GPS Tracking for Plumbing Companies: Types, Tips, & Tools

ByEric Czerwonka Last Updated
Illustrative image of GPS tracking for plumbing companies

GPS tracking helps plumbing companies save on costs, prevent theft, and optimize performance. This is done by using hardware, software, and/or a combination of both to track the locations of employees, tools, and company vehicles.

Let’s take a look at how plumbing companies are using GPS, the benefits of the three main types of GPS tracking for plumping companies, and how you can implement this type of tracking in your business.

GPS monitoring for employees

GPS tracking for your plumbing company’s employees helps reduce time theft. There are three primary ways plumbing business owners use GPS to track their employees:

  • Identify GPS locations when employees clock in/out: Logging an employee’s GPS location when they clock in or out helps you identify when employees have clocked in before they arrived at a job site or clocked out after they left the job site.
  • Set up geofences to prevent off-site punching: Geofences are digital radiuses you place around a job site. If an employee tries to clock in/out when they’re not within the geofence, the technology blocks the action. This is a step up from collecting location data because it prevents time theft automatically.
  • Track GPS location in real-time: See where all plumbers are located on a map while they’re working, or track their exact routes over the course of a work day. This can help you identify if employees are running errands while on the clock or sitting in their vehicles when they should be traveling to the next job.

GPS tracking helps you prevent time theft by helping you either identify when employees are clocking in/out from somewhere other than a job site or prevent it altogether. It can also help you make sure employees aren’t doing other things during the day when they’re being paid to work.

How it works

Using time tracking software, your employees download a mobile app to their phones that they use to clock in and out of work. When they clock in/out, the app uses the GPS tracking technology built into their phones to identify their locations.

If you’re just collecting locations upon clock in/out, the employee’s location is recorded in their timecards. If you’re using a geofence, the technology identifies the employee’s location, makes sure they’re within the geofence, and either allows them to clock in/out or prevents it if they’re not on-site.

With real-time GPS tracking, the app pings the employee’s phone at regular intervals to track their location throughout the day. This allows you to see where all employees are located at any time on a map — or access breadcrumbs to see what their movements were across an entire day.

Buddy Punch is a popular time-tracking app for plumbing companies. It has GPS location tracking, geofencing, and real-time GPS so you can pick and choose the features you need, as well as many other features to help you streamline payroll and reduce time theft. 

If you want to learn more about how Buddy Punch can help your business, start a free trial, watch a recorded demo, or request a personalized demo.

GPS tracking for company tools

While it may seem a little silly to tag all of your tools with GPS trackers, it can really help prevent loss and theft. It’s easy to leave a job site without remembering to grab small tools like wrenches, hose cutters, and pliers, and having to re-purchase these tools over and over again can add up.

With GPS tracking, you can see where all of your tools are located so you can recover them if they’re lost or stolen.

GPS tracking for tools is simple: Just head down to the nearest hardware store and pick up a package of Bluetooth trackers. Then, attach those to your tools, download the smartphone app that tracks them, and you’ll be able to see where all of your tools are located at any time.

Here are some tool GPS trackers to consider that are available at The Home Depot.

GPS tracking for company vehicles

There are a number of benefits of tracking your company-owned trucks and vans with GPS:

  • See where your vehicles are in case of theft: GPS tracking of your company-owned vehicles can help you recover your assets in case of theft. You may also receive a discount on your insurance for GPS-tracked company vehicles.
  • Optimize the routes your employees take to do their work: GPS tracking software often comes with features that help you optimize your routes automatically, which can improve your team’s productivity, save you time, and reduce your mileage and fuel costs.
  • Safer vehicle operation: Knowing that company vehicles are tracked by GPS can encourage your employees to avoid speeding and other poor driving behaviors that can be identified by GPS.
  • Better maintenance scheduling: GPS tracking can monitor the usage of your vehicles and notify you when it’s time to perform scheduled maintenance on them.

It’s important to note that laws regarding vehicle GPS tracking vary by state. In general, you can legally track company-owned vehicles but not employee-owned vehicles. And it’s best to get written consent from your employees to stay in compliance. Check the laws in your state for specific regulations that might apply.

How it works

Tracking vehicles with GPS requires a combination of both hardware and software. 

First, you purchase GPS tracking devices to install on your vehicles. These devices may need to be hardwired into your vehicles or plugged into an OBD-II port if your vehicles support it.

Once you have the hardware, you install it on your vehicles or have it professionally installed. Hardwired devices are usually placed under the dashboard or inside the engine bay.

After that, you’ll need to connect your vehicles to the software you’ll use to track it. The software is what will allow you to see where your vehicles are located and access any performance reports or route optimization tools that the software you selected offers.

Popular vehicle-tracking services include ClearPathGPS, Linxup, TrackYourTruck, and SureCam.

GPS tracking compliance

Before implementing GPS tracking for your plumbing company, make sure you understand the laws and regulations regarding employer GPS tracking in your state. 

In general, it’s best practice to inform your employees that they’ll be tracked by GPS by having them sign a written GPS tracking policy. This will prevent your employees from feeling like the tracking is an invasion of their privacy even if it’s not required by law, and it will protect you in states where employee consent is required.

You’ll also want to make sure that you’re only tracking employees’ locations while they’re on the clock, and you can generally only legally install GPS tracking hardware on company-owned equipment and vehicles.

And while it may feel initially like your employees will be against GPS tracking, a QuickBooks Time study shows that’s not necessarily the case. Employees don’t mind being tracked as long as they know it’s happening — 7 out of 10 employees say they’re fine with their employers knowing their location during work hours.