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ServiceM8 how-to

Why is ServiceM8 automated time tracking not working on site?

ServiceM8 Automated Time Tracking only fires when the iPhone or iPad gives ServiceM8 location access set to Always with Precise Location on, the job is scheduled or allocated to that tech for today, and its address was picked from the dropdown. It is not instant: ServiceM8 waits until it is confident, then backdates the time.

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Yes, natively

Yes, natively on iPhone and iPad, once location is Always with Precise Location, jobs are scheduled to the tech with a picked address, and the office location is set.

Step by step

  1. On each tech's iPhone or iPad, go to Settings, ServiceM8, Location, set Allow Location Access to Always and switch Precise Location on.
  2. Update the ServiceM8 app to the latest version from the App Store.
  3. In the device Settings, under ServiceM8, check automatic time tracking is switched on (ServiceM8's articles label it Automated Time Tracking, or Time Tracking, Automatic). It can be turned off per user.
  4. In the Online Dashboard, set the office location in Preferences, Company Information.
  5. Schedule every job to the tech who will attend, with the address searched and selected from the dropdown, not typed in by hand.
  6. Look at the Staff Schedules and Dispatch Map views on the Dispatch Board. ServiceM8 highlights staff who have not given enough location access.
  7. Run a test: schedule a job at a known address to one tech for today, have them drive there and wait a few minutes, then confirm the check in and its backdated time.
  8. When a check in is missed, have the tech tap Start job on the job card and accept the offer to wind back the check in time.
  9. Fix any remaining gaps online: Job card, Billing tab, Job Time for job time, and Reports, All Timesheets, Shift Time for clock on and off.

Gotchas

  • ServiceM8 checks a tech out automatically when they leave the job, even if they checked in by hand. A trip to a supplier ends the check in, and ServiceM8 offers to add the trip time back at check out.
  • Any automatic action can be undone by tapping its push notification.
  • By default only the Business Owner role can edit job time. Give office staff a custom security role with Allow Check-in data to be edited enabled rather than owner access.
  • Converting job time to an invoice line rounds up to your rounding setting, so 1 hour 10 minutes becomes 2 hours at 60 minute rounding.
  • The Automated Timesheet Sync sends shift times only, rounded to the nearest 15 minutes or exact, and supports Xero in Australia, NZ and the UK, QuickBooks Online and MYOB Business in Australia.
  • ServiceM8 has no documented setting to stop a tech checking in manually before arriving. Use the Job Checkout Report and GPS arrival times to review.

What the official help article misses: It lists the requirements but not as a checklist for when tracking fails, says nothing about Android or Low Power Mode, and does not mention that only Business Owners can edit job time by default. Read ServiceM8's article.

Why it did not trigger once on site

Automated Time Tracking is not a simple geofence around the job address. ServiceM8 decides whether to check a tech in or out, or clock them on or off, from a mix of GPS location, time of day and the jobs scheduled to that person. When one of those inputs is missing, nothing happens, and it looks like the feature is broken.

Work through these in order. First, the phone: ServiceM8 needs location access set to Always, not While Using the App, with Precise Location on. Apple's own definition of While Using the App is that location is only available while the app is on screen, which rules out automatic check in from a phone in a pocket. Second, the job: ServiceM8 only checks a tech in automatically at a job allocated or scheduled to them for the current day, or one they navigated to from inside ServiceM8. An unscheduled job, or one scheduled to someone else, will not trigger. Third, the address: it has to be searched and selected from the address dropdown when the job is created, so ServiceM8 has a real location to match. Fourth, the office: set its location in Preferences, Company Information, or automatic clock on and off at the start and end of the day will misfire.

Two more things catch people out. ServiceM8 does not share location while a tech is on a break or clocked off, so a tech who forgot to end a break is invisible. And the check in is deliberately slow: ServiceM8 waits until it is confident the tech has arrived, then rolls the time back to the actual arrival. A tech who opens the app a minute after parking will not see a check in yet.

Shift time and job time are different records

Many complaints about timesheets are really about which time is which. Clock On and Off is shift time for payroll, recorded through My Shift in the app's Activity tab. Check In and Out is job time, recorded per job for billing labour. Automated Time Tracking handles both, but they land in different reports.

The Weekly Timesheet report and the Automated Timesheet Sync to Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks Online use shift time only. The Activity Timesheet report shows check ins as well. The Team Timesheet (Reports, All Timesheets) shows both for every staff member for a week and lets you switch between them. If a payroll timesheet in Xero looks short, check the shift times, not the job check ins.

Android, battery settings and the manual fallback

ServiceM8 documents Automated Time Tracking setup for iPhone and iPad only, and its Shift GPS report is only available for staff on the iOS app. The Android app lists tracking navigation time and time on site for billing, and clocking on and off, but the help centre does not describe the same automatic check in on Android. If your team is mixed, test on an Android phone before relying on it.

Apple says Low Power Mode turns off background app refresh. ServiceM8 does not say whether that affects its tracking, so if one tech's tracking fails often, test with Low Power Mode off.

The fallback is manual and quick: My Shift, Clock On at the start of the day, and Check In on the job card. If ServiceM8 missed the arrival, tapping Start job offers to wind the check in back to the arrival time it detected. Missed or wrong job times are fixed online in the job's Billing tab, Job Time, and shift times in the Team Timesheet.

Sources

  1. Automated Time Tracking needs the ServiceM8 app's location access set to Always with Precise Location on, the latest app, accurate job addresses selected from the dropdown, jobs scheduled to staff, and the office location set in Preferences, Company Information; the app does not share location on Break or when Clocked Off; automatic actions are not instant and are rolled back to the actual arrival or departure time. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  2. Job time can be added or edited in the job card's Billing tab, Job Time; editing job time is available only to the Business Owner role by default unless a custom security role enables it; converted job time rounds up to the rounding setting. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  3. The Team Timesheet shows Job Time and Shift Time for all staff for a week, allows editing Clock On and Off times, and exports to CSV; the Shift GPS report is only available for staff using the iOS app. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  4. The Automated Timesheet Sync add-on exports Clock On and Off times (not job Check In and Out) to Xero in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, QuickBooks Online and MYOB Business in Australia, rounded to the nearest 15 minutes or exact. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  5. ServiceM8 does not have a documented setting that prevents a technician from manually checking into a job before arriving on site. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  6. Low Power Mode on iPhone and iPad turns off background app refresh. Apple Support, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  7. With location set to While Using the App, an app can only use Location Services when it or one of its features is visible on screen; Always allows access in the background. Apple Support, checked 25 Sep 2026.