Time Tracking and Hours Management in Cleaning

The problem: no fixed location, no traditional clock

In a factory, a shop or an office, time tracking is straightforward: the worker passes a clock terminal on arrival and departure. The device is mounted on the wall, records hours, everyone uses the same one.

In cleaning, this logic does not work. Your operatives never come to your premises. They go directly from home to the client site. They change sites during the day. They work at 5am or 10pm, when nobody else is present to verify anything.

Installing a fixed terminal at every client site is not realistic: that would mean buying, installing, maintaining and replacing dozens or hundreds of terminals. And when you lose a contract, you lose the terminal too.

The result, in many cleaning companies, is an hour tracking system based on paper sheets, texts or trust. The operative declares their hours, the manager notes them down, and nobody can really verify. This system generates errors, disputes and complete vulnerability in the event of a labour inspection.

Mobile time tracking solutions for field workers

Smartphone with geolocation

The most widespread solution in cleaning. Every operative uses their smartphone (or one provided by the company) to clock in and out at each site. The app records the time and GPS position. The clock event is transmitted in real time to the server.

Advantages: no additional hardware to install, works at every site, immediate to set up. The operative has their smartphone in their pocket and clocks in with one gesture. The cost per site is zero.

QR code on site

A QR code is displayed at the entrance of each client site. The operative scans it on arrival and departure. The scan identifies the site and triggers the time record. This method adds a verification layer: the QR code proves the operative is physically present on site (they cannot scan a code that is 20km away).

Advantages: near-zero cost (print a QR code), proof of physical presence, no GPS dependency (useful in basements). Disadvantage: the QR code could be photographed and scanned from elsewhere, though countermeasures exist (dynamic codes, combination with GPS).

NFC tag

An NFC (Near Field Communication) tag is affixed at the site entrance. The operative holds their smartphone near the tag to trigger the time record. The tag has a range of a few centimetres: the operative must be physically in front of it. This is the most reliable method for proving exact physical presence.

Advantages: irrefutable proof of presence, works without internet, very low tag cost (a few euros). Disadvantage: requires an NFC-compatible smartphone and the client's agreement to install the tag on their premises.

Geofencing: verifying the operative is in the right place

Geofencing means defining a virtual geographic perimeter around each client site. When an operative attempts to clock in, the system verifies that their GPS position is within that perimeter. If the operative is too far from the site, the clock event is refused or flagged as an anomaly.

Defining the perimeter

The perimeter is defined site by site. For a small office, a radius of 50 to 100 metres is sufficient. For a large industrial site or hospital, the radius may reach 200 or 300 metres to cover different entrances and car parks.

Handling anomalies

A clock event outside the perimeter can mean three things: the operative is at the wrong site, GPS is imprecise (common in dense urban areas or inside buildings), or the operative is trying to clock in from elsewhere. The system must flag the anomaly without systematically blocking the clock event, as GPS issues are common.

Hour tracking by client site

For payroll

Site-level tracking gives you the exact hours worked by each operative, each day, at each site. An operative covering 3 sites in a day has 3 separate records: 6:02-8:04 at client A, 8:35-10:31 at client B, 17:58-19:47 at client C. This data feeds payroll calculation with the correct supplements (the hour before 6am carries a night supplement, the others do not).

For invoicing

Site-level tracking is also the basis for client invoicing. The contract with client A provides for 10 hours per week. Time tracking shows 9h47 were delivered this week. You invoice accordingly. Without site-level tracking, invoicing rests on estimates or planned hours, not actual hours delivered.

For management control

What is the real cost of the assignment at client X this month? How many hours were delivered? How many carried night or weekend supplements? What is the ratio of hours delivered to hours invoiced? Site-level tracking provides the data to answer these questions and manage profitability contract by contract.

Link with worker attendance registration obligations

The cleaning sector in many countries is subject to electronic attendance registration: every worker must be registered on arrival at each site. Mobile time tracking with geolocation directly meets this obligation.

One action, one tool: when the operative clocks in on Shyfter, the data feeds both the attendance registration (legal compliance) and hour tracking (payroll and invoicing). No double entry, no parallel system to maintain. The same time tracking data serves both objectives.

In the event of a labour inspection, the complete clock history is exportable with dates, times, GPS positions and operative identities. Proof of compliance is immediate.

Export to payroll provider

The payroll challenge in cleaning

Payroll processing in cleaning is a puzzle. Dozens of part-time operatives, each with different contracted hours. Multiple sites with varying timetables. Night and weekend supplements to calculate. Supplementary hours to track. Without an automated system, the payroll manager spends hours manually recompiling data, with error risk at every step.

Automatic export

Shyfter automatically compiles all hours worked per operative, with the breakdown by site, by day and by type (standard hours, night supplements, weekend supplements, supplementary hours). All of this is exported in the format required by your payroll provider. Check the integrations page to see available connectors.

Error reduction

Automatic export eliminates manual re-entry and the errors it generates. An operative missing an hour on their pay slip means a dispute. An operative receiving a night supplement for a daytime shift means excess cost. With mobile time tracking, payroll data comes from the field, not a file recopied three times.

How Shyfter time tracking works for cleaning teams

The operative checks their schedule

Each morning (or the evening before for the next day's team), the operative checks their schedule in the Shyfter app. They see their sites for the day, planned hours, addresses and site-specific instructions.

Clock-in on arrival

On arriving at the site, the operative opens the app and clocks in. GPS confirms their position. The time is recorded. If the operative is late compared to the schedule, the manager receives a notification.

Clock-out on departure

At the end of the assignment, the operative clocks out again. Hours worked on that site are automatically calculated. If the operative has a second site, they travel and repeat the process.

Real-time dashboard

The manager sees in real time who has clocked in, at which site, at what time. A site without a clock event when a cleaning was scheduled triggers an alert. An operative who has not clocked in 15 minutes after their planned start time is flagged. Anomalies surface immediately, not at the end of the week.

Reports and analysis

At month end, Shyfter generates hour reports by operative, by site, by client and by assignment type. These reports serve payroll, invoicing, management control and legal compliance. All data comes from the same field clock event, without intermediate manipulation.

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FAQ: time tracking in cleaning

What to do if an operative's smartphone breaks down in the field?

This happens. In the event of a smartphone failure, the manager can manually record the operative's clock event via the Shyfter dashboard, marked as "manual entry". The actual arrival and departure times are entered by the manager based on the operative's report. Manual entries are traceable and distinct from automatic clock events. If the problem recurs, consider providing a backup smartphone or installing a QR code or NFC tag at the most frequently visited sites as a fallback.

How do you ensure operatives do not cheat on time tracking?

Three mechanisms work together. Geofencing verifies that the operative is physically within the site perimeter at the time of the clock event. Schedule-versus-clock comparison detects abnormal discrepancies. Anomalies are automatically flagged to the manager. No system is foolproof, but the combination of GPS, geofencing and schedule comparison makes fraud difficult and easily detectable. NFC tags add an extra layer for sensitive sites.

How do you handle time tracking when an operative changes site during the day?

The operative clocks out of the first site, travels, then clocks in at the second site. Both assignments are recorded separately with their own times and locations. The time between departure from the first site and arrival at the second is travel time, counted as working time. Shyfter automatically calculates this travel time and includes it in the operative's hour record. Total labour cost includes these inter-site travel hours.