Hybrid Time Tracking

Time tracking in cleaning – without forcing every employee into an app.

Mini-jobbers, older employees, private-phone debates: that's exactly where digital time tracking usually fails. With Mendato's hybrid time tracking, you record times the way that suits each employee best.

1 · Digital App
2 · AI Timesheet
3 · Plan = Actual
Try Free for 7 Days →How It Works
AppZettelPlan = IstAlles digitalan einem Ort→ direkt zur Lohnabrechnung
✓
The right method for every employee group
✓
Paper & app in one system
✓
Direct export to payroll
Sound Familiar?

Digital time tracking sounds great – until reality gets in the way.

Especially at companies with many cleaners, the rollout almost always fails on the same three points.

📅

Mini-Jobbers

Fixed schedule, twice a week, fixed times. An app is hardly worth it here – just effort and extra costs per head.

📱

Company vs. Private Phone

Many cleaners don't want to use their private phone. Buying company phones for the whole workforce? Hardly feasible.

👵

Older & Less Tech-Savvy Staff

Not every employee gets along with an app. This is exactly where most digitization attempts break down.

The result: half the workforce digital, half on paper – and double the work in the office.

The Solution

Three ways to track time. One system.

You decide which method fits each employee group. Whichever it is – in the end all times are digital, in one place.

Method 1

Digital App

For everyone who's often on the move: the employee starts and stops the clock right at the work site – the office sees everything in real time.

  • ✓
    Start, stop & pause at the touch of a button – no paper slip, no back-filling.
  • ✓
    GPS confirms the work site – you know the work was done at the right site.
  • ✓
    Premiums calculated automatically – night, Sunday and holiday rates are included.
Worth it for: full-time staff & specialty cleaners – often on the road, changing sites, GPS useful.
Try the App Free for 7 Days →
1
2
Method 2

AI Timesheet

For everyone (still) on paper: your employees keep using their paper timesheet as usual – the AI digitizes it for you.

  • ✓
    Simply photograph the timesheets and upload them in bulk – no more typing them up one by one.
  • ✓
    The AI reads times, sites & employees – reliably, because they're already set up in Mendato.
  • ✓
    Originals stay on file – comparable at any time, e.g. for an audit.
Worth it for: mini-jobbers & less tech-savvy employees – where an app is too expensive or unwanted.
Try the AI Timesheet for Free →
Method 3

Plan = Actual

For fixed, always identical assignments: no app, no paper. The employees are already in your roster – one click is enough.

  • ✓
    Confirm planned time as actual time with one click – and the digital timesheet is done.
  • ✓
    No smartphone, no hurdle – ideal when times rarely change.
  • ✓
    No extra costs per head – you don't pay for an app nobody uses.
Worth it for: fixed, always identical assignments – e.g. a mini-jobber, twice a week, same site.
Try Plan = Actual for Free →
3
Whichever method – all times end up digital, in one place.

When Is Which Method Worth It?

An app isn't always the best solution – what matters is how the employee is deployed.

Employee group
Recommended method
Why
Full-time staff, changing sites
Digital App
Often on the road, GPS proof useful, automatic premiums
Here the app clearly pays off.
Specialty cleaners (glass, windows …)
Digital App
Several sites per day, work site should be confirmed
GPS and the real-time overview add real value.
Mini-jobber, twice a week, same site
Plan = Actual
Paper
An app would be too expensive, too complicated – and often unwanted
Confirming the fixed planned time or uploading the timesheet is plenty.
Older / less tech-savvy employees
AI Timesheet
No smartphone requirement, no hurdle, no support effort
They keep working as usual – the AI digitizes.
What Sets Us Apart

Why does nobody else do it this way?

Most time tracking solutions force you to digitize everything. In practice that rarely works – and that's exactly where we come in.

Other Solutions

All or nothing.

App-only tools and punch-clock terminals require every single employee to play along.

  • ✕
    Every employee has to install an app – or clock in at a terminal.
  • ✕
    Mini-jobbers, older and less tech-savvy staff become a problem.
  • ✕
    Private-phone debates or expensive terminals and company phones.
  • ✕
    The result in practice: half the workforce digital, the rest on paper – and double the work.
Mendato

As digital as makes sense.

We come from the industry and know: not every employee can be digitized. So we don't force anyone.

  • ✓
    An app where it pays off – for full-time and specialty cleaners.
  • ✓
    AI timesheet for everyone staying on paper.
  • ✓
    Planned time = actual time for fixed, always identical assignments.
  • ✓
    Still everything digital in one place – without leaving a single employee behind.
VS

The difference isn't a feature – it's an attitude: You digitize as much as makes sense for your business – not as much as a piece of software technically demands.

How It Works

From paper stack to digital timesheet

The AI timesheet in four steps – for everyone (still) working on paper.

Stundenzettel · A. YıldızMo 07:30 – 09:30 AutohausMo 10:15 – 12:45 KanzleiDi 08:00 – 11:00 Praxis LangMi 07:30 – 10:00 ModehausDo 09:00 – 11:30 ParkdeckFr 07:30 – 09:00 WEG Goethe📷 fotografiert & hochgeladenKIliest aus✨✓ Automatisch erkanntMITARBEITERA. YıldızOBJEKTAutohausSTD2:00MITARBEITERA. YıldızOBJEKTKanzleiSTD2:30MITARBEITERA. YıldızOBJEKTPraxis LangSTD3:00… alle Zeiten, Pausen & Fahrzeiten erkannt
✓ Where the AI is confident, it fills in automatically. Where it isn't, it flags the entry for a quick review – the original timesheets stay on file.
Try the AI Timesheet Free for 7 Days →
Legally Sound Documentation

Correctly recorded is enough. Period.

