The Specialty Contractor's Smart Guide to Reducing Waste and Gaining Profit 

Paper is your costliest (and worst) employee 

It's 6 a.m. on a Tuesday morning. You're rushing to get your crew ready for another demanding day on the jobsite when you realize a timecard from last week is missing. Again. You dig through your truck, check every pocket and still nothing. That single piece of paper holds the key to paying your employee accurately, and now it's gone. 

This scenario plays out in construction companies every single day. If you're still using paper to track your workers' time and attendance, you've unknowingly hired the worst employee of your career. Paper doesn't call in sick, but it sure doesn't show up when you need it most. 

Paper's weak and doesn't show up when you need it 

When was the last time you heard someone say, “Wow, this paper is indestructible”? Never. Because paper isn’t just fragile, it’s a liability waiting to happen.  

All it takes is a strong wind, a small fire, rain or a washing machine (did you check your back pocket before you threw your jeans in the wash?) to damage a key document you need.  

Documents easily get lost, crumpled or become hard to read if ink gets smeared or the lead gets erased. Without proper documentation, you might leave your business open to noncompliance if the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigates.  

REMEMBER! According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “records on which wage computations are based should be retained for two years, i.e., time cards and piece work tickets, wage rate tables, work and time schedules and records of additions to or deductions from wages.” 

But what happens when Mother Nature decides your filing cabinet isn’t stormproof? 

1 in 10 small businesses experience natural disaster losses yearly. Congress.gov

It can take weeks or even months to recover from a disaster.  

But even if disaster never strikes, you know the frustration of hunting through stacks of paper for that one crucial document. Hours spent looking for paperwork could have been used to bid on new projects or solve real problems.  

Key Statistics About Paper Costs 

• Each document costs $20 to file 
• Each misfiled document costs $120 
• Each lost document costs $220 

Paper doesn't always tell the truth 

Here's the uncomfortable reality every construction manager knows but rarely talks about: paper timecards are built on the honor system. And in a business where every minute toward your bottom line, that's a dangerous game to play. 

Hardworking team members may genuinely believe they arrived at 7 am sharp every day, but they’re actually consistently 10 minutes late or leaving five minutes early. It's likely not malicious; most of us have terrible memories when it comes to precise time tracking. 

Then there's the buddy punching problem. When one employee asks a buddy to mark him there on time or that he stayed all day, it seems harmless enough. But according to ResearchGate.net, buddy punching costs you $1,560 per employee each year. 

24% of workers pad their timecards by 4.5 hours each week. Business.com

That's not just statistics, that's money walking out of your pocket every single payday. 

Imagine discovering that half your crew has been inflating their hours by just 15 minutes a day. It doesn't sound like much until you realize those 15 minutes per person add up to thousands of dollars in losses by year's end. 

Calculate Your Annual Loss: 

• Gross payroll costs (GPC): ___________ 
• Annual costs of payroll theft: 7% 
• (GPC) ________ x 7% = ________ annual loss 

Time Theft Statistics 

• Buddy punching costs $1,560 per employee annually (ResearchGate.net)  
• 24% of hourly workers admit to time exaggeration  
• Workers pad timecards by 4.5 hours weekly (Business.com) 

Paper's got a PR problem 

Remember when your biggest client mentioned they were prioritizing contractors with "sustainable business practices"? Or when that LEED-certified project required all subcontractors to demonstrate their commitment to environmental responsibility? 

Your paper-heavy processes aren't just inefficient, they're becoming a liability in a world where clients increasingly care about their environmental impact. Every week, you're literally throwing away opportunities along with those stacks of used timecards. 

Environmental Impact Facts: 

• 10,000 sheets used per office worker yearly  
• 45% of office paper goes to printing  
• US consumes 90 million tons of paper annually  
• 66% office paper recycling rate  
• 1,500 sheets printed monthly per office  
• $1,000 average annual paper cost per company 

Source: Gitnux 

The Digital Economy is Changing Everything 

While you've been wrestling with paper timecards and lost documents, the construction industry around you has been quietly transforming. Your competitors aren't just building better, they're operating smarter. 

