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How do contractors track time and materials?
Most contractors still track T&M with a mix of paper pads, phone photos, Excel, and whatever portal the GC requires. The ones who get paid cleanly treat tracking as a ticket loop: capture, rate sheet, signature, bill - not as a timesheet export.
What tracking has to produce
T&M tracking is only useful if it produces a billable record: labor, equipment, materials, rates, and an approval. Payroll hours alone are not enough. Progress notes alone are not enough. The commercial document is the T&M ticket or LEM.
Common methods in the field
Paper carbon tickets are fast and fragile. Spreadsheets centralize numbers but lose signatures. GC portals may accept uploads without structuring your rate sheet. Purpose-built T&M / LEM software captures structured lines on site, locks rates to the project, and keeps the signature with the ticket.
A practical loop for subcontractors
Agree the rate sheet before the extra starts. Write the ticket the day the work happens. Get the client signature while people are still on site. Resolve revisions on the ticket. Invoice from the approved record. Public charge-out benchmarks in Rates by SubTrack help sanity-check classes; they are not a substitute for your contracted sheet.
Where software helps - and where it does not
Software will not fix an unsigned verbal extra. It will stop re-keying, lost pads, and rate drift. Subcontractors who only need that loop rarely need a full GC project-management suite. See time and material tracking for subcontractors for the buyer framing.
FAQ
How do most contractors track T&M today?
A mix of paper tickets, photos, spreadsheets, and GC portals. Purpose-built T&M / LEM software replaces that mix with one structured ticket from field to invoice.
Is a timesheet enough for T&M tracking?
No. Timesheets feed payroll. T&M billing needs equipment, materials, rates, and usually a client signature on a ticket.
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