Labour dockets are the daily record of who worked on site, what they did, what equipment they used, and how long they were there. They're the basis for progress claims, variation substantiation, and day-works reconciliation. And on the vast majority of construction projects in Australia, they're still managed with paper forms, clipboards, and spreadsheets.
The problems with that approach are well understood by anyone who's had to reconcile a month of handwritten dockets at claim time. This article covers what a labour docket app does, why it matters, and what to look for when choosing one.
What is a labour docket?
A labour docket (sometimes called a day-works docket, daily docket, or time sheet) records the labour, plant, and materials used on a specific date for a specific activity. It typically includes:
- Date and shift details — when the work was performed
- Personnel — names, trades, and hours worked for each person on site
- Plant and equipment — what machinery was used, for how long, and whether it was wet or dry hire
- Materials — what was consumed or installed
- Description of work — what activity was performed
- Weather conditions — relevant for claims involving delays or disruptions
- Signatures — both the contractor's representative and the superintendent or principal's representative
Labour dockets are contractually significant. Under most Australian standard form contracts (AS 2124, AS 4000, GC21), dayworks and cost-plus claims require contemporaneous records. A labour docket completed on the day, signed by both parties, is the strongest evidence you can produce. A docket written from memory two weeks later and never countersigned is worth very little.
Why paper dockets fail
Paper labour dockets have been the standard for decades. They work — technically. But they fail in ways that are expensive and difficult to fix after the fact:
Illegible handwriting. The docket says either "8 hours" or "3 hours." The superintendent's signature looks like it could be anyone's. The equipment description says something that might be "excavator" or "elevator."
Lost dockets. The paper copy was in the site office. The site office got cleaned out. Or the docket was in someone's ute and went through the wash. A missing docket for a day-works claim is a missing day of evidence.
Delayed completion. The foreman was supposed to fill out dockets daily. Instead, they filled out a week's worth on Friday afternoon from memory. The hours are approximations. The details are vague. The countersignature was obtained under time pressure at a site meeting.
No photos or context. The docket says "6 hours additional excavation due to unforeseen rock." There's no photo of the rock. There's no GPS location. There's no reference to the instruction that directed the additional work.
Reconciliation pain. At the end of the month, someone has to take a stack of paper dockets and reconcile them against timesheets, equipment hire records, and material delivery dockets. This process can take days and produces a spreadsheet that both parties inevitably disagree about.
What a labour docket app does
A labour docket app replaces the paper form with a digital workflow that's designed to be completed on site, on the day, with minimal effort. The core functionality:
Real-time capture
The supervisor or foreman opens the app on their phone or tablet, selects the project and date, and records personnel, equipment, and materials as they go. No clipboard. No pen. No carbon copies.
Structured data entry
Instead of a blank text field, the app provides structured fields for personnel (name, trade, hours), equipment (type, hours, wet/dry), and materials (description, quantity, unit). This means the data is consistent and can be aggregated automatically.
Photo and location evidence
Attach photos directly to the docket — showing the work being performed, the conditions on site, or the issue that caused the additional work. Some apps capture GPS coordinates and timestamps automatically, creating evidence that's difficult to dispute.
Electronic signatures
Both the contractor's and the superintendent's representatives can sign the docket electronically on the device. The signature is timestamped and linked to the docket, creating a defensible record without printing, signing, and scanning.
Automatic registers
Every docket is logged automatically with its date, personnel, equipment, and sign-off status. There's no manual register to maintain. The claim submission process becomes a matter of filtering and exporting, not manual reconciliation.
PDF export
When you need to submit dockets as part of a progress claim or provide them to an auditor, the app generates professional PDF exports — formatted consistently, legible, and complete with all signatures and attachments.
What to look for in a labour docket app
Not all labour docket apps are created equal. Some are standalone time-tracking tools that happen to work on construction sites. Others are part of broader project management platforms that treat dockets as an afterthought. Here's what matters:
Works offline. Construction sites frequently have poor or no cellular coverage. The app must work offline and sync when connectivity returns. If it requires a constant internet connection, it's useless on most remote sites.
Simple enough for a foreman. The person filling out the docket is not a project manager sitting at a desk. They're a trade supervisor standing in the rain. The app needs to be fast, obvious, and require minimal typing.
Supports equipment and materials. A pure labour time-tracking app misses half the picture. Plant and equipment hours are often the most expensive component of a day-works claim. The app needs dedicated fields for equipment and materials, not just personnel.
Electronic sign-off. Both parties need to be able to sign electronically on the same device or via a sent link. If the app requires the superintendent to have their own login and navigate to a separate system to countersign, it won't happen.
Integrates with ITPs and site instructions. Labour dockets don't exist in isolation. The work recorded on a docket is often the result of a site instruction, tied to an ITP inspection point, or part of a variation. An app that connects dockets to the broader project documentation saves significant time during claims.
Exports clean PDFs. The docket data needs to be exportable in a format suitable for progress claims and contractual submissions. A CSV export is useful for internal analysis, but a professional PDF with signatures is what gets submitted.
The cost of doing nothing
The real cost of paper dockets isn't the paper. It's the time spent reconciling, the claims you can't fully substantiate, and the disputes that arise from incomplete records.
Consider a typical scenario: a contractor performs three days of directed day-works to address unforeseen ground conditions. They have:
- No signed labour dockets (the super was busy)
- An email thread that vaguely references the issue
- A site instruction that was issued verbally and never documented
- Handwritten dockets completed a week later
Under most contracts, the contractor's day-works claim requires contemporaneous records agreed by both parties. Without signed dockets, the claim is weak. The principal disputes the hours. The contractor can't prove who was on site or what equipment was used. A $30,000 claim becomes a $15,000 settlement and a damaged relationship.
That scenario plays out on construction projects every month. A labour docket app doesn't just save time — it protects the money you've already earned.
Getting started
HoldPoint QA includes labour dockets alongside ITPs and site instructions in a single project workspace. Each docket supports personnel, equipment, and materials tracking, electronic signatures from both parties, photo attachments, and PDF export. Dockets auto-save as they're filled out, so no work is lost if the app closes or the device loses power.