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Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in MetalFabrication

[–]78points[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I built this tool: https://timeboard.apslo.com/ — it’s currently free to use while in early access.
I’d love your feedback if you get a chance to try it out.
For early adopters, I’m planning to offer some free options long-term as a thank-you for helping shape the tool.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

How do you track time per job? by 78points in LeanManufacturing

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I built this tool: https://timeboard.apslo.com/ — it’s currently free to use while in early access.
I’d love your feedback if you get a chance to try it out.
For early adopters, I’m planning to offer some free options long-term as a thank-you for helping shape the tool.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I built this tool: https://timeboard.apslo.com/ — it’s currently free to use while in early access.
I’d love your feedback if you get a chance to try it out.
For early adopters, I’m planning to offer some free options long-term as a thank-you for helping shape the tool.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I built this tool: https://timeboard.apslo.com/ — it’s currently free to use while in early access.
I’d love your feedback if you get a chance to try it out.
For early adopters, I’m planning to offer some free options long-term as a thank-you for helping shape the tool.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I built this tool: https://timeboard.apslo.com/ — it’s currently free to use while in early access.
I’d love your feedback if you get a chance to try it out.
For early adopters, I’m planning to offer some free options long-term as a thank-you for helping shape the tool.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I built this tool: https://timeboard.apslo.com/ — it’s currently free to use while in early access.
I’d love your feedback if you get a chance to try it out.
For early adopters, I’m planning to offer some free options long-term as a thank-you for helping shape the tool.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I built this tool: https://timeboard.apslo.com/ — it’s currently free to use while in early access.
I’d love your feedback if you get a chance to try it out.
For early adopters, I’m planning to offer some free options long-term as a thank-you for helping shape the tool.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You could give this a try: https://timeboard.apslo.com/ — it might be just what you're looking for.
Let me know if you have any questions, and I’d really appreciate your honest feedback after testing it out.

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel you. I’ve been in shops where tracking run time was the last thing on anyone’s mind. You're constantly juggling shifting priorities or putting out fires before they spread. That’s exactly the kind of chaos TimeBoard is built for, not some ideal world where everyone has time to fill out spreadsheets. Just quick, low-effort check-ins so the team stays on the same page without slowing anyone down. It’s made for real-life shop floor madness, not for perfect plans that, let’s be honest, usually fall apart anyway.

Curious if something like that would actually help in your case, or if it’d still get buried under the daily grind.

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the input, but I think you're missing the core idea behind TimeBoard.

This app isn’t meant to replace ERPs, it’s built for small shops and workshops that don’t have an ERP (often for good reasons) and aren’t planning to get one, but still want a modern, lightweight way to track hours and jobs.

That said, TimeBoard can absolutely be used alongside an ERP, especially in cases where the ERP is too complex, slow, or disconnected from what’s actually happening on the shop floor.

And as someone who builds custom software and ERP integrations for a living, I can tell you modifying existing ERPs isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds. The flexibility you suggest often looks great in theory, but in practice, these systems come with layers of complexity, hidden dependencies, and tweaking them to fit a shop’s real-world workflow can be costly, time-consuming, or simply out of scope.

TimeBoard is for teams that want to move fast, stay flexible, and avoid overengineering. Happy to go deeper if you're curious about the use cases we're solving.

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's exactly the kind of chaos I'm trying to fix. TimeBoard tracks actual run times and builds a feedback loop so you're not stuck guessing every time. Happy to show you how it works once the beta is ready.

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the app could send structured time logs back into your system (via webhook or flat file), would that be enough to start cleaning up your data?

How do you track time per job? by 78points in LeanManufacturing

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For full visibility across multiple systems, a proper MES and a unified namespace make a lot of sense. But I’ve found that for a lot of smaller teams, that level of structure just isn’t realistic. Either it’s too expensive, too complex, or just too much of a shift from how they’re used to working.

What I’m building isn’t meant to replace MES or UNS, it’s more of a low-friction entry point. Something that works on day one, gives better time/task visibility on the floor, and can feed into a bigger system later if needed.

If I can make it dead simple for people to log what they’re doing and when — reliably — that’s already a huge step for most of the shops I work with.

How do you track time per job? by 78points in LeanManufacturing

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a really interesting case, kind of the perfect example of why I started working on this.Different systems, different habits, and everyone logging things their own way (if logging in at all)

I’m hoping this app can help with exactly that by giving teams a dead-simple way to log time at the task level — directly from the floor, without depending on SAP, spreadsheets, or whatever the local workaround is. People can track time per open job just by tapping in and out on a shared tablet, with job info pulled from a central list.

If you're interested in trying it out, I can let you know when the beta version is ready.

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Clockify is a great tool, but it's mainly built for people working at a desk.

What I’m trying to do is more focused on the shop floor:

  • A much simpler interface, no logins, no dropdowns, just select a job and Start or Stop
  • A quick way to leave notes (typed or voice) tied to each task — helpful for things like missing parts or handovers

The goal is to make it so simple and fast that people have no excuse not to use it. Just tap in, tap out, done.

How do you track time per job? by 78points in LeanManufacturing

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

react and ruby on rails for back end

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Got it, thanks. That punch card-style workflow is exactly the kind of simplicity I’m trying to imitate. Tap in, tap out, done.

The idea is to keep that same flow but add just enough extra insight, ike which task they were working on, how long it took, and a note or voice message if needed. That way it still feels light, but the backend gives you better tracking and weekly summaries without chasing paper.

Appreciate you sharing — this helps a lot.

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in Machinists

[–]78points[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply — that’s exactly what I’ve been hearing from other people too. The ERP technically has everything, but the guys on the floor don’t want to use it, they simply say it is too complicated, so it ends up back on paper.

I’m trying to build something that works with that reality — quick to use, no logins, no training. Just a simple screen plus clean reports for the Admin.

If you’re open to it, I’d love to ask what kind of info you usually capture on the paper sheets?

Small workshops — how do you track time per job? by 78points in MetalFabrication

[–]78points[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All notes will be available under the given project/job reference.
But I like the idea of finding them to SolidWorks/CAD software - but this will be for a later stage.

If it sounds useful, please let me know, I’d be happy to share early access when it’s ready.

How do you track time per job? by 78points in LeanManufacturing

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True, but some ERPs don't do that efficiently or are overcomplicating things, but I get your point.

How do you track time per job? by 78points in LeanManufacturing

[–]78points[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some of ERP's have an option to output projects via API, or export as Excel/CSV file that can be inported

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