Frequently Asked Questions About CrewKeeper
CrewKeeper is a direct replacement for the paper forms and scattered notes commonly used to record and report the important administrative details of the day to day activity of a typical construction crew.
CrewKeeper provides:
CrewKeeper provides:
- Timesheets
- Issue Reports
- Expense Reports
- Safety Meeting Templates and Documentation
- Site Safety Audit Documentation
- Equipment Logs Recording
- Subcontractors onsite records
- Jobsite arrivals and departure confirmation
CrewKeeper will benefit anyone who manages a crew, tracking hours, project notes and daily issues. It is specifically developed by a Contractor/Subcontractor for same.
Have each of your foremen use CrewKeeper to record hours, send reports, meetings and inspection documentation that are organized and clear, in a timely manner. CrewKeeper entry is prioritized for real time input with simple interaction for even the less sophisticated user.
- Receive notifications of each crew arrivals and departures.
- Have daily timesheets by email to review before your crew leaves the site.
- Receive issue reports with pictures that you can forward directly to the responsible parties for response.
- Have accurate weekly time and expense reports sent to the office for easy entry into your payroll system.
- Receive timely and meaningful documentation of safety meetings and site audits
Stand out, toss the paper forms and the legal pad. Make impressions on the boss by using CrewKeeper to streamline your reporting regimen. When the office sees your reports, they'll ask why all the crews are not as efficient as you are.
You will not miss trying to recall details from the week and you won't bring your work home with you. Enter your crew and project info in real time, on site, and forget it. All your project activities will be in your pocket, ready for submittal and review at any time.
CYA. You will enjoy the silence when you stop the fingers pointed in your direction with a report that shows dated notes and status updates along with pictures and record of transmittals.
Go to sub meetings with a summary report of open issues, reference notes and job history at your fingertips.
You will not miss trying to recall details from the week and you won't bring your work home with you. Enter your crew and project info in real time, on site, and forget it. All your project activities will be in your pocket, ready for submittal and review at any time.
CYA. You will enjoy the silence when you stop the fingers pointed in your direction with a report that shows dated notes and status updates along with pictures and record of transmittals.
Go to sub meetings with a summary report of open issues, reference notes and job history at your fingertips.
We are not looking to reinvent the wheel. There are many apps that provide this feature. Some of them are free. Apple Find My Friends will allow you to see all your crewmen at any time and it is free. Other services will provide a historical breadcrumb trail, they generally involve subscriptions.
What you can do is receive a notification, via Twitter DM, every time your crew arrives and departs from the job. Timesheet reports list these events for easy confirmation that the recorded time is accurate.
What you can do is receive a notification, via Twitter DM, every time your crew arrives and departs from the job. Timesheet reports list these events for easy confirmation that the recorded time is accurate.
All CrewKeeper data is per user. There is no backend server for collecting and importing, syncing or sharing multiple crews to one system. This would involve some kind of subscription based model. We are not that.
in Release version, all output is via pdf file for viewing, emailing and printing options. Expect to see, in updates, export and transfer options to various formats for spreadsheets and payroll services.
You might consider, however, that there is some benefit to an emailed document giving an administrator a chance to review the information prior to entry into the payroll system. We have reservations about timecards zipped into accounting systems with no discerning eyes having had last look.
in Release version, all output is via pdf file for viewing, emailing and printing options. Expect to see, in updates, export and transfer options to various formats for spreadsheets and payroll services.
You might consider, however, that there is some benefit to an emailed document giving an administrator a chance to review the information prior to entry into the payroll system. We have reservations about timecards zipped into accounting systems with no discerning eyes having had last look.
Try CrewKeeper Intro, a free version with full functionality available now. Intro produces reports with an App Store link and watermarks. If you do not need all the reports and functionality that CrewKeeper offers, you can use in-app purchases to remove the links and watermarks for only the reports that you do want to use.
Note: All future upgrades and new features will always be free in the full version of CrewKeeper. If you think you may want the full functionality, you will save money by purchasing it now. The price will be increasing as CrewKeeper evolves to include all that we have in development.
Note: All future upgrades and new features will always be free in the full version of CrewKeeper. If you think you may want the full functionality, you will save money by purchasing it now. The price will be increasing as CrewKeeper evolves to include all that we have in development.
CrewKeeper is fully functional as purchased, there are no in-app purchases and updates will not cost any additional funds. For the best value, purchase the full version in order to enjoy all future upgrades for free. The price will increase as more features are added, lock in the lowest price now.
CrewKeeper Intro includes all the functionality of the full version but reports output with promotional App Store links and watermarks. In-App purchases allow removal of the links and watermarks in order to select only the reporting features you are interested in.
CrewKeeper Intro includes all the functionality of the full version but reports output with promotional App Store links and watermarks. In-App purchases allow removal of the links and watermarks in order to select only the reporting features you are interested in.
There are no advertisements in CrewKeeper.
Views and prompts are viewable in English and Spanish. Report output is English only in this version.
CrewKeeper has little or no effect on iPhone battery life with normal usage.
Find notifications settings in the iPhone settings app. Turn notifications off for CrewKeeper.
