Our workers do not have smartphones. Does this still work?

Yes. Supervisors can capture on behalf of a crew, and office staff can upload scanned batches into the same AI pipeline.

Is a digital signature acceptable?

Terms of engagement are signed in the worker portal with a full audit record. Where a wet signature is contractually required, the scanned original can be stored against the same record.

What about sites with no signal?

The mobile app captures offline and syncs automatically when connectivity returns.

Do we lose the original documents?

No. Original files are retained and versioned alongside the extracted data.

Software comparison

CrewFlow vs paper-based workforce administration

Paper still works on many sites, and there are good reasons for that: it needs no signal, no battery and no training. This page compares paper-based administration with a digital system, and is honest about what paper does better.

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Overview

CrewFlow and Paper processes at a glance

Paper is resilient. A printed timesheet works in a tunnel, and a wet-signed form is understood everywhere.

The cost of paper is not the paper — it is the delay between something happening on site and the business knowing about it, and the effort of proving later that a document existed.

CrewFlow keeps the field simple by letting workers photograph what they already produce. AI reads it, a human approves it, and the original image stays attached as evidence.

Who each is for

Designed for different jobs

CrewFlow is designed for

Operations that must evidence compliance quickly and repeatedly
Finance teams waiting on timesheets to invoice
Businesses managing documents that expire across many workers
Teams that need the same record in two countries at once

Paper processes is designed for

Sites with no connectivity and no device policy
Very small crews with a single supervisor
One-off jobs where setup effort outweighs the benefit
Situations where a wet signature is contractually required

Feature comparison

Capability by capability

The same 18 capability areas used across the Comparison Centre, applied to CrewFlow and Paper processes.

IncludedPartialDifferent scope

Capability comparison between CrewFlow and Paper processes
Capability	CrewFlow	Paper processes
Workers	Included Worker records with rates, documents, availability and full assignment history	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Projects	Included Clients, projects, jobs and positions with historical rates	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Planning	Included Crew Planning with day, week, month, timeline and Gantt views	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
AI timesheets	Included Photo or PDF capture, AI extraction, confidence scoring and human approval	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Document packs	Included Packs assembled by country, client, project or org defaults	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Digital signatures	Included Terms of engagement issued and signed in the worker portal	Partial Wet signatures are valid but must be scanned and filed to be usable
Mobility intelligence	Included A1, posting, right-to-work and Schengen day tracking with pre-mobilisation scoring	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Business intelligence	Included Executive dashboard, revenue, profitability, workforce and operations analytics	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Automation	Included Trigger, condition and action builder with execution audit history	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Mobile app	Included Native iOS and Android worker portal with offline capture and push	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Integrations	Included Integrations Hub covering accounting, storage, comms, signing and HR systems	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
API	Included Versioned REST API, OpenAPI reference, OAuth, API keys and webhooks	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Security	Included Row-level tenant isolation, EU hosting, encryption and immutable audit history	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Compliance	Included Document expiry, versioning and mobilisation blocking on missing evidence	Partial Certificates exist but expiry tracking is manual
Commercial engine	Included Timesheet-to-invoice calculation driven by agreed terms of engagement	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Report builder	Included Self-service report definitions with scheduling and delivery	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Developer platform	Included OAuth apps, event catalogue, signed webhooks and rate-limited gateway	Different scope Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Support	Included In-app guidance, knowledge centre, onboarding wizard and named success contact	Partial Depends on internal knowledge rather than product guidance

Workers
CrewFlow
Included
Worker records with rates, documents, availability and full assignment history
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Projects
CrewFlow
Included
Clients, projects, jobs and positions with historical rates
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Planning
CrewFlow
Included
Crew Planning with day, week, month, timeline and Gantt views
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
AI timesheets
CrewFlow
Included
Photo or PDF capture, AI extraction, confidence scoring and human approval
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Document packs
CrewFlow
Included
Packs assembled by country, client, project or org defaults
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Digital signatures
CrewFlow
Included
Terms of engagement issued and signed in the worker portal
Paper processes
Partial
Wet signatures are valid but must be scanned and filed to be usable
Mobility intelligence
CrewFlow
Included
A1, posting, right-to-work and Schengen day tracking with pre-mobilisation scoring
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Business intelligence
CrewFlow
Included
Executive dashboard, revenue, profitability, workforce and operations analytics
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Automation
CrewFlow
Included
Trigger, condition and action builder with execution audit history
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Mobile app
CrewFlow
Included
Native iOS and Android worker portal with offline capture and push
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Integrations
CrewFlow
Included
Integrations Hub covering accounting, storage, comms, signing and HR systems
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
API
CrewFlow
Included
Versioned REST API, OpenAPI reference, OAuth, API keys and webhooks
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Security
CrewFlow
Included
Row-level tenant isolation, EU hosting, encryption and immutable audit history
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Compliance
CrewFlow
Included
Document expiry, versioning and mobilisation blocking on missing evidence
Paper processes
Partial
Certificates exist but expiry tracking is manual
Commercial engine
CrewFlow
Included
Timesheet-to-invoice calculation driven by agreed terms of engagement
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Report builder
CrewFlow
Included
Self-service report definitions with scheduling and delivery
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Developer platform
CrewFlow
Included
OAuth apps, event catalogue, signed webhooks and rate-limited gateway
Paper processes
Different scope
Not part of Paper processes's intended scope
Support
CrewFlow
Included
In-app guidance, knowledge centre, onboarding wizard and named success contact
Paper processes
Partial
Depends on internal knowledge rather than product guidance

Advantages

What Paper processes does well

Works with no connectivity, devices or accounts
Immediately understood by every worker and supervisor
Wet signatures are accepted everywhere without discussion
No software cost and no rollout

Limitations

Where teams typically hit the edge

Documents are only as findable as the folder they were filed in
Expiry dates rely on someone remembering to check
Timesheets reach the office days after the work happened
Re-keying introduces transcription errors into pay and invoices
Producing an audit pack means physically assembling it
Loss, damage and duplication are unrecoverable

Typical use cases

Which to use, when

Keep paper

The site record itself — workers can still fill in the sheet they are used to.

Move to CrewFlow

Capture, approval, storage, expiry tracking and everything downstream of the paper.

Run both

Photograph the paper timesheet in the app; the original image is retained as evidence alongside the extracted data.

Pricing approach

How each is typically paid for

Pricing models change. Treat this as an indication of approach and confirm current commercial terms directly.

CrewFlow

Per-seat subscription; worker portal accounts are free, so field users cost nothing to add.

See CrewFlow pricing

Paper processes

No licence cost; the cost sits in administration hours, invoice delay and rework.

Why CrewFlow

Why organisations choose CrewFlow

The paper can stay — the delay and the re-keying do not
Photographed documents are read by AI and confirmed by a person
Expiry is tracked automatically and blocks mobilisation when breached
An audit pack is generated, not assembled
Offline capture means poor signal on site is not a blocker

Explore the platform

Every capability in the table above has its own product page explaining how it works, the workflow behind it and the questions customers ask most.

Browse all modules Model the return Customer stories

FAQ

CrewFlow vs Paper Processes: common questions

See where CrewFlow fits alongside Paper processes

Start a 14-day free trial, or let us walk you through CrewFlow with your own operation in mind.