How do we get site teams to submit allocations consistently?

Make it part of their daily work. Site teams already do daily reports. Shape adds allocation details to those reports: labour hours, equipment usage, materials. Reports pre-fill from yesterday so updates take just minutes. The key is that workers aren't filling out extra forms for the office. They're logging information that's useful for their own work, which means they actually do it.

How detailed are the allocations?

You get the details you need for cost control and payment applications: labour hours per person per activity, equipment hours per activity with specific assets tracked, materials quantities installed or used per activity, and any downtime with reasons logged. Everything links to schedule activities and project locations. You can analyze costs by activity, area, trade, time period, or any combination.

What if workers don't consistently submit allocations?

Shape includes built-in monitoring that shows exactly who's submitting and who isn't. You see a completeness score for each person's records. If someone's not logging allocations or their entries lack detail, you'll know immediately. You can coach specific people rather than sending blanket reminders to everyone.

Can we track costs against budget in real time?

Yes. Import your schedule with budget hours per activity. As site teams log allocations, you see actual hours against budget. If you estimated 100 electrician hours for a specific room and you've already logged 85 hours with only 60% complete, you know you're heading for an overrun. You can investigate why and address it while there's still time.

How does this work with cost-plus contracts?

Shape gives you the detailed records cost-plus contracts require. Payment applications need to show actual hours and materials used. Shape provides that detail linked to specific activities, with timestamps as evidence. Export allocation data for your payment application with supporting evidence that speeds up approval.

Does Shape replace our scheduling or cost tracking software?

No. Shape captures allocation data from site, then exports it to your existing systems. Import activities from P6, MS Project, or whatever planning tools you use. Site teams allocate hours and materials to those activities in Shape. Then, export updated allocations back to your cost tracking system.

SHAPE FOR TIME AND MATERIALS TRACKING

Control costs with accurate
time and materials tracking

Track daily resource allocations against schedule activities. Catch overruns early, support
payment applications, and keep construction costs under control.

SPEAK TO A PROJECT ADVISOR

Man in a dark blazer working on a laptop at a table with two data tables displayed showing people’s hours worked and resources used in a project.

LEADING CONTRACTORS USE SHAPE TO TRACK TIME AND MATERIAL ALLOCATION

THE PROBLEM IS...

Your time and material tracking is a slow and inefficient process

You have multiple steps from site to usable data

Site teams fill out paper forms, which get collected, scanned, and manually typed into spreadsheets. It's a time-consuming process just to get basic visibility.

Allocation sheets are inconsistent or incomplete

The data you get back from site varies in quality and completeness. You're often missing the information to track costs accurately or support payment applications.

Can't track resources against schedule activities

Allocation data sits in spreadsheets with no connection to your schedule. You can't see which specific activities are running over budget or compare actual costs to your plan.

Use Shape to 1capture accurate time & materials data, 2link them to schedule activities, and 3use the data for billing and cost tracking.

Use Shape to

Capture complete and accurate allocation data from site

Log detailed allocations as part of your daily reports

Build detailed time and material records without extra forms. Daily reports capture labor, equipment, materials, and track whether allocated resources were productive or idle.

Learn more about Shift Manager →

MEP Daily Progress Report listing people and material details, including roles, organizations, hours worked, and progress on electrical testing and HVAC troubleshooting.

Get allocation details straight from site

Communicate directly with your site crews to lock in the details, and have those conversations automatically feed into your allocation records.

Learn more about Channels →

User input form for reporting a smart issue with text about needing more ceiling panels in zone A, due Monday, and an image preview of a ceiling with panels and red pipes.

Monitor daily record completeness

Each record gets a quality score so you see who's submitting complete daily reports, and who isn't. Address missing data proactively, before you need it for billing or cost analysis.um tristique.

Learn more about Shift Manager →

Track time & material allocation against schedule activities

See all allocations per activity over time

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique.

Import activities from P6, Asta, or any scheduling software
Monitor labor hours, equipment hours, and material quantities
Quickly see which resources are productive or idle
See total allocations per activity

Learn more about Shift Manager →

Table showing resources used with total hours worked by personnel as 66 hours and total equipment usage as 49 hours. Materials listed include Cable Tray, Insulation Foam Sheet, and Fire Alarm Panels with quantities, units, and dates from 14 to 17 October 2024.

Get allocation details straight from site

Communicate directly with your site crews to lock in the details, and have those conversations automatically feed into your allocation records.

Learn more about Data Book →

Performance table of Electromech Solutions Ltd. showing employee photos on the left and color-coded performance ratings for March 18 and 19, with a legend indicating rating categories from Not useful (0-19%) to Comprehensive (>80%).

Use allocation data for billing and cost tracking

Downtime and delay table showing machine breakdown causing 6 hours lost; priority medium, significant cost impact, medium-term schedule impact.

Project delay report titled 'Delay due to heavy rain causing site flooding' with high priority, internal category, client-approved status, significant cost estimate, and extended delay schedule impact; linked issue of silt accumulation and downtime due to halted excavation from soil conditions.

Export Report dialog with options to export as CSV, XLSX, or PDF, and buttons for Cancel and Export.

Substantiate cost overruns and change claims

Cost-plus contracts require detailed evidence to get paid. Show labor hours, equipment usage, and materials per activity with complete supporting records. Submit payment applications that speed up approval.

Use allocation data for billing and cost tracking

Track cost overruns with detailed allocation data. See which activities exceeded budget and why. When overruns result from scope changes, you have the evidence to support change claims.

Stop wasting hours on tedious time and material tracking

Capture allocation data efficiently. Link it to your schedule. Use it for billing and cost control.

SPEAK TO A PROJECT ADVISOR

“A lot of the time, the way that you build the project, there's a lot of change involved. Shape allows you to track all of those changes. You can see the journey that Shape created for you by all of the updates that you do through there.”

Dan van Wyk

Project Manager, Sweet Projects

"Shape was quickly adopted by our team due to its user-friendly interface. We no longer waste time on manual paperwork or lengthy email chains, trying to resolve coordination or blocker issues."

Sunny Hundal

Mechanical Package Manager, Emico Ltd.

"Shape provided a clear, simple, and accessible database for tracking project issues, giving us better visibility into programme impacts, delays, and improving contract management."

Andre Costa

Operations Director, Bysteel

More ways Shape helps with other critical project challenges

Manage change in the field

Track actual progress against the schedule

Get reliable field records

Manage Issues with subcontractors

See how Shape works for you

Project Managers and Directors

Three text notifications on white cards with user avatars: 'Variance detected' in blue with a woman wearing glasses, 'Downtime logged' in green with a worker in a helmet, and 'Issue raised' in orange with another worker in a helmet.

Commercial Managers and Directors

Planners, Schedulers, & Project Controls

Red notification icon with a bell and the label 'Live Delay' overlaid on a semi-transparent red square, next to a blue semi-transparent square with window and door outlines.

Construction Managers and Engineers

SHAPE FOR TIME AND MATERIALS TRACKING

Control costs with accurate
time and materials tracking

LEADING CONTRACTORS USE SHAPE TO TRACK TIME AND MATERIAL ALLOCATION

THE PROBLEM IS...

Your time and material tracking is a slow and inefficient process

You have multiple steps from site to usable data

Allocation sheets are inconsistent or incomplete

Can't track resources against schedule activities

Capture complete and accurate allocation data from site

Log detailed allocations as part of your daily reports