Snow Removal Time Tracking With Proof of Service at Every Site

In snow removal, the work happens at 3 a.m. and the questions come in March. JobSnap is a snow removal time tracking app that records when each operator was at each lot, files the photos and the weather under that site, and turns a night of plowing into a timesheet without a paper log scribbled in the truck. That record is your proof of service when a client or an insurer asks.

How a winter actually runs

Contracts are signed in the fall. Driveways are usually on a seasonal price. Commercial lots are seasonal, per push or per event, often with a trigger depth written into the contract. When it snows overnight, the trucks, loaders, skid steers and sidewalk crews go out on routes of fifteen to forty sites, with the goal of having lots and walkways clear before stores and offices open. In a long storm they make second and third passes, then come back to salt or spread abrasives. Then nothing happens for a week.

Where the hours and the proof go missing:

• Route sheets at 4 a.m. Drivers write arrival times on paper in the cab, in the dark, between pushes. Half are guessed the next morning.
• Counting pushes. On per-push contracts every visit is money. A property manager says you came twice; your driver says three times.
• Slip-and-fall claims. Months later, a letter asks when the lot was last cleared and salted before someone fell on a Tuesday in January. Your answer needs a time, a place and ideally a picture.
• Long, uneven shifts. A big storm means twelve hours or more in a row, then days off. Overtime adds up fast and payroll has to get it right.
• Rented machines. A loader rented for the season sits at one lot for days. You pay for it whether it pushes or not.

How a snow crew uses JobSnap

• Each site is a job with a boundary. Draw a geofence around each lot, including the entrance. Use a custom boundary for big commercial lots. As the driver moves from lot to lot, hours are attributed to each site, and every punch records the location. The timesheet then shows which sites were visited, when, for how long and by whom.
• Photos that land on the right lot. The jobsite camera picks the nearest job, so the driver takes the before and after shot without choosing anything. Each photo carries the date and the name of the person who took it. Circle an ice patch or a blocked drain on the photo and send it to the property manager.
• Weather and salt in the daily report. The daily report records the day's weather. Add your own fields in settings, such as number of passes or salt applied, so the foreman fills them in before going home.
• Machine hours per site. Assign loaders and skid steers to the lots they work. Their hours appear on the timesheet next to the operator's, which tells you whether a rented machine is earning its rent.
• Night shifts on the timesheet. Breaks and overtime are separated, supervisors fix a missed punch with a visible correction, and approved hours export to payroll, including QuickBooks. Overtime rules vary by province, so check yours.

At billing time, count the visits per site straight from the timesheet and put them on the invoice, with the dated photos as backup when a property manager disputes a push.

What it costs for a snow removal company

$5 CAD per active employee per month, $20 minimum, every feature included. Six plow drivers, two loader operators, four sidewalk shovellers and the owner make 13 active employees: $65 a month from November to March. In April, pause the seasonal crew. Many snow contractors are landscapers in the summer, so the same people are simply unpaused for the mowing season in the same app. The 30-day trial is free, with no credit card.

Questions snow contractors ask

Will this protect me in a slip-and-fall claim?

JobSnap gives you a dated record of punches, photos and daily reports for each site. Whether that is enough is a question for your insurer and your lawyer, and so is how long to keep it.

Does the driver have to touch the phone at every lot?

Not with automatic clock in: the shift starts when the driver enters a site's boundary and ends when he leaves. Test it on your shortest stops during the trial before you count on it.

Can a crew leader punch in the sidewalk crew?

Yes. Foremen can clock in a whole crew, which helps when shovellers ride together in one truck. If the crew meets at the yard before a storm, put a tablet by the shop door in kiosk mode: it stays locked on the time clock, everyone punches in on the same device, and it is included in the same price.