How to track time by Job

Brian Zurawski

22 Oct, 2026 - Updated 18 days ago

Labor Allocation

How to Track Time by Job

Set up job-based labor categories and see exactly how employee hours are distributed across jobs each day.

Tracking time by job means knowing not just that an employee worked 8 hours, but that 3 of those hours went to Job A and 5 went to Job B. TimeTrakGO's Labor Allocation feature makes this possible through job-based labor categories that employees select at clock-in and update throughout the day using the transfer button.

This article walks through how to set it up and how it works for employees day to day.

Step 1 Enable Labor Allocation

Job tracking is part of the Labor Allocation feature. If it isn't enabled yet, go to Feature Manager and turn on the toggle for Labor Allocation. See How to Enable Labor Allocation for details.

Step 2 Create a Job Category

In the Feature Manager, click Settings on Labor Allocation, then click + Add Category and create a category named "Job," or whatever term fits your operation. "Project," "Work Order," "Client," and "Job Number" all work the same way.

Then, on the category's Labor Items tab, click + Add Item to add each job. Examples:

A construction company: Site A, Site B, Site C
A service company: Job 1, Job 2, Job 3, or actual client names
A manufacturer: Production Run 101, Production Run 102, Maintenance

When creating the category, turn on Transferable if employees commonly move between jobs during a shift. This enables the transfer button on their clock-in screen. You can also turn on Required to Clock In so employees must select a job during their original punch-in.

Labor Allocation page with the Add Category button

Add Labor Category window for a Job category with Transferable turned on

For each job, enter an Item Name and Description. If your jobs have numbers, enter the job number as the Payroll Code so records match your billing or accounting system.

Job category Labor Items list with job names, payroll codes, and status

Step 3 Assign the Job Category to Employees

Open each employee's profile, go to the Labor Allocation tab, and assign the Job category. Only employees with the category assigned will see the job selection prompt when they clock in. See How to Assign Labor Categories to Users for step-by-step instructions.

How It Works for Employees

Clocking InWhen an employee clocks in, they are prompted to select a job before their punch is recorded. They choose from the list you defined and confirm. TimeTrakGO begins tracking their time under that job.

Transferring Between JobsIf an employee moves to a different job during their shift, they tap the Transfer button on their clock screen. They select the new job, confirm, and TimeTrakGO closes out the time on the previous job and starts tracking under the new one. Employees can transfer up to four times per shift.

Clocking OutWhen the employee clocks out, TimeTrakGO finalizes the time record. Each job segment is recorded with its start time, end time, and total duration.

Viewing Job-Allocated Hours

Time records in TimeTrakGO show the labor category breakdown alongside the employee's total hours. You can see exactly how time was distributed across jobs for each punch and pay period.

This data can be used for job costing, payroll reporting, client billing, and any other purpose that requires knowing where labor hours were actually spent.

Tips for Job Tracking

Keep job names consistent.If your jobs have numbers or codes, use those in TimeTrakGO to make it easier to match records to your billing or accounting system.

Add new jobs as they come up.You can add items to a category at any time without disrupting employees who are already using it.

Use multiple categories together.If you want to track both the job and the type of work being done, create a "Job" category and a "Task" category. Employees will select from both when clocking in.

Archive completed jobs.When a job wraps up, archive or delete that item so employees don't accidentally select it going forward. Turn on Show Archived to see archived items.