The problem
Contractors price by the acre or the hour but rarely know what each job actually cost. Operators hand in hours on scraps of paper at the end of the week, and nobody knows whether the 5-hour hedge-cutting job took 8. If 3 operators spend 15 minutes a week on paper timesheets and the owner spends 2 hours a week typing them up for wages and invoices, that's 2.75 hours a week, about 12 hours a month.
What the AI does
Tradify Pro adds timesheets to track time for job costs and invoices, and costing and bill tracking to record bills and track job costs, along with job photos and files. Each operator logs time against the job they're on, the owner sees hours per job against what was charged, and hourly work goes straight onto the invoice. Bills such as twine, wrap or hired kit can be recorded against the job too. Timesheets help with wages, but payroll and minimum wage checks still go through your payroll software.
A worked example
A contractor in Lincolnshire with the owner and 2 full-time operators does drilling, spraying and hedge cutting. Operators write their hours on paper each week, and the owner types them up for wages and invoices.
Before
Paper timesheets and typing up: 2.75 hours a week, about 11.8 hours a month, with no idea which jobs lose money
After
Hours logged against jobs in the app, with about 30 minutes a week checking them: about 2.2 hours a month
What it's worth
About $322£242€288A$465C$455 a month in time saved, against $148£111€132A$213C$209 for Tradify Pro. That is about 9.7 hours a month (11.8 down to 2.2, from 2.75 hours and 30 minutes a week times 4.3) at an assumed $33£25€30A$48C$47 an hour. Pro is $49£37€44A$71C$70 per user a month: 3 users × $49£37€44A$71C$70 = $148£111€132A$213C$209. Spotting jobs priced too low is the bigger gain, but isn't valued here.
How to set it up
- Start the 14-day free trial, which includes all features, and add each operator as a user.
- Show operators how to log time against the job they're on, and agree they do it before leaving each farm.
- Record bills such as twine, wrap or hired kit against the job they were for.
- Each Friday, check hours against jobs, take them across for wages and add hourly work to invoices.
- After a month, compare the hours on your per-acre jobs with what you charged, and rethink any rate that doesn't cover the time.
What goes wrong
- Every user pays: 3 people on Pro is $148£111€132A$213C$209 a month, not $49£37€44A$71C$70.
- Timesheets aren't payroll. Wages, holiday and minimum wage checks still go through your payroll.
- Recording time is personal data about staff. Tell operators what's recorded and why.
- Operators who forget to log time leave holes in the costing; check for gaps each week.