SmartTimer: an idea born on job sites, a tool that evolves with the trade

SmartTimer presentation retained in the ProgExpert portfolio. This overview visual does not represent only the January 2023 version.

A job site produces much more than construction work. It produces hours to allocate, tasks to coordinate, photos to preserve and information to share. When these elements remain scattered, it becomes harder to understand what is moving forward and maintain an overall view.

SmartTimer was built around this reality. The product’s story begins in construction, with a desire to bring management closer to the field. The addition of mobile clock-in, listed in the January 27, 2023 iOS version, is one step in this journey to which ProgExpert contributes as the application developer.

Origins in a construction business

SmartTimer’s website identifies Denis Audet as its founder. His accounting experience and observations of the needs of F. Audet Construction, his son’s business, informed the project. The starting point is concrete: managing job sites, labour and projects is a significant part of a contractor’s daily life.

The history page dates the design of the first tools, including timesheets and checklists, to as early as 2016. The approach was therefore rooted in a trade before becoming a collection of features. It starts with what teams need to accomplish and the information needed to support them.

Connecting hours to the project that gives them meaning

The current product overview describes electronic timesheets, schedules accessible by phone, banked hours and permissions tailored to responsibilities. These features answer different but related questions: who is working, on what, when and with which access?

A recorded hour becomes more useful when it can be linked to an activity and a project. This organization then makes it possible to review the work completed. For business software, the quality of data entry and the quality of consultation are thus part of the same design challenge.

Mobile clock-in: a specific milestone in 2023

The App Store retains an initial SmartTimer version dated July 2018. Several updates follow, then version 3 announces the mobile clock-in module on January 27, 2023. This milestone documents an evolution of the existing product.

Mobile brings data entry closer to where work happens. SmartTimer’s website describes electronic clock-in and the receipt of hours associated with tasks. For users, the benefit is immediately understandable: being able to submit work information in a setting where a desk and computer are not always within reach.

A project’s story is told in more than hours

The current website also presents project photo storage, internal messaging and quality control forms. These features complement tracking: an image records a step, a message shares information and a form structures a check.

These uses show why software must account for several roles at once. The person working on site, the person coordinating the team and the person reviewing costs do not necessarily seek the same level of detail. Information organization must allow movement between these views.

Evolving the product without erasing its chronology

In its history, SmartTimer then presents a project planner based on a Gantt chart, introduced in 2024. This stage is distinct from the mobile clock-in announced in 2023. Together, these milestones show a product growing with needs, from the first timesheets to a broader planning view.

For ProgExpert, the project illustrates an important idea: a management tool becomes more relevant when it stays connected to actual work. The phone, tracking screens and reports gain their meaning through this continuity. The good news is an idea from the field finding concrete ways to develop.