GPS Engineer Tracking
See where all your engineers are on a live map, track how long they spend at each job, and give customers accurate ETAs — all from the Trade2Base mobile app and office dashboard.
What GPS tracking shows
The live map in Trade2Base gives the office team a real-time picture of the whole field operation:
How engineers enable location sharing
Location sharing is opt-in for each engineer and is controlled from the Trade2Base mobile app:
- 1The engineer opens the Trade2Base app on their iOS or Android device and taps their profile icon in the top right.
- 2Tap Location sharing and follow the prompt to grant Trade2Base “Allow while using the app” location permission on their device.
- 3Toggle Share my location on. The engineer's pin will appear on the office live map within 30 seconds.
- 4Engineers can toggle location sharing off at any time from the same screen. The office map will show their last known position with a note that sharing is paused.
Privacy settings — tracking only during work hours
Trade2Base is designed to respect engineer privacy. You can configure GPS tracking to operate only within defined working hours so engineers are not tracked in their personal time.
- 1Go to Settings > Team > GPS Tracking and enable Work hours only.
- 2Trade2Base will automatically pause location updates outside each engineer's configured working hours — even if their phone's location permission is still granted.
- 3Engineers are notified in the app when tracking starts and stops each day so they are always aware of when they are being tracked.
We recommend making your GPS tracking policy clear to engineers in writing as part of their contract or employee handbook.
Viewing the live map from the office
In Trade2Base, go to Schedule > Live Map. The map shows all engineers who have location sharing active as coloured pins matching their calendar colour. Click any engineer's pin to see their name, current status (travelling, on site, or idle), and the next job assigned to them. The panel on the right lists all engineers with a status summary — useful for a quick overview without scanning the map. The live map refreshes automatically; there is no need to reload the page.
Improving ETA accuracy and customer communication
GPS tracking makes it much easier to give customers accurate arrival times:
- From the live map, click an engineer's pin and select Send ETA to customer. Trade2Base calculates the estimated travel time to the next job and sends the customer an SMS or WhatsApp message with the ETA.
- The ETA message includes a live tracking link so the customer can watch the engineer's progress on a map in their browser, similar to a taxi tracking page.
- When the engineer marks themselves as On the way in the app, a tracking link is sent automatically if you have this automation enabled in Settings > Automations.
- If the engineer is running significantly late, Trade2Base can detect the delay and prompt the office team to send an updated ETA to the customer.
GPS data and timesheet accuracy
Trade2Base cross-references GPS location data with job start and end times logged in the app. When an engineer taps Start job, the app records the time and location. If the GPS position does not match the job site address (within a configurable radius), a flag appears on the job record so the office can review it. Route history data is also available on the Reports > Engineer Time Log page, where you can see how long each engineer spent travelling versus on site each day — useful for verifying timesheets and identifying inefficiencies in routing.
GPS tracking of employees is lawful in the UK when there is a legitimate business reason, employees are informed about the tracking, and data is not retained longer than necessary. You must disclose GPS tracking in your employment contracts or privacy notice. Trade2Base automatically deletes route history data after 90 days. Consult an employment solicitor if you are unsure about your obligations.