Why digital solutions beat paper to a pulp... 

Safety is built in 

Remember the sleepless nights during your last DOL audit? Frantically searching through boxes of papers, praying you had the right documentation? Digital solutions eliminate that anxiety entirely. 

When everything is stored securely in the cloud, you're not just protecting your records from fires and floods, you're protecting your peace of mind. Your digital records are saved in a centralized data center and accessible for as long as you need them if you ever face an employee dispute or an audit.   

You save money in the long run 

Digital isn't just about convenience, it's about survival. While you're paying overtime to your office manager who spends hours each week chasing down incomplete timecards, your digital-savvy competitors are using that same labor budget to bid on more projects. 

Digital solutions don't just reduce errors; they reveal opportunities. Historical data shows you exactly which crews perform best on which types of jobs, which weather conditions slow you down most and which clients pay fastest. Armed with this intelligence, you make decisions based on facts, not gut feelings. 

You become a machine 

The best construction companies run like well-oiled machines, and machines don't waste time on paperwork. When your time tracking becomes automatic, your superintendents stop playing delivery driver, running from jobsite to jobsite collecting papers. Instead, they focus on what they do best: managing people and projects. 

Time spent collecting and organizing time cards can now be spent walking jobsites, catching problems early and mentoring younger crew members. Projects get finished ahead of schedule because workers are present where it matters most. 

The most dangerous words in construction are "We've always done it this way." While you're clinging to familiar processes, every day of delay is costing you money you can't afford to lose. 

Calculate Your Total Paper Costs: 

The real cost of paper isn't just the paper itself. It's the hidden hemorrhaging happening across your entire operation: 

• Paper Costs = Monthly Paper Costs x 12 months 
• File Storage Costs = Number of Filing Cabinets x 16 sq. ft. x Cost per sq. ft. of Office Space 
• Third-Party Storage Costs = Monthly Rent x 12 months 
• Printing Costs = Printer Rental Price + Annual Printer Maintenance Fees + Monthly Ink Cost x 12 months 
• Print-Related Labor Costs = Labor Hours Spent Managing Paper x Average Hourly Wage x Number of Workdays per Year 

Total spend on paper annually: $ _______ + Time theft loss (7% of AGP) = _______ money lost! 

Bottom line? 

Every day you wait is a day your competitors pull further ahead. The contractor who embraces digital solutions today is the one who wins the profitable projects tomorrow. The question isn't whether you can afford to upgrade – it's whether you can afford not to. 

When you make the switch, you'll discover something unexpected: the best return on investment isn't always measurable in dollars. It's the peace of mind of knowing your records are secure, your processes are accurate, and your business is ready for whatever tomorrow brings. 

How efficient is your current business? 

Every contractor has blind spots when it comes to wasting time and money. This short, six question quiz will show you where yours might be hiding.

1. Are your current operational processes manual (paper and pen) or digital?

A: Manual 

B: Digital

2. Do you track your employee's time and attendance online or on paper?

A: Paper 

B: Online

3. Do your superintendents (or you) need to drive from jobsite to jobsite to pick up your timecards or other paper documents?

A: Yes 

B: No

4. Are your employee's timecards or attendance paper logs alwaysaccurateand complete? 

A: No 

B: Yes

5. Does your accounting process take a few hours or a few days to get done?

A: A few days 

B: A few hours

6. How much do inaccurate timecards cost you per year?

A: I don't know 

B: Nothing, because every time card is filled out and correct 

If you answered A to any of the questions above, we can help shorten your processes, increase your efficiency and save you time and money. Interested? Give us a call! 

About ExakTime by Arcoro 

ExakTime is Arcoro's award-winning time tracking software. It was developed specifically for the construction industry to help companies accurately track worker hours and pay employees. 

Launched more than 25 years ago, it is the construction industry's most used time and attendance system, tracking close to a million workers everyday with cloud-based mobile technology and rugged timekeeping solutions. 

Discover more at Arcoro.com/ExakTime.