There are two places to look for CrewKeeper settings.
- In iPhone Settings App, outside of CrewKeeper. These are global settings that are meant to be set and forgotten.
- From QuickTile shortcut menu. These are settings you may want to look at or experiment with while in the app. QuickTiles appear whenever you press and hold for an extended duration anywhere in most views of CrewKeeper.
CrewKeeper is not optimized for the iPad. It will work, but it will be constricted to the iPhone format. At this time we are working on an iPad version with the following considerations:
The iPad version of CrewKeeper will be focused differently. We see it used as a tool for exploration, analysis and more flexible reporting. We see possibilities to expand on the real time data generated on the iPhone and we are working to provide that capability.
- In testing, iPad just doesn't offer the same convenience and accessibility that makes the iPhone particularly suited for the real time entry model we envision for CrewKeeper.
- It would not be useful to have an iPad version without data. Being that CrewKeeper data is more suited for entry using iPhone, that data would need to be shared between devices in order to be useful on iPad. The obvious solution would involve shared data on iCloud. So far Apple's current implementation of the database applications in iCloud is something less than reliable. We are excited about related improvements coming in iOS7.
The iPad version of CrewKeeper will be focused differently. We see it used as a tool for exploration, analysis and more flexible reporting. We see possibilities to expand on the real time data generated on the iPhone and we are working to provide that capability.
So far, over two years of actual usage in my own company, with many reports including photos, dozens of crewmen and numerous equipment entries my own iPhone reports CrewKeeper using 24mb of data. The app requires around 10mb for installation. I have many apps in the hundreds of mb range so I do not consider CrewKeeper a significant space user on my device. Users will experience varied levels of space usage based on the number of photos and entries saved.
- Go directly to New Timesheet
- Create new project from current location
- Enter odometer miles
- Go directly to new Issue
- Go directly to new expense entry
Additionally there is a second page of tiles for utilities including:
- Settings in-App (more in iPhone Settings)
- Export and Backup options
- Left or Right handed setting (aligns lists and pickers out from under your thumb)
When you touch the row for a timesheet, one of two things happens:
No Time Entered
If there are presently no time entries, you will be presented with the time entry view where you select the crew members and set their time info.
Existing Time Entries
If there are already time entries for the timesheet, you will see a list of those entries. You can select to edit a single entry or touch edit above to batch edit all or some of them.
Purchases are entered same as an issue.
From the issues list, touch the Create New Issue Button.
Tip:
Tip:
- You can go directly to new purchase from any view using the Quicktiles Menu
Select project to assign the purchase to.
Tip:
Tip:
- If your issue list is filtered for your current project, you will skip this step, the purchase will be assigned to that project by default. You do have the opportunity to change it after completion.
Touch purchase in the toolbar of the type picker.
Enter vendor or accept default.
Default vendor will be based on your location. If you have entered a purchase previously at your current location, CrewKeeper will assume the same vendor, account and description. You only need to enter the purchase amount.
Default vendor will be based on your location. If you have entered a purchase previously at your current location, CrewKeeper will assume the same vendor, account and description. You only need to enter the purchase amount.
Enter amount of purchase and the account.
Touch Save to complete entry.
The purchase edit view presents additional fields for comments, equipment, etc. These are optional entries.
Touch Save to complete entry.
The purchase edit view presents additional fields for comments, equipment, etc. These are optional entries.
CrewKeeper will log arrivals and departures only to and from active jobs. If you no longer are working on a project, move it to the inactive projects list.
All lists in CrewKeeper support standard Apple iOS convention of swipe to delete. In the project list, the swipe gesture serves multiple purposes depending on the current tab you are displaying.
When viewing Active or Inactive Projects, swipe will move them between active and inactive status.
In order to delete a project you must be in All Projects mode. In this mode, swipe will delete the project altogether. Note that when a project is deleted, all associated timesheets, issues and reports go with it. This is not reversible, the data cannot be recovered. You will receive warning prompts saying so and you will have the opportunity to cancel if you reach this point and change your mind.
Note also that, if you do not want any notifications from CrewKeeper, you can remove CrewKeeper from the Notifications Center in iPhone Settings. If you do not want CrewKeeper to bother with any location processes, you can disable the app in iPhone Settings Location permissions.
When viewing Active or Inactive Projects, swipe will move them between active and inactive status.
In order to delete a project you must be in All Projects mode. In this mode, swipe will delete the project altogether. Note that when a project is deleted, all associated timesheets, issues and reports go with it. This is not reversible, the data cannot be recovered. You will receive warning prompts saying so and you will have the opportunity to cancel if you reach this point and change your mind.
Note also that, if you do not want any notifications from CrewKeeper, you can remove CrewKeeper from the Notifications Center in iPhone Settings. If you do not want CrewKeeper to bother with any location processes, you can disable the app in iPhone Settings Location permissions.
Starting from the timesheets list view. Touch the action button at top left.
The action menu appears, choose to email or to preview the timesheets.
You are returned to the timesheets list, but now in selection mode. Each selected timesheet will show a check mark.
Select as many timesheets as you wish to include in your report.
