Small builders & GCs hub · By James Grokman, CEO, TapeAndFloat · Published October 25, 2026 · Updated October 25, 2026

Crew hours by job: a simple time card log for small builders

A crew hours log is one row per person, per day, per job: the date, the worker, the job, start and end time or total hours, and who approved it. Keep it current every day and you know what each job really cost in labor before payroll, not after.

Free download: Crew hours by job (Excel). One row per person per day per job, with start, end, break, task, how the hours came in and who approved them. It totals hours by job and by week, compares each job to its labor-hours budget, and flags rows with no job, a job or worker not on your lists, end before start, possible duplicates, long days, hours entered late and entries not approved. A Start Here sheet counts it all. It does not calculate pay. The example rows are labeled; delete them before you start. No email required.

1. Why hours get lost on small jobs

Hours come in five different ways: a text at 6 PM, a photo of a paper card, a voice message, a group chat, a guess on Friday. Nobody writes down which job the hours belong to, so labor lands in one pile. Then a job runs long and nobody can say whether it was the crew, the change order or the drywall that took three extra days.

2. One row per person, per day, per job

Write down:

Date, worker and job.
Start time, end time and break, or just total hours if that is all you get.
The task or cost code (frame, hang, tape, punch), if you track them.
How it came in: text, photo of a card, app, paper, phone call.
The date it was entered, and who approved it.

If someone worked two jobs in one day, that is two rows. That is the whole trick: hours split by job are what make a job cost report true.

3. Keep a list of jobs and a list of workers

Use the exact same job name every time. "Smith," "Smith kitchen" and "Smith Rd" become three jobs in a total. The spreadsheet's Jobs and Workers sheets hold the names, and any row with a name not on the list gets flagged so you can fix it before it spreads.

4. Get hours in the same day

Ask for hours by the end of each day, in one place, in one format: "Job, start, end, break." A photo of a paper card is fine as long as someone types it in that day. The log flags entries made more than a few days after the work date (the number is an example you set in Settings), because late entries are the ones that turn into guesses.

5. Check the week before payroll

Before you run payroll, sort the week and look at: rows with no hours or end before start, rows with no job, possible duplicates (same person, same job, same day, same hours), long days and anything not approved. Fix those, then approve. The log groups hours Monday to Sunday; if your pay week runs differently, use your own dates. Overtime and pay rules are set by federal and state law and by your payroll provider, not by this log; the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, the Texas Workforce Commission or your accountant can tell you what applies to your crew. Whether someone is an employee or a sub is a separate question; see W-9s and 1099-NEC for subs and ask your accountant.

6. Compare hours to the labor budget

Give each job a labor-hours budget from your estimate. The Jobs sheet shows hours used, hours last week and the percent of budget, and flags jobs near or over. Carry the dollar figure into your job cost tracking, budget vs. actual. If extra hours came from a client change, they belong on a change order; if they came from a wait, log it in your delay log.

7. Tie hours to the daily log

Your daily log says who was on site; the hours log says how long. When they disagree (three people in the log, two in the hours), one of them is wrong, and it is easier to fix that week than at the end of the job.

Where an assistant helps

The hard part is turning texts and photos into rows every day. During the pilot, hours texted in get logged to the right job, and missing or odd entries (no job, end before start, a day with no hours) get flagged with a reminder drafted for you to approve. Nothing is sent on its own, and during the pilot a real person reviews everything.

Free 60-day pilot: keep working in your own phone, email and Google Sheet. Request a pilot spot.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I track crew hours by job without an app?

Keep one row per person, per day, per job in a spreadsheet: date, worker, job, start, end, break or total hours, task, how it came in and who approved it. Get hours in the same day, use the same job names every time and check the week before payroll.

What if a worker splits a day between two jobs?

Make two rows, one per job, each with its own hours. That is what lets each job's labor cost come out right.

Does this spreadsheet calculate pay or overtime?

No. It totals hours by job and by week and flags problems. Pay, overtime and record-keeping rules are set by federal and state law and your payroll provider; check with the U.S. Department of Labor, the Texas Workforce Commission or your accountant.

How do I catch duplicate or made-up hours?

Look for the same person, job, day and hours twice, days longer than your normal limit, hours entered long after the work date and hours on a day the daily log does not show that person on site. The free log flags the first three.

How do I know if a job is over on labor?

Give each job a labor-hours budget from your estimate and compare hours used each week. The Jobs sheet shows percent of budget and flags jobs near or over, so you can look before the job is done.

