How accurate is the extraction?

Every extracted field carries a confidence score, and low-confidence fields are flagged for review. Nothing is approved without a person confirming it.

What if the handwriting is poor?

Low-confidence fields are surfaced side by side with the original image so a reviewer can correct them quickly.

Do we keep the original?

Yes. The image or PDF is retained and versioned against the timesheet record.

Can clients still sign on site?

Yes. Photograph the signed sheet, or use the worker portal signature flow where the client accepts it.

Process comparison

Paper timesheets vs AI timesheets

Paper timesheets are trusted because they are signed on site and understood by everyone. The problem is everything that happens afterwards. This page compares the paper process with AI-assisted capture that keeps the paper.

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Overview

CrewFlow and Paper timesheets at a glance

In the paper process, a sheet is filled in, signed, photographed or posted, then re-keyed in the office before approval, pay and invoicing.

With AI timesheets the worker photographs the same sheet in the app. AI extracts hours, dates, breaks and cost codes with a confidence score, and a person approves or corrects before anything moves downstream.

The AI does not make the decision. It removes the typing and surfaces what needs attention.

Who each is for

Designed for different jobs

CrewFlow is designed for

Operations invoicing weekly against approved hours
Finance teams tired of transcription errors
Sites with intermittent connectivity
Clients requiring signed evidence with the invoice

Paper timesheets is designed for

Very small crews where the supervisor also does the admin
Sites with a strict no-device policy
Clients that insist on receiving original paper
Short jobs where the sheet and the invoice are the same conversation

Feature comparison

Capability by capability

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

IncludedPartialDifferent scope

Capability comparison between CrewFlow and Paper timesheets
Capability	CrewFlow	Paper timesheets
Workers	Included Worker records with rates, documents, availability and full assignment history	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Projects	Included Clients, projects, jobs and positions with historical rates	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Planning	Included Crew Planning with day, week, month, timeline and Gantt views	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
AI timesheets	Included Photo or PDF capture, AI extraction, confidence scoring and human approval	Partial Hours are captured accurately on site, then re-keyed manually in the office
Document packs	Included Packs assembled by country, client, project or org defaults	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Digital signatures	Included Terms of engagement issued and signed in the worker portal	Partial Wet signature on site, filed manually
Mobility intelligence	Included A1, posting, right-to-work and Schengen day tracking with pre-mobilisation scoring	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Business intelligence	Included Executive dashboard, revenue, profitability, workforce and operations analytics	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Automation	Included Trigger, condition and action builder with execution audit history	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Mobile app	Included Native iOS and Android worker portal with offline capture and push	Different scope No mobile capture in the paper process
Integrations	Included Integrations Hub covering accounting, storage, comms, signing and HR systems	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
API	Included Versioned REST API, OpenAPI reference, OAuth, API keys and webhooks	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Security	Included Row-level tenant isolation, EU hosting, encryption and immutable audit history	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Compliance	Included Document expiry, versioning and mobilisation blocking on missing evidence	Partial Signed sheets exist but are not linked to approvals or rates
Commercial engine	Included Timesheet-to-invoice calculation driven by agreed terms of engagement	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Report builder	Included Self-service report definitions with scheduling and delivery	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Developer platform	Included OAuth apps, event catalogue, signed webhooks and rate-limited gateway	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Support	Included In-app guidance, knowledge centre, onboarding wizard and named success contact	Different scope Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope

Workers
CrewFlow
Included
Worker records with rates, documents, availability and full assignment history
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Projects
CrewFlow
Included
Clients, projects, jobs and positions with historical rates
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Planning
CrewFlow
Included
Crew Planning with day, week, month, timeline and Gantt views
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
AI timesheets
CrewFlow
Included
Photo or PDF capture, AI extraction, confidence scoring and human approval
Paper timesheets
Partial
Hours are captured accurately on site, then re-keyed manually in the office
Document packs
CrewFlow
Included
Packs assembled by country, client, project or org defaults
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Digital signatures
CrewFlow
Included
Terms of engagement issued and signed in the worker portal
Paper timesheets
Partial
Wet signature on site, filed manually
Mobility intelligence
CrewFlow
Included
A1, posting, right-to-work and Schengen day tracking with pre-mobilisation scoring
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Business intelligence
CrewFlow
Included
Executive dashboard, revenue, profitability, workforce and operations analytics
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Automation
CrewFlow
Included
Trigger, condition and action builder with execution audit history
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Mobile app
CrewFlow
Included
Native iOS and Android worker portal with offline capture and push
Paper timesheets
Different scope
No mobile capture in the paper process
Integrations
CrewFlow
Included
Integrations Hub covering accounting, storage, comms, signing and HR systems
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
API
CrewFlow
Included
Versioned REST API, OpenAPI reference, OAuth, API keys and webhooks
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Security
CrewFlow
Included
Row-level tenant isolation, EU hosting, encryption and immutable audit history
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Compliance
CrewFlow
Included
Document expiry, versioning and mobilisation blocking on missing evidence
Paper timesheets
Partial
Signed sheets exist but are not linked to approvals or rates
Commercial engine
CrewFlow
Included
Timesheet-to-invoice calculation driven by agreed terms of engagement
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Report builder
CrewFlow
Included
Self-service report definitions with scheduling and delivery
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Developer platform
CrewFlow
Included
OAuth apps, event catalogue, signed webhooks and rate-limited gateway
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope
Support
CrewFlow
Included
In-app guidance, knowledge centre, onboarding wizard and named success contact
Paper timesheets
Different scope
Not part of Paper timesheets's intended scope

Advantages

What Paper timesheets does well

Signed on site, immediately trusted by clients
No devices, accounts or connectivity required
Familiar to every worker and supervisor
Physically robust in harsh site conditions

Limitations

Where teams typically hit the edge

Hours reach the office days after they were worked
Manual re-keying introduces pay and invoice errors
Illegible or incomplete sheets are only discovered late
Approval chains are hard to evidence
Lost sheets mean lost revenue

Typical use cases

Which to use, when

Keep paper

The on-site sheet itself, especially where the client signs it.

Add AI timesheets

Capture, extraction, approval, rating and invoicing.

Best of both

Photograph the signed sheet; the image is stored as evidence and the extracted data flows to approval.

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

Included in the CrewFlow subscription; AI processing is part of the platform rather than a per-page charge.

See CrewFlow pricing