Any site safety audits or safety meetings attached to the timesheets will also be included in the document.
Touch the Go button at top right when you are finished making your selection
Select as many timesheets as you wish to include in your report.
Any site safety audits or safety meetings attached to the timesheets will also be included in the document.
Touch the Go button at top right when you are finished making your selection
If you selected preview option, your report will appear for review. You may share by printing, emailing or opening in another app that accepts pdf documents.
Touch the action menu at top right to find those options.
If you had selected email option, a mail send window appears, report is attached.
Touch the action menu at top right to find those options.
If you had selected email option, a mail send window appears, report is attached.
From the issues list touch the filter button.
You may also tap the Issues Tab on the Tabbar to go to the issues filters.
You may also tap the Issues Tab on the Tabbar to go to the issues filters.
Issue list and report filters are available in this view. Touch the Time Period Field to set the period you wish to report on.
You can touch View Report button for default period (This Week).
You can touch View Report button for default period (This Week).
Choose the time frame for your expense report.
Touch Done and then touch View Reports.
Touch Done and then touch View Reports.
Select expense report.
You will be presented with an expense report for the time period chosen in a quickview window.
In the quickview window you may share by printing, emailing or opening in another app that accepts pdf documents. Touch the action menu at top right to find those options.
From the issues list, select an issue to view details. Touch anywhere in the content of the row.
Touch the Action button at the bottom left.
Choose from the reports listed in the action menu.
- Issue Summary- detailed report with history and pictures
- RFI Request- request for information
- Change Order- inoperative in current version, working on it
Selected report is presented in a quickview window.
Touch the Action menu at the top right for share options.
Touch the Action menu at the top right for share options.
Choose to print, email or open in any app that accepts pdf documents.
From the issues list, touch the back button at top left to see filters view.
You can also touch the Issue tab of the tab bar at the bottom twice from any other view to reach the issues filters.
You can also touch the Issue tab of the tab bar at the bottom twice from any other view to reach the issues filters.
Select the project, date and various other filter settings as appropriate.
Note: Setting all projects will report all open issues from all active projects.
Setting a single project will include all issues for that project regardless of open status.
Not all filter fields apply to all reports or to the list.
Select View Report button when done.
Note: Setting all projects will report all open issues from all active projects.
Setting a single project will include all issues for that project regardless of open status.
Not all filter fields apply to all reports or to the list.
Select View Report button when done.
Select Issue Report.
See preview of issue summary report.
Touch the action menu at the top right to see share options.
Touch the action menu at the top right to see share options.
Select from the share menu to print, copy, email or open in any app that accepts pdf formatted documents.
CrewKeeper is intended for real time entry. This is not an application that is meant for sitting down at the end of the workweek to log all your information. The power of CrewKeeper is that the iPhone is in your pocket at all times.
When you arrive on a jobsite, start a timesheet. If this is your first time on the job or if your crew has changed, set a default crew.
When you encounter a notable event or problem, make the issue in CrewKeeper. Add a picture if warranted. Don't wait, it only takes a few seconds.
When you finish a conversation or receive a directive, make the note updating the open issue. Be sure to state who gave the direction and how.
When you resolve an issue, mark it off (Follow Up- No).
When you make a purchase, enter it before leaving the property.
When you quit for the day, enter time for your crew. This should be done before you pull out. Make a short note about the work done that day.
Thumb through the open issue list at the end of every shift. Update comments and status of any issues that were addressed in the course of the day. It helps you to maintain focus and not to leave orphans behind.
Make a reminder in iPhone Reminders app, set it to remind you on arrival to home. The reminder is to enter odometer miles. Use it to get in the habit of entering mileage on a daily basis.
CrewKeeper Intro is fully functional and usable for entry and viewing your construction documentation. The only limitation is that reports output from Intro will have a promotional link to the App Store and watermarks across the body. You can select purchase options to remove these for all or some of the reports as you desire.
CrewKeeper Intro allows free Try Before You Buy functionality. To remove the watermarks and links from reports in CrewKeeper Intro perform the following steps:
- Long press anywhere on any view to enable Quicktiles menu.
- Touch the grey tile with "..." to view the utilities page.
- Touch the top right tile with the Credit Card icon to view purchase options.
- Touch individual rows in the list to see description information and option to purchase from iTunes.
- When you have finished a transaction, your reports output for that group will be watermark and link free. You can select another group or close the list.
Make sure you are signed into the iTunes store with the account with which you made the purchase and that your device has an internet connection. If your purchases do not show, touch "Restore Purchases" item in the in-app purchase list.
Yes, all future reports and new features will be added to Intro as additional purchases in the in-app purchase store.
The best value will always be the full version. If you think you will use all the reporting selections and you wish to continue to receive future upgrades and features for free, you should opt for the full, unlocked, version of CrewKeeper. The pricing for CrewKeeper will rise as more functionality is added, so purchase now to lock in the lowest price.
The best value will always be the full version. If you think you will use all the reporting selections and you wish to continue to receive future upgrades and features for free, you should opt for the full, unlocked, version of CrewKeeper. The pricing for CrewKeeper will rise as more functionality is added, so purchase now to lock in the lowest price.