The True Cost of Inaccurate Timekeeping (and How to Fix It)

Inaccurate timekeeping creates significant financial leaks for security and cleaning companies through labor overpayments, compliance risks, and lost revenue from unbillable hours. Implementing precise timekeeping software is the only way to eliminate data blind spots, ensuring every hour is accounted for, billed correctly, and compliant with labor laws.

If you manage a security or cleaning company, you know the reality of a distributed workforce: your business happens everywhere but your office. Your teams are out in the field, often working independently at multiple job sites. While that flexibility is the nature of the industry, it creates a massive data blind spot if you aren’t careful.

When you can’t see your employees, how do you know — really know — that your timekeeping is accurate?

For many in the industry, “close enough” has been the standard for too long. But in a world of razor-thin margins and strict compliance regulations, “close enough” is a leak your business can’t afford. Accurate timekeeping isn’t just about logging hours; it is the foundation of your profitability, your compliance strategy, and your employee retention.

Here is why getting your data right is essential, and how the next generation of technology is making it easier than ever.

1. Protecting your profit margins

Labor is almost certainly your largest expense. When timekeeping records are loose, you are likely overpaying for labor without realizing it. Even minor discrepancies—a few minutes here, a rounded-up hour there—compound quickly across hundreds of employees and job sites.

Beyond simple overpayment, accuracy is critical for job costing. You need to know precisely how many hours are spent on specific tasks or sites to understand if a contract is actually profitable. Without precise data, your bids for future jobs are just guesses. Accurate timekeeping ensures you are billing clients for every minute of service delivered, preventing the “missed minutes” that silently eat away at revenue.

2. The shield of compliance

Labor laws (like the Fair Labor Standards Act) are unforgiving. You need auditable, precise documentation of hours worked, breaks taken and overtime accrued. If you are relying on manual timesheets, approximated times, or disjointed systems, you are leaving yourself open to audits, fines and legal disputes.

For security contractors, and cleaning contracts at risk of slip-and-fall type lawsuits, this goes a step further. Timekeeping serves as a digital audit trail. It proves a guard was at a specific post at a specific time, and proves a cleaner visited a certain area at a specific time—reducing your liability if a security incident occurs.

3. Proof of service is your promise

Your customers want to know they are getting what they pay for. Did the cleaning crew hit the third-floor restroom? Was the lobby guard at their post at 8:00AM?

Accurate timekeeping acts as proof of service. When you can provide verified data that correlates time punches with GPS or location markers, you give your customers confidence. This visibility protects your reputation and helps you retain contracts in a competitive market.

4. Building trust with your team

Your employees work hard, and they expect to be paid correctly and on time. Nothing erodes morale faster than a paycheck error. Reliable timekeeping ensures fair compensation for every hour worked, which is critical for retention in an industry with historically high turnover.

Furthermore, accurate data helps you avoid burnout. By analyzing true hours worked, you can adjust schedules to prevent employees from overextending themselves, keeping your best talent happier and healthier.

The solution: WinTeam Mobile

We know that capturing this data in the field is difficult. Connectivity issues, rush periods and the temptation of “buddy punching” have historically made accuracy a challenge.

That is why we are rolling out significant updates to WinTeam Mobile. We are effectively modernizing the frontline experience to close the gaps between your field operations and your back office.

Here is how the new WinTeam Mobile functionality solves the timekeeping dilemma:

• Offline punch capabilities: Your distributed workers often operate in basements, parking structures or remote sites with spotty signals. WinTeam Mobile now captures punch data and GPS locations even without connectivity, automatically syncing and validating the data once a signal is restored. No more lost data; no more excuses.
• Kiosk mode: For contracts with large teams, speed is everything. The new multi-user kiosk mode allows rapid clock-ins for multiple workers using a single device, streamlining the collection of punches without the need for expensive proprietary hardware.
• Biometric validation (Coming soon): We are taking security to the next level. Soon, WinTeam Mobile will include optional facial verification. This feature virtually eliminates time theft and “buddy punching” by confirming the right employee is at the right place at the right time.

Accurate timekeeping is the difference between guessing at your success and engineering it. With TEAM Software by WorkWave, you have the tools to turn time tracking into a competitive advantage.

Ready to see how WinTeam can tighten your operations? Request a demo today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can timekeeping software work without an internet connection?
A: Yes, advanced timekeeping software like WinTeam Mobile features offline punch capabilities. It stores data locally on the device and automatically syncs it to the cloud once an internet connection is restored.

Q: How does accurate timekeeping help with bidding on new contracts?
A: Accurate timekeeping provides precise historical data on how long specific tasks take. This allows you to bid on new contracts based on actual labor costs rather than estimates, protecting your profit margins.

Q: What is “buddy punching” and how can I stop it?
A: “Buddy punching” occurs when one employee clocks in for another. It can be prevented using timekeeping software with biometric validation, such as facial verification, to ensure the person clocking in is actually the employee scheduled to work.