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Service Autopilot is the best crew tracking tool for landscaping companies with 5 or more crews. It tracks GPS location, time per property, and labor costs per route. For smaller teams that want simple GPS and time tracking, Jobber is the easier and cheaper option.
Why Crew Tracking Matters for Landscaping
Labor is the biggest expense for landscaping companies. A crew that spends 45 minutes on a property you budgeted for 30 minutes is eating your profit. Multiply that across 20 properties a day and five crews, and the losses add up fast.
Crew tracking software shows you exactly where your crews are, how long they spend at each property, and how much each route costs in labor. This data helps you price jobs right, build efficient routes, and hold crews accountable.
1. Service Autopilot
Service Autopilot is built for lawn and landscape companies. The crew tracking features are the deepest on this list. You see GPS location for every crew in real time. You see time per property. And you see labor cost per route so you know which routes make money and which lose it.
The time tracking works from the crew's phone. They clock in when they arrive at a property and clock out when they leave. GPS confirms they were actually there. The data flows into reports that show you actual time vs budgeted time for every property.
Route optimization helps you build efficient daily routes. Less drive time means more properties per day. For companies with 5 or more crews running 15 to 25 stops a day, this saves real money on fuel and labor.
- GPS tracking with real-time crew location
- Time per property with actual vs budgeted comparison
- Route optimization reduces drive time
- Labor cost reporting per route and per property
- Learning curve is steeper than Jobber
- Interface is not the most modern
- Best features require higher-tier plans
2. Jobber
Jobber has GPS tracking on its Grow plan. You see where your crews are on a map. The time tracking logs when a crew arrives and leaves each job. It is simpler than Service Autopilot but covers the basics well.
For a small landscaping company with 1 to 3 crews, Jobber's tracking is enough. You can see if crews are on schedule and how long each job takes. The data helps you adjust pricing over time.
- Simple GPS tracking on a map
- Easy clock-in and clock-out from the app
- Most affordable option with full field service features
- Fastest to set up and learn
- GPS tracking only on the Grow plan ($199/mo)
- No route optimization
- Labor cost reporting is basic
3. Aspire
Aspire is an enterprise platform for large commercial landscaping companies. The crew tracking ties directly into job costing. You see labor hours per property, cost per hour, and actual margin vs estimated margin in real time.
For companies managing large commercial contracts, this level of detail is critical. You know exactly which properties are profitable and which are losing money. This data drives renewal negotiations and pricing adjustments.
- Deepest job costing tied to crew tracking
- Real-time margin tracking per property
- Built for large commercial operations
- Integrates with accounting systems
- Expensive for small companies
- Complex to set up and learn
- No public pricing
4. Crew Control
Crew Control is a standalone crew management tool. It handles scheduling, time tracking, and crew communication. If you already have a CRM or accounting tool and just need to add crew tracking, Crew Control works without replacing your existing stack.
The per-user pricing is affordable for small teams. Each crew leader gets the app on their phone. They see the daily route, clock in at each stop, and log notes or photos. You see everything from the office dashboard.
- Works as a standalone tool or add-on
- Affordable per-user pricing
- Simple crew scheduling and routing
- Photo and note logging at each stop
- Not a full field service platform
- No invoicing or payment features
- Smaller user base than Jobber or Service Autopilot
5. Busybusy
Busybusy offers a free time tracking app with GPS. Your crews clock in and clock out from their phone. GPS records their location. You see timesheets with location data. For landscaping companies that just want basic time tracking, this costs nothing.
The free plan covers basic time tracking and GPS. Paid plans add features like project costing, equipment tracking, and geofencing. But the free tier is enough for many small teams to get started.
- Free basic plan with GPS time tracking
- Simple clock-in and clock-out from phone
- Geofencing available on paid plans
- Works for crews in any trade
- Not landscaping-specific
- No scheduling or routing features on free plan
- No invoicing or client management
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Tool | Best For | Price | GPS | Route Optimization |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Autopilot | Multi-crew ops | $49/mo | Yes | Yes |
| Jobber | Small crews | $39/mo | Yes (Grow) | Yes |
| Aspire | Commercial | Contact | Yes | Yes |
| Crew Control | Standalone | $20/user/mo | Yes | Basic |
| Busybusy | Free tracking | Free | Yes | No |
How to Choose
If you have 5+ crews and need labor cost data: Service Autopilot. The deepest tracking for landscaping.
If you want simple tracking with full field service tools: Jobber. GPS plus scheduling, invoicing, and payments.
If you run large commercial contracts: Aspire. Job costing and margin tracking at the enterprise level.
If you just want free time tracking: Busybusy. GPS clock-in at no cost.
Service Autopilot is the best crew tracking tool for landscaping companies. It shows you GPS location, time per property, and labor cost per route. For small teams that want something simpler, Jobber covers the basics at a lower price. For free time tracking, Busybusy gets the job done.