Time Tracking for Building Cleaning: 7 Apps Compared 2026

The range of time tracking apps for cleaning companies has grown a lot in recent years. But which solution really fits the particular demands of building cleaning? We compared seven well-known providers and show what matters in practice. To be transparent: Crew Active is our own product. Treat this comparison as our view of the market and check the other providers’ current feature lists yourself, as they change often.

Our Verdict Up Front

For most cleaning companies, Crew Active is the simplest choice:

• Scheduling, time tracking and chat in one app: no three separate tools, no WhatsApp groups.
• Proof at the site: a location point at start, pause and stop, GPS on by default for new accounts and can be switched off. No continuous tracking.
• Works without signal: in a basement or stairwell, the app saves start, pause and stop on the phone and sends them as soon as there is signal again. A GPS point is only recorded with signal.
• In 5 languages: German, English, Italian, Turkish and Romanian.
• All features in every package: from €69 net per month, no hidden costs, no minimum term.
• Try it free for 1 month, no credit card.

Why Cleaning Companies Have Unique Requirements

Building cleaning is fundamentally different from a typical office job. Employees work at changing locations, often at irregular hours, and frequently speak different languages. A time tracking system therefore needs to do much more than simply log the start and end of a workday.

Typical requirements in building cleaning:

• Multiple job sites per day with different clients
• GPS clock-in, to verify presence at the site
• Offline capability, since basements and stairwells often have no signal
• Easy operation for employees without an IT background
• Multi-language support for internationally staffed teams
• Shift scheduling directly linked to time tracking

Not every app covers all of these points. That is why it pays to take a close look at the differences. How this looks with Crew Active day to day is shown on our page on software for building cleaning.

The Seven Providers at a Glance

Crew Active: Our Recommendation

Crew Active was built as an all-in-one platform specifically for service companies with field operations. The software combines job scheduling, time tracking, GPS location proof and team communication in a single app.

Strengths:

• Job scheduling and time tracking in one system
• Location captured at the job site at start, pause and stop
• Integrated team communication (chat with read receipts, documents)
• Offline mode for locations without mobile reception
• Excel export of hours, kilometres and hourly rates
• DATEV export: each employee’s monthly hours, holiday and sick leave as a LODAS import file for your payroll office or tax advisor
• App in German, English, Italian, Turkish and Romanian

Price and trial: from €69 net per month for up to 5 employees, €119 for up to 10, €199 for up to 20, €239 for up to 30 and €379 for up to 50. All features are included in every package, and there is no minimum term. Try it free for 1 month, no credit card.

Good to know: Your payroll office or tax advisor still runs payroll. Crew Active gives them the ready LODAS file.

Blink

According to its website, Blink is the app for building service companies: time tracking by smartphone, QR code, NFC or terminal with a GPS check, job scheduling, translated chat, tickets and a customer portal. The provider is Blink GmbH from Nuremberg. Features and prices with sources are in our comparison Blink alternative.

Strengths (according to the vendor’s website): Source: blink.de

• Time tracking by smartphone, QR code, NFC or terminal, with a GPS check at clock-in
• Single jobs, recurring jobs and shifts in one schedule
• Chat with automatic translation
• Tickets, digital work tickets and a customer portal
• Time tracking also without an internet connection

Check in a trial:

• The pricing page shows a package price plus a price per user, and a one-time setup fee depending on package and interfaces. Ask for the total for your team size.

Crewmeister

According to its website, Crewmeister offers time tracking via app and terminal, plus a shift planner and a vacation planner. It names trades, construction, field service, hospitality, care and SMEs among its target groups.

Strengths (according to the vendor’s website): Source: crewmeister.com/de/zeiterfassung

• Time tracking also without an internet connection
• Location capture as proof for clients
• Direct DATEV interface as a licensed DATEV partner
• Shift planner and vacation planner
• Automatic break deduction can be set up

Check in a trial:

• The time tracking page does not mention team chat or documents. Ask about them directly if you need them.

Clockodo

According to its website, Clockodo offers working and project time tracking via browser, app and terminal, with vacation management, reports and payroll exports. It names agencies, IT companies, consultancies and law firms as target groups, and its industries page also lists construction sites, trades, field service and building cleaning. Features and prices with sources are in our comparison Clockodo alternative.

Strengths (according to the vendor’s website): Source: clockodo.com/de/preise

• Time clock via browser and app for iOS and Android
• App entries also work without an internet connection
• Clock in at a terminal by fingerprint, chip or RFID
• Customers, projects and services from the Pro plan
• Export to DATEV Lohn & Gehalt and other payroll software

Check in a trial:

• The vendor pages we checked do not mention job or shift scheduling or location capture at clock-in. Ask about them directly if you need them.

Aplano

According to its website, Aplano offers shift scheduling in the browser and via app, time tracking and absence management for various industries.

Strengths (according to the vendor’s website): Source: aplano.de/funktionen

• Shift scheduling in the browser, every employee sees the current schedule in the app
• Time tracking with geolocation
• Break rules and rest periods are taken into account
• Team chat and documents such as contracts and certificates
• Vacation accounts and absences

Check in a trial:

• The features page does not mention offline clock-in or DATEV export. Ask about them directly if you need them.
• According to the pricing page, time tracking, employee chat and personnel files are only in the Pro package.

clockin

clockin is a time tracking app for many industries. According to its website, its page for building cleaning describes how the crew clocks in by app right at the site and how every service is documented with a photo and signature. Features and prices with sources are in our comparison clockin alternative.

