcast on the construction industry’s digital transformation, find out why the trend is to modernize workflows – and how you can stay ahead of the curve…

see for yourself
A electrician inspecting equipment.

See how VIP Lighting optimized efficiency with GoCanvas

VIP Lighting is a retail lighting and electrical maintenance business that services over 10,000 retail locations all over Australia and New Zealand. Before GoCanvas, VIP Lighting had two separate systems that were impossible to integrate, leading to inefficiencies. GoCanvas made it easy to integrate their systems into single, centralized platform…

read their story

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

How Timesheet Forms Work for Management [+Templates]

Posted on by GoCanvas Team

How Timesheet Forms Work for Management [+Templates]

| |

Timesheet forms are an excellent way for businesses to manage time for their employees. Companies can use different timesheet forms, such as a weekly timesheet, a monthly timesheet, a biweekly timesheet, or even a daily timesheet. All of these tools are useful for time tracking of work hours. 

There are many simple resources available for printable timesheet templates using Microsoft Word or Excel timesheet templates. These different forms can range from straightforward timesheet templates to more advanced templates that factor in billable hours, lunch breaks, sick leave, vacation leave, time-in/time-out, hourly rates, and other valuable information. 

Another solution for businesses is to use simple timesheet form apps that track employee hours and the number of hours worked by contractors in real-time. These apps also provide workers with the opportunity to enter time manually. This option brings a number of benefits to an organization, rather than using spreadsheets or paper.

For example, timesheet apps integrate directly with payroll and billing systems. They also can include much more advanced features, like the ability to track employee mileage and other reimbursable expenses. Continue reading this article to understand more about timesheet forms and how mobile applications work for businesses.

What frequency is best for timesheets?

Companies process payroll in various ways, including weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or semi-monthly payroll. Each of these payroll frequencies has a specific timesheet template to meet a company’s specific needs. 

A best practice with timesheets is to have employees or contractors complete them on a daily basis so that it is easier to keep track of hours worked. Even for timesheets submitted on a monthly basis, it can be difficult to recall any breaks taken several weeks ago or if an employee had to leave work early one day. 

Although companies may pay employees at different intervals, it is essential that a business has a defined and consistent process in place for tracking time. 

What information should a timesheet form collect?

Most timesheet forms have a space for the employee name, an employee ID, the position of the employee, the week ending date, a start and end time field for each day, and any hours deducted for lunch breaks or sick leave. 

Non-exempt employees who work over 40 hours a week can quickly document overtime pay on their timesheet. Similarly, workers who work holidays may track time paid at a higher rate during a pay period. 

For companies that want to utilize timesheets for exempt employees, the information collected may be more granular or project-related. This tracking time practice helps to understand how much services cost to deliver, how much effort is going into various jobs or projects, and how effectively employees use their time.

What are the problems with paper and spreadsheet timesheet forms?

Paper forms present many problems to workers and companies. Although paper may seem like an easy and inexpensive option for documenting time, here are some of the hidden costs of paper forms and spreadsheets: 

  • Error-prone: Regardless of intent, workers filling out these forms can make errors in entering start-times or end-times. These errors can lead to over and under calculating hours worked and will require additional resources to fix the errors. This costs both the workers and the companies who lose income or revenue due to errors. 
  • Misplaced paper: Paper-based timesheets are also subject to being lost or misplaced, which can slow down payroll for workers. It can also have an impact on the availability of historical data related to employee time tracking. 
  • Data-loss: Spreadsheets may become corrupted, users may overwrite data, or anyone on a workplace network can inadvertently delete time tracking files. 
  • Lack of accessibility: Both paper and spreadsheet timesheet forms are not that accessible for workers either on the road or working offsite. 
  • Lack of insights: It’s difficult for companies to gain insightful information from paper-based timesheets since the data on paper is not accessible without being manually entered.

Online timesheet forms and timesheet apps

More companies than ever are using online forms and apps to track employee hours. These online forms and apps can be easier to use, more accessible, and have enhanced or automated workflows. Collecting timesheet information through an app or digital form can enable HR notifications. For example, a notification can be sent when: 

  • An employee is approaching unapproved overtime hours.
  • An employee’s hours fall outside of the regular hours of a business
  • The total hours noted by an employee do not reflect the time they spent in an office or their billable hours

Timesheet apps make it simple to fill out timesheets in the field. Employees can use their smartphones to submit their hours worked. This level of accessibility helps workers in jobs where they are required to be in the field or they do not have a dedicated job site from which they work.

Timesheet apps also enable companies to track employee hours based on factors such as arrival and departure time with GPS and time stamps. With modern applications, businesses of all sizes can take advantage of mobile applications that allow them to streamline their operations and work more efficiently.

GoCanvas contractor and employee timesheet apps

GoCanvas has a wide range of timesheet form apps available on our website. 

These apps are effective for both contractors and employees. GoCanvas has pre-built templates for a monthly, biweekly, or daily timesheet template, and many other types of employee timesheet templates. These simple solutions can help to improve and streamline processes for your business, especially when it comes to paying workers. 

Apps are able to leverage the native functions in iOS and Android devices, such as GPS and built-in time tracking. This can be used to automate the clock-in/clock-out process and verify a worker’s location. 

The use of these tools helps process payroll efficiently. Companies can bill clients or customers where a worker has to visit a job site or track hours spent working on a specific project.

For contractors, timesheet apps can be implemented directly by companies for contractors to track hours or can be a tool that contractors use to document hours and bill customers directly. 

GoCanvas can accept Credit Card payments in its apps through Square, an industry-leading payment processor. One helpful feature is the ability to do calculations. You can simply enter the number of hours worked and have the app use pre-built formulas with hourly rates that can generate invoices in real-time. 

GoCanvas apps can integrate directly with payroll processing companies such as QuickBooks and Xero and countless other apps through our Zapier integration. These integrations make the processing of timesheets occur much more quickly, ensuring that pay for employees occurs in a timely fashion. 

This helps human resources departments and payroll specialists to avoid spending hours each week inputting timesheets and payroll information. Effective timesheet apps are designed to work with the tools you have in place today and to transform the way workers track time in the field.

Timesheet Form Templates

GoCanvas has customizable templates for all of your businesses’ time tracking needs. Here is a list of some of our most commonly used timesheet form templates that are available for you to access on the GoCanvas app store.

Simple Timesheet Form

simple timesheet form template

In need of a simple timesheet form for your business? This GoCanvas app allows you to track employees’ hours worked, collecting details about the work or tasks performed on the job. Our basic timesheet form is designed to be customized for any business or job type, giving you more flexibility to manage timesheets for your unique business purpose.

Access the simple timesheet form template to get started for free.

Daily Timesheet Form Template

basic daily timesheet form

Daily timesheet forms are commonly used when businesses have hourly workers and their hours can vary depending on the day of the week. Using this daily timesheet form template on GoCanvas, you can keep a record of time and attendance details from across locations and employees. Track hours, assess overtime, sign off on approvals, and manage the entire daily timesheet process from this simple app.

Access the daily timesheet form template to get started for free.

Weekly Timesheet Mobile App

weekly timesheet form template

Many businesses also prefer to have a weekly timesheet that documents the summary of all work performed in a given week. Using the weekly timesheet form template, businesses can easily keep track of hours, days, and weeks for a payroll pay period. Access reports, export the information as a PDF, or use the data to automate other business processes using an integration with other cloud applications.

Access the weekly timesheet form template to get started for free. You can also find our bi-weekly timesheet template form that is similarly designed for companies that prefer bi-weekly payroll sheets.

QuickBooks Timecard Mobile App

quickbooks timesheet form template

QuickBooks is widely used by companies for processing payroll. To easily integrate timesheets with your payroll processes, use this timesheet form that is designed to connect with QuickBooks. Integrating data and cloud applications is one main benefit of using GoCanvas for timesheet forms and other types of digital forms. Instead of Excel forms and Google Sheet forms for timesheets, using GoCanvas brings you the ability to automate workflows and eliminate manual work or data entry. 

Contact our team to learn more about our integrations and access the QuickBooks timesheet form on the GoCanvas app store.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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