Meet Planner: The smarter way to schedule subcontractor work

Meet Planner: The smarter way to schedule subcontractor work

If you’re still planning work on a whiteboard, updating an Excel sheet, juggling WhatsApp groups, and answering calls from operatives asking where they need to be in the morning, rest assured, you’re not alone.

Scheduling in the construction industry is a tricky thing. You’re subject to the whims of inventory, supply chains, permitting offices, and inspections officers. Plus you're managing operatives across different sites against that tricky backdrop.

That’s how you end up with double-booked operatives, missed deadlines, and an administrative team that’s out of sync with what’s happening in the field.

So we built Planner. We wanted to give subcontractors a single, simple calendar you can use to manage people and projects, no matter how often the schedule shifts.

Why scheduling is still one of the hardest parts of running a subcontracting business

Even with the best intentions and the most organised teams, the old ways of scheduling simply can’t keep up with modern subcontracting.

Here are some of the major challenges:

No big-picture view of people or projects

Most traditional scheduling tools, if you can call whiteboards and spreadsheets “tools,” only show part of the picture. You might know who’s on Site A tomorrow, but it’s hard to see how that might affect Site B.

These static schedules make it hard to plan ahead, take on more work confidently, or keep multiple projects running without overstretching your teams or missing deadlines.

It also costs time. Many subcontractors are familiar with the dreaded “phone day,” where you call around to all your operatives to confirm next week’s plan.

If you spend two hours every Friday reshuffling 25 operatives to meet next week’s needs, that’s more than 100 hours a year spent on admin time alone. 

Manual scheduling is slow and painful

The other problem with whiteboards and spreadsheets is that they’re a pain to update. The moment something changes—and something is always changing in this business—every part of the schedule needs to be updated.

That’s how you end up with schedules that only live in a site manager’s head, because they’re too busy running their operations to erase the whiteboard and start over.

No visibility into whether operatives actually worked when scheduled

Even if the schedule looks right on paper, most subcontractors have no simple way to confirm whether operatives actually worked the hours they were assigned.

That lack of accountability creates friction between field teams and the office because you might not find out an operative missed a shift until two days later, when the GC complains.

Most weren’t built for subcontractors

There are plenty of scheduling apps out there, but most weren’t designed with the construction trades in mind. They assume salaried staff, fixed locations, and predictable hours—all things that are in short supply for subs.

On top of that, many tools don’t connect to timesheets, or they are cumbersome to learn and expensive to roll out.

Planner was built for you, because you asked for it

When we launched the new Onetrace brand in September 2025, the very first piece of feedback we received was: “I wonder if there’ll be a diary.”

That became the blueprint for Planner. It’s a visual, flexible calendar built specifically for subcontractors.

Here’s how Planner supports the way you work:

Operative view

Planner lets you quickly view each operative’s upcoming workload. It spotlights potential conflicts, shows you who’s available for a shift, and lets you assign work in seconds.

That eliminates double-bookings and reduces how often you scramble to fill a shift.

Project view

Projects rarely follow tidy timelines. Materials don’t arrive on time, or inspectors get behind schedule, and suddenly your carefully planned sequence falls to pieces.

With Planner, you can map out your full project, then easily adjust it as hiccups happen without having to rewrite the whole thing from scratch. If timings on the job change, you can shift your team on the calendar, and everybody’s schedule updates automatically.

Custom views for each manager

Not everyone on your crew needs to see everything.

Planner lets each site manager filter by the operatives, crews, or sites that matter to them. So, if they are focused on their eight operatives on a specific project, they can filter out the rest of the noise so they don’t get distracted by every job the company is running that week.

Drag-and-drop scheduling

Rescheduling happens often enough that it shouldn’t feel like a chore. With Planner, moving an operative to a different day is as simple as dragging their name across the calendar.

That eliminates the need to call or text every operative about new schedules every time something changes. Instead, everybody is instantly in the loop.

Mobile access for operatives

Operatives often have the toughest time keeping up with shifting schedules. Paper versions fall out of date and WhatsApp messages get buried, which leads to even the most diligent people having to call the head office for more information.

Operatives can use Planner to see a clear list of upcoming work, launch a quickstart view that shows today’s job and their timesheet, or open up job details to find directions and other site info.

And they can access all this data on their phone.

A better way to run your workforce

Scheduling shouldn’t be the part of the job that holds your company back.

When you’re managing multiple projects, shifting timelines, and a workforce that moves between sites, you need a tool that adapts fast.

Planner gives subcontractors a simpler, more dependable way to plan work. It's one place where you can see every operative and every project, and make changes quickly without adding to your administrative overhead.

The result is a more organised operation that makes fewer mistakes and keeps its team aligned.

Explore Planner, and find all the ways Onetrace can help you streamline your operations.