Hi, I'm Jerry. I build software through ACCDevWorks, and I'm the person behind ACCTimeTracker. I've been involved in tech most of my life — developing programs, designing interfaces, and building high-performance computers in my spare time. I'm a problem solver: if something doesn't work, I find another way. My brain never shuts off looking for better workflows.
I also work in the trade every day as head painter at a high-end body shop in Austin, Texas. With more than 40 years in the automotive industry, I know shop life from the bay floor — flagged hours, pay periods, RO chaos, and the tools technicians actually tolerate using on their phones.
The Problem That Started It All
For years our shop used an app called TechTime to track flat-rate hours. It worked, and it had one feature I absolutely loved — the ability to look up past jobs with almost any search string you could think of. Then it disappeared from the app store when the developer stopped supporting it.
That left a huge gap. We spent six to eight months looking for something that fit how technicians actually work. Most options were either too basic to trust for payroll or too heavy for a tech standing at a car with greasy hands.
The Breaking Point
As we replaced old phones one by one, we kept losing access to TechTime until one guy in the shop who still had his old phone was entering time for everyone. That's when I stopped waiting for someone else to fix it.
After months of searching, the conclusion was clear: nothing on the market filled the gap TechTime left for individual technicians.
What We Tried (And Why It Failed)
Generic Time Tracking Apps
- Problem: Built for office workers, not automotive technicians
- Issues: No GPS verification for field work, no RO tracking, no restoration vs general labor rates
- Result: Missed clock-ins, inaccurate hours, frustrated techs
Paper Time Cards
- Problem: Easy to lose, hard to reconcile, no backup
- Issues: Forgotten entries, manual math errors, disputes at pay time
- Result: Lost hours and arguments nobody wins
Enterprise Shop Software
- Problem: Overcomplicated platforms designed for managers, not the bay
- Issues: Required IT setup, didn't match how techs flag hours day to day
- Result: Still didn't solve the personal tracking problem at the technician level
The Lightbulb Moment
If nothing existed that filled the gap TechTime left, I'd architect the solution myself.
I'm not a traditional coder — I'm a solutions architect who's been building and designing software for years, with deep shop-floor context from four decades in the industry. Early versions were basic and good enough for the moment. Over time, ACCTimeTracker grew into a full progressive web app: flag-hour entry, time clock with GPS verification, pay-period summaries, custom fields, photo notes, exports for payroll, and offline use when shop Wi‑Fi drops.
The Development Journey
Phase 1: Understanding the Problem
- Mapped real workflows — How do techs actually track time between jobs?
- Identified pain points — Lost flags, RO confusion, pay-period scrambles
- Applied shop experience — 40+ years of industry context, not generic UX
- Rebuilt what TechTime did best — Especially fast job search and history
Phase 2: Building the Solution
- GPS-verified time clock — Clock in from the shop or job site
- RO and job tracking — Every entry tied to real work
- Dual rate structure — Restoration vs general labor
- Mobile-first PWA — Installable, works on phones and tablets
- Offline-first — Keeps working when connectivity doesn't
- Pay-period exports — Email and CSV for payroll handoff
- Custom fields & photos — Capture what your shop actually needs
Phase 3: Real-World Testing
- Daily use in our shop — Real ROs, real pay periods
- Iterated from feedback — Fixed friction points techs actually hit
- Refined until it stuck — A workflow people reach for without being told
The Results in Our Shop
Before ACCTimeTracker:
- Technicians losing track of what they flagged or didn't flag
- Payroll took hours every two weeks
- Arguments over hours left on repair orders
- Repair time left on ROs that never made it to the flag sheet
After ACCTimeTracker:
- Fewer lost hours — GPS verification and clear job history
- Payroll in minutes — Period totals and exports ready to send
- Less back-and-forth — Shared record of what was flagged when
- Technicians actually use it — Built for how they work, not against it
Built for Technicians — Period
After seeing the impact in our shop, I opened ACCTimeTracker to other technicians. This app is for individual techs tracking their own hours — always has been, always will be. If you flag hours for a living, this is your tool.
What I Stand Behind:
- Technician-first — Designed from the bay, not a boardroom
- Your data stays yours — Local storage on your device; you're not the product
- Offline-capable — Because shop Wi‑Fi is not always shop Wi‑Fi
- Always available — Use it at acctimetracker.com/tech whenever you need it
Running a Whole Shop?
ACCTimeTracker is personal time tracking for individual technicians. When a shop needs production boards, manager approvals, team clocks, and payroll for the whole crew, that's a different problem — and a different product. I built BodyShopOS™ under ACCDevWorks for owners and managers who need the full shop layer. Same builder, separate platform. Technicians using ACCTimeTracker personally can share the overview with their manager.
The Response from the Industry
What Shop Owners Say:
What Technicians Say:
What's Next for ACCTimeTracker
- Continued refinement — Pay-period accuracy, exports, and bay-floor UX
- Reporting improvements — Clearer summaries for techs and managers
- PWA reliability — Faster loads, smoother offline behavior
- Community feedback — Features driven by real shop use, not feature bloat
The Bottom Line
ACCTimeTracker wasn't built by a software company guessing at shop life. It was built by someone who lived the TechTime gap, spent months searching for a replacement, and still works in a shop every day. It's what TechTime should have evolved into — with the search, the clock, the flags, and the exports technicians actually need.
ACCTimeTracker is for technicians. It always will be.
Built in the bay. Improved in the bay. Shared with techs who deserve a tool that respects their work.
About Jerry
Founder, ACCDevWorks
Solutions Architect & Web Designer
Head Painter, High-End Body Shop — Austin, Texas
Creator of ACCTimeTracker & BodyShopOS™
"Built by a tech who works in the trade, for technicians who live in the bay. When nothing fit, I built it myself."