How Do You Replace Paper Daily Reports with an iPad?#

Pick one of three setups. A note app like Goodnotes with an Apple Pencil gets the paper off the dashboard for almost nothing, but the report stays a page: nothing on it is tied to a job, a crew or hours the office can use. A daily report app like Raken or Fieldwire turns the report into a structured form with photos; Raken also emails the GC a branded PDF automatically. A field platform like Appello or eSUB goes further: the same entries feed timesheets, T&M tickets and job cost. Whichever you pick, start with one foