How To Get Crews To Track Their Time (Without Babysitting)

Most contractors don’t have a revenue problem. They have a visibility problem.

When jobs go sideways or margins feel tight, it’s easy to blame estimating. But more often, the real issue is happening on-site: how labor hours are actually being spent, and how little clarity exists around it.

In this episode of Contractor Evolution, Derrik Shakespear (CRO at AlignOps) breaks down why time tracking is one of the most underutilized and highest-impact levers for improving profitability in construction businesses.

At its core, this isn’t about adding another tool. It’s about replacing guesswork with real data so you can make faster, smarter decisions.

Key Takeaways for Contractors

• You can’t improve what you don’t measure
  Labor is often 30–50% of a project’s cost, yet many contractors still rely on rough estimates or paper-based tracking. Without accurate data, you’re left guessing, and guessing leads to missed profit.
  
  
• Hidden inefficiencies are bigger than you think
  Many companies discover that 30–40% of paid labor time isn’t truly productive. Simply tracking time more accurately can cut that waste in half and dramatically improve margins.
  
  
• The biggest wins are often outside the “core work”
  Setup, travel, cleanup and safety conditions are rarely estimated properly, yet they quietly eat away at profit. Better tracking shines a light on these blind spots and helps you price jobs more accurately.
  
  
• Data makes decisions faster and more obvious
  Instead of spending weeks analyzing performance, contractors with strong data systems can quickly see which crews, projects or job types are most profitable. This then helps them adjust in real time.
  
  
• Technology adoption is no longer optional
  The industry is shifting fast. Contractors who embrace data-driven decision-making are pulling ahead, while those relying on old systems risk falling behind competitively.
  
  

From Guessing to Growing

One of the most powerful shifts Derrik highlights is what happens when contractors stop guessing entirely.

With the right systems in place, you can clearly see:

• Which crews are most efficient
  
  
• Where time is being lost
  
  
• Which jobs are truly profitable
  
  

That clarity doesn’t just improve operations, but it also gives you control over growth.

Instead of hoping the next project goes well, you can confidently scale, knowing exactly where your profit comes from and how to replicate it.

The Bottom Line

If you’re still relying on gut feel or incomplete data to run your projects, you’re leaving money on the table.

The contractors winning today aren’t necessarily working harder. They’re working with better information.

Want to see how data-driven decision-making could transform your business? Book a complimentary discovery call with Breakthrough Academy and explore how to turn your numbers into a growth engine.