  • ✓
    No employee signature needed. It's enough that times are documented correctly.
  • ✓
    What counts is recorded: start, end and duration of daily working time.
  • ✓
    Paper or digital – both permitted. Mendato keeps both audit-proof in one place.
  • ✓
    Originals stay findable. Uploaded timesheets are stored and can be retrieved at any time.
“Customs were at the door. This time everything was findable in seconds.”

Search for an employee and a month – times and original timesheets appear instantly. App times and paper times, seamlessly merged.

Note: this does not replace legal advice. Please align specific obligations with your tax advisor/management.
What It Saves

No more typing up.

Transferring timesheets into Excel by hand? That's completely gone.

StundenzettelMo 06:00 – 14:30 KlinikumDi 06:15 – 14:45 KlinikumMi 06:00 – 14:00 SchuleDo 06:00 – 14:15 RathausFr 06:00 – 14:30 Klinikum✋ von HandabtippenZeile für ZeileStunden_April.xlsxA · MitarbeiterB · VonC · BisD · StdBerger06:0014:308:00Berger06:1514:458:00Berger06:0014:007:30⏱ Stunden im Büro · jeden Monat
Try Free for 7 Days →
Noticeably less office time – from the very first month.
The Result

One digital timesheet – across all sources.

Whether from the app, a paper timesheet or planned time: at the end of the month each employee has one complete digital timesheet – with everything in it.

Digital Timesheet

Automatically merged from all sources
April 2026
Employee
Thomas Berger
Employee No.
V-038
Site(s)
South Hospital · Park School · City Hall
from app
from timesheet (AI)
from planned time
Day
Site
From
To
Break
Travel
Hrs
Source
Mon 06
South Hospital, Bldg B
06:00
14:30
30 min
–
8:00
App
Tue 07
South Hospital, Bldg C
06:15
14:45
30 min
–
8:00
App
Wed 08
Park School
06:00
14:00
30 min
20 min
7:30
Zettel
Thu 09
City Hall Admin
06:00
14:15
30 min
–
7:45
Zettel
Fri 10
South Hospital, Bldg B
06:00
14:30
30 min
15 min
8:00
App
Sat 11
South Hospital (special)
08:00
12:30
–
–
4:30 +25% Sat
Plan
Mon 13
Park School
06:00
14:30
30 min
20 min
8:00
Plan
Regular hours
43:45 h
Travel time
0:55 h
Premiums (Sat 25%)
+1:08 h
Total April
45:48 h
✓
All times recorded – no typing up needed
Export to Payroll →
⏱

All Times

Start, end and duration of every assignment – complete for the whole month.

☕

Breaks & Travel Times

Automatically booked and shown correctly – nothing gets lost.

➕

Automatic Premiums

Night, Sunday and holiday premiums are calculated right away.

📤

Directly Exportable

One click to payroll – no typing up, no transferring.

Three ways in – one complete timesheet out. Without typing up a single entry.

Roster
→
Time Tracking
→
Payroll

Part of a whole.

Hybrid time tracking connects seamlessly with roster planning, site management and payroll export. Planned, recorded, billed – without media breaks.

See the Complete Mendato System →
FAQ

What managing directors often ask

Who is the app worth it for – and who not?
+
The app is worth it for full-time staff and specialty cleaners: often on the road, changing sites, GPS proof useful. For a mini-jobber working twice a week at the same site, however, it's hardly worth it – it costs per head, is too complicated for many and often simply unwanted. That's exactly what the AI timesheet and the plan-=-actual confirmation are for.
Do my cleaners have to use their private phones?
+
No. The app is just one of three methods. Anyone who doesn't want to use their private phone keeps recording times on paper (AI upload) or via planned-time confirmation. You don't have to force anyone into the app – or buy a fleet of company phones.
What if older employees can't cope with the app?
+
Then they simply don't use it. They keep working with the paper timesheet as usual – you upload the sheets in bulk and the AI digitizes them. No smartphone requirement, no training effort, no phone support.
How reliably does the AI read handwritten timesheets?
+
Very reliably – also because sites and employees are already set up in Mendato and the AI matches against them. Where it's confident, it fills in automatically. Where it isn't, it flags the entry for a quick review. The original timesheets stay on file and remain comparable at any time.
Do I need employee signatures?
+
For documentation it's enough that start, end and duration of working time are recorded correctly – whether via app, paper or planned time. Mendato keeps everything audit-proof in one place. Note: this does not replace legal advice – please align specific obligations with your tax advisor or management.
What does hybrid time tracking cost?
+
Hybrid time tracking is included in all Mendato packages – at no extra charge. Packages start at €99/month (plus VAT) and are based on the number of your cleaners, not on app users. The best part: you don't pay for an app for every employee who never uses it – mini-jobbers via paper or planned time cause no extra cost. No setup fee, 7-day free trial. You'll find all packages on our pricing page.
From the Field
Over 500 commercial cleaning companies
already rely on hybrid time tracking.

They all noticed the same thing: an app-only solution never reaches the whole workforce. Only the combination of app, paper timesheet and planned time really brings all times together digitally – from the full-time specialty cleaner to the mini-jobber.

See All Customer Stories →

Track time the way your company really works.

App, paper timesheet or planned time – you decide per employee. Try hybrid time tracking free for 7 days.

Try Free for 7 Days →

Free · No commitment · Ends automatically