Free tools

Sub and vendor paperwork tracker (Excel): flags missing W-9s and COIs, expiring COIs and payments without an unconditional lien waiver.
Crew hours by job (Excel): one row per person per day per job (date, worker, job, start, end, break or total hours, task or cost code, how it came in, entered on, approved by) with Jobs and Workers lists, hours by job by week, hours vs. each job's labor-hours budget and a Start Here summary; flags no job, job or worker not on the list, end before start, no hours, possible duplicates, long days, entered late, not approved, jobs near or over budget and workers over a weekly hours flag; Settings numbers are examples; it does not calculate pay, and overtime and pay rules come from federal and state law and your payroll provider.
Pre-start checklist (Excel): one row per job per item from signed contract to day one (contract signed, deposit received, permits applied for and issued, selections finalized, materials ordered and lead times, schedule set, subs confirmed with dates, COIs and W-9s on file, site access and utilities, client kickoff note) with owner, due date, status, done date and proof link, a Jobs sheet with planned start dates and open counts, and a Start Here summary; flags items open past the start date, no owner, no due date, due after the start, overdue, done with no proof or no done date and open items when the start is near; Settings days are examples; deposit terms are set by your contract and permits by your city or county permit office.
Delay log (Excel): one row per delay (job, start and end dates, cause, what happened, days lost, who owns it, client notified with date and how, client written OK, schedule updated, new delivery date, change order needed and number, cost impact, photos/daily log link), a Jobs sheet with totals per job and a Start Here summary; flags no written notice to the client, notice later than your Settings, client decision with no written OK, backorder with no new date, change order needed with no number, days lost blank and open delays; Settings values are examples, notice terms are set by your contract.
Daily log & job photo tracker (Excel): one row per job per day (crew and sub counts, weather, work done, deliveries, inspections, visitors, delays and cause, client instructions, safety notes, photos folder link), a Jobs sheet and a Missing Logs sheet that marks workdays with no log; flags no photos link, delay with no cause, client instruction not turned into a change order, inspection with no result and blank crew counts; workdays and lookback on a Settings sheet.
W-9 & 1099-NEC sub payment tracker (Excel): a Payees sheet (entity type, W-9 received date, mailing address; never the full tax ID) and a Payments sheet (date, payee, amount, method, job), with a total per payee for the tax year and flags for paid with no W-9 on file, W-9 after the first payment, over the reporting threshold (editable; $2,000 for 2026 payments per irs.gov), corporations to confirm, attorneys, missing address, card/app payments and payments to someone not on the list. General information, not tax advice.
New lead intake log (Excel): one row per homeowner inquiry (date received, source, contact, job type, first reply, next step and date, status, quote sent, last contact), with flags for no reply yet, next step overdue, quoted with no follow-up and stale leads; thresholds on a Settings sheet.
Bid pipeline & quote follow-up tracker (Excel): one row per bid with sent and price-hold dates, a touch log, next follow-up worked out from day 3/7/14 (editable), and flags for follow-ups due or overdue, quotes expiring or expired while open, bids at the stop point, no sent date, won without amount and lost without reason.
2-week lookahead: subs & inspections schedule (Excel): one row per job per task with start and end dates, confirm-by dates from your settings, inspection requested/date/result, depends-on, Now/Week 1/Week 2 view, and flags for subs not confirmed, inspections not requested, failed inspections with no re-inspection, the same sub on two jobs at once, no sub assigned and starts before a dependency ends.
Permit & inspection log (Excel): one row per permit per job (type, number, applied/issued/expiration dates, card posted, final/closeout, fees, responsible) and one row per inspection (needed by, requested, result, re-inspection), with editable Settings and flags for permits expired or expiring soon, no permit number, not issued yet, inspections not requested by your lead time, failed with no re-inspection, work done but final not passed and fees unpaid.
Material orders, deliveries & returns tracker (Excel): one row per order line (supplier, PO, qty ordered and delivered, promised and delivered dates, ticket checked, backorder date, substitution approval, invoice match) and one row per return (RMA, expected and received credit, restocking fee), with flags for late or short deliveries, backorders past date, unmatched invoices and missing or short credits.
Job budget vs actual tracker (Excel): budget lines by job and cost code, actual costs from bills and receipts, signed change orders added to the budget, variance $ and %, and flags for lines over or near budget, costs with no job, cost code or budget line, and change orders not signed or not billed.
Punch list & warranty callback tracker (Excel): sets each due date from the reported date (punch and warranty days editable) and flags items past due or due soon, items with no sub assigned, items closed without homeowner sign-off or photos, and back-charges not billed.
Allowance & client selections tracker (Excel): works out each overage and its change order amount with your markup, and flags selections past due or due within 14 days, overages without a signed change order, signed overages not billed and credits not applied.
Unbilled change order calculator: what missed extras cost you a year, using your own numbers.
Texas lien deadline calculator: notice and lien affidavit dates under Property Code ch. 53 for any month of work.
Free office tracker (Excel): flags unsigned and unbilled change orders and past-due invoices.
Weekly office checklist (PDF): change orders, invoices, retainage, lien notices, COIs and crews on one page.

All free, no sign-up.

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