Strengths (according to the vendor’s website): Source: clockin.de/preise

• Book times by QR code directly to a site or room
• GPS location as proof for the client, from the Pro package
• The app also works offline, times and photos are synced later
• Send timesheets straight to DATEV, already in the Starter package
• 26 languages

Check in a trial:

• Shift scheduling is an add-on from €27 per month, and the digital planning board is marked as “coming soon”. According to the pricing page, the photo feature and digital customer sign-off only come with the Expert package.
• Prices according to the pricing page: Starter €3.99, Pro €6.99, Expert €9.99 net per user per month billed monthly, plus a €10 platform fee for fewer than 5 users. 14-day free trial.

HERO

HERO is software for trades businesses with its own page for building cleaners. According to its website, you plan cleaning jobs, record working hours on mobile and write invoices in one system.

Strengths (according to the vendor’s website): Source: hero-software.de/anwendungen/gebaeudereiniger-software

• Sites, teams and vehicles on a digital planning board, recurring appointments from daily to yearly
• Clock in and out by app, with an optional location point at start and stop, no continuous tracking
• Offline use on site
• Have proof of service signed on the spot
• Invoices in the same system
• App in 17 languages

Check in a trial:

• The pages we checked do not mention team chat. Ask about it directly if you need it.
• Prices according to the pricing page: HERO Select from €69 net per month billed annually (€79 billed monthly), with one standard licence, each additional app licence €22 or €25 respectively. Select is for businesses with up to 5 employees. 14-day free trial.

Comparison Table: Features in Detail

Not stated: not mentioned on the vendor pages we checked. That does not mean the feature is missing. All vendors checked on their own websites on 1 October 2026, the package row on 2 October 2026, Blink on 18 October 2026. Further sources for the table: blink.de/preise, crewmeister.com/de/schichtplaner, crewmeister.com/de/branchen/zeiterfassung-gebaeudereinigung, crewmeister.com/de/funktionsuebersicht, clockodo.com/de/branchen/zeiterfassung-gebaeudereiniger, aplano.de/reinigung, aplano.de/preise, clockin.de/branchen/facility-management.

What to Look for When Choosing

1. Industry Fit Over Feature Lists

A software can have hundreds of features on paper and still miss the needs of your cleaning business. Always check whether the solution was designed for your specific workflows: changing job sites, night shifts, site-based teams.

2. Employee Adoption

The best software is useless if your cleaning staff cannot operate it. Look for a simple, intuitive user interface. Multi-language support is not a luxury in building cleaning but a necessity. Many teams are internationally staffed.

3. Calculate Total Costs

Do not just compare the base price per employee. Factor in the costs for add-on modules, setup and training. If you need separate tools for job scheduling, time tracking and communication, the costs add up quickly.

An example with 50 employees: with photos and digital customer sign-off (clockin Expert, €9.99 per user billed monthly) you pay €499.50 per month. Crew Active costs €379 per month for 50 employees, with all features.

4. Integration With Existing Systems

Check whether the software integrates with your payroll, your ERP system or your tax advisor. DATEV export is a must for many companies in Germany.

5. Data Privacy and Server Location

Especially with GPS tracking and working time data, GDPR compliance is essential. Make sure that data is stored on German or European servers.

What Practice Shows

In our conversations with cleaning companies, we hear the same pain points time and again:

“We use three different tools and nothing works together.” Job scheduling runs in Excel, time tracking through an app and communication through private WhatsApp groups. The result: duplicate data entry, errors and frustration.

“Our employees don’t understand the app.” Complicated menus and missing translations lead to time entries being logged incorrectly or not at all. In the end, the back office spends hours correcting data.

“We can’t prove that our people were actually on site.” Without GPS clock-in with location capture, presence at the site remains a matter of trust. At the latest when a client files a complaint, this becomes a problem.

In Short: Our Recommendation and Two Alternatives

Our recommendation, plus two more providers worth a look (in no particular order). What each one offers according to its own website, and what it does not mention, is above and in the table:

1. Crew Active (our own product, our recommendation): job scheduling, GPS time tracking with location capture and direct chat between the office and staff and among colleagues in one app, works offline and in five languages. All features in every package, from €69 net per month, no minimum term, 1 month free trial.
2. Crewmeister: according to its website, time tracking also without internet, a shift planner and a direct DATEV interface.
3. Aplano: according to its website, shift scheduling and time tracking with geolocation, plus a team chat.

Details are in the descriptions above, and the comparison table shows the features at a glance.

Our Conclusion

For cleaning companies looking for job scheduling, time tracking and team communication in one solution, Crew Active is built for exactly that. The combination of location-verified clock-in, offline mode and multi-language support meets exactly the requirements that matter every day in building cleaning. On top of that come a fixed package price with all features and no minimum term.

The other providers set different priorities: Clockodo names agencies, IT companies and consultancies as target groups, Blink, also built for building cleaning, adds tickets and a customer portal and charges a package price plus a fee per user, and with clockin, scheduling and photos only come as an add-on or in the most expensive package.

What counts in the end is choosing a solution that your employees are happy to use and that actually reduces your administrative workload. This matters especially in building cleaning: learn more on our page on software for building cleaning.

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Compare for yourself: Try Crew Active free for 1 month with no obligation. See in your own business what difference an all-in-one solution makes.

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