Stop Entering Timesheets Twice: How Simpro + QuickBooks Time Eliminates Manual Payroll Work

If your team is still managing timesheets across two separate systems, you’re losing hours every payroll cycle to manual entry, reconciliation, and approval workflows that could be automatic. We built the Simpro + QuickBooks Time integration to solve exactly that problem.

In this post, we’ll walk through how the integration works, why it matters, and what real teams are experiencing after they switched it on.

The Problem Nobody Talks About

Most field-heavy businesses use QuickBooks Time (formerly T-sheets) for mobile time capture and Simpro for job costing and project management. Both systems are great at what they do. But running them separately creates a quiet friction that costs more than most teams realize.

Here’s the typical workflow without integration:

Field staff log time in QuickBooks Time — either via the mobile app or a kiosk. They pick their job, allocate hours to cost centers, and maybe note activities.
Managers approve those hours — confirming they’re accurate before payroll runs.
Someone manually reconciles into Simpro — copying or uploading those approved hours so job costing is current and you can see what jobs actually cost.
Payroll processes — either directly from QB Time (if you’re using Xero or QB Online) or someone exports and imports into your payroll system.

That middle step — the manual reconciliation — is where the hidden cost lives. It’s not dramatic. It’s just a few minutes per payroll cycle, a few extra points of failure, and the knowledge that your job costing isn’t live.

What we hear from customers most often is this: “We know our job costs are always a few days behind because the hours don’t land in Simpro until someone manually confirms they match QB Time.”

How the Integration Changes That

The Simpro + QuickBooks Time integration automates the handoff between systems. Here’s what actually happens:

1. Jobs and Activities Flow Both Ways

When you set up the integration, all your job numbers, cost centers, and activities from Simpro are automatically pulled into QuickBooks Time. Your team sees them in the app and picks the right one when logging time.

Any new jobs you add to Simpro after go-live sync across each night. Same for activities. You’re never out of sync on what’s available to choose from.

2. Your Team Logs Time Once

Staff use QuickBooks Time exactly as they would without integration — nothing changes on their end. They can log time three ways:

Mobile app — Individual team members log their own hours on phones or tablets. They select the customer, job, cost center, and any custom fields you’ve configured (like whether they drove their own vehicle). They can clock in/out or manually enter a time range.

Kiosk mode — A shared device at the workshop or job site. Useful if your team comes in together or works as crews. One person (often a supervisor) logs everyone in and out for the day, and team members select which job they’re working on.

Work crew logging — If you have teams that stay together, a supervisor can use the app to log the whole crew in and out as one unit, saving repetition.

All three methods feed the same system. Your team uses what works for how they actually work.

3. Approvals Stay in Your Control

Once hours are logged, managers approve them in QuickBooks Time. You decide:

• Who approves: One person for the whole company, or different team leads for different groups
• How often: Daily, weekly, or fortnightly — whatever matches your payroll cycle
• What they can see: You can filter which jobs each approval group has access to, reducing errors where someone picks the wrong project

This is where overtime rules kick in too. If your team worked overtime on a particular job, you can configure QuickBooks Time to flag it and apply your rates. Those overtime-adjusted hours are what flow into Simpro.

4. Approved Hours Automatically Flow to Simpro

Once you approve, we sync that data overnight into Simpro. Job costing updates automatically. You see real costs for every job, matched to the exact cost centers your team allocated time to.

No re-entry. No CSV export. No waiting for someone to confirm they match.

5. Payroll Happens on Schedule

The hours are now in both systems. If you use Xero or QuickBooks Online, QB Time has native integrations to feed payroll directly. If you use another system, you export the hours as CSV and upload them.

Your payroll processor gets what they need. Your job costing is live. Everyone sees the same numbers.

Why Security Matters

Your timesheets and job data are sensitive. We don’t take that lightly.

The integration is SOC 2 Type II certified, meaning we’ve been independently audited for security, availability, and confidentiality. We also follow CASB-II protocol on all data transfer — think of it as encrypted, verified handshakes between systems.

We provide 24/5 support — from business start in New Zealand through close of business in the US, we’re constantly available if you have questions or need assistance. Whether it’s early morning or late night, if you’re in a different timezone, someone can help.

Your IT team can review our security documentation and compliance certifications. Most IT departments are satisfied quickly once they see the certifications and understand the data flow.

Real Customers, Real Time Saved

Jama Group has been with us since before QuickBooks Time was even called T-sheets. Here’s what they said:

“The T-sheets integration saves us lots of time. We wouldn’t hesitate in recommending this to our teams.”

They’re not alone. Across construction and service companies we work with, the pattern is consistent: once the integration is live, the reconciliation work disappears, job costing becomes current, and payroll moves faster.

One customer noted they used to have someone whose unofficial role was “keeping the two systems from falling out of step.” After go-live, that role didn’t need to exist anymore.

Common Questions (Answered)

How long does it take to set up?

The technical connection takes about a couple of days. The first data sync depends on how much you have in your projects — small setups can go live almost immediately, larger ones might take half an hour.

Then we do a ghost payroll run together with you on a screen share. You approve some test hours, watch them flow into Simpro, and see what the first real cycle will look like. Most customers are live and processing real payroll within a couple of structured sessions.

Can I control which projects sync, and how?

Absolutely. You can pick:

• Full project sync — Everything from Simpro comes across to QB Time
• Documents only — Sync the project structure but not photos or attachments
• Selected folders — Granular control — only sync the projects you choose
• Auto-sync — Every new Simpro project automatically gets a matching setup in QB Time

You can use different modes for different projects. It’s configurable per job.

What if I change my approval structure after launch?

No problem. The company settings in QuickBooks Time let you change who approves, which groups they manage, which jobs they see, and how often approvals happen — all live, with no downtime.

How do overtime and payroll systems connect?

QuickBooks Time applies your overtime rules as hours come in. If someone worked overtime on a job, those hours reflect the right rate when they sync to Simpro.

From there, if you use Xero or QB Online, the integration feeds directly to payroll. If you use another system, you export the hours as CSV. Our side handles Simpro job costing — the payroll system’s integrations handle the rest.

What if I need to set it up for multiple locations or teams?

You can configure different approval groups with different rules, job access, and overtime settings. A team doing maintenance work might see maintenance projects only. A project team might have access to all active jobs. Each group has its own approval chain and settings.

What Happens During Implementation

Here’s the real timeline:

Week 1: We get API access set up and start pulling your job data into QB Time. You and our team align on approval groups, job access rules, and overtime configuration.

Week 2: First data sync happens. We run a ghost payroll to make sure everything looks right. You see test hours flow from QB Time approval into Simpro job costing. Any adjustments happen now.

Week 3: Go-live. Real hours start flowing. Our team stays close for the first cycle to answer questions and help with any edge cases.
Ongoing: We’re available if anything changes — new jobs, new approval structures, payroll system updates. You adjust settings in QB Time; everything else stays in sync.

The Bottom Line

If your team is split between Simpro and QuickBooks Time, you’re losing time and risking manual reconciliation. The integration moves that work into the background where it belongs.

Your field staff keeps using QB Time the way they always have. Your job costing becomes live. Your payroll runs on schedule. And you stop paying someone to keep two systems from falling out of step.

Ready to Stop Double Entry?

If any of this sounds like your workflow, the easiest next step is a short discovery call. We’ll walk through your specific setup, answer questions about how we’d configure it for you, and give you a clear sense of cost and timeline.

Book a 30-minute call

Or if you have questions first, feel free to reach out directly — sales@syncezy.com.

We’ve helped hundreds of field teams automate this workflow. We’d love to help you next.

Questions about the integration? We’re here. Reply to this post or reach out directly. Our team is happy to walk through how it would work for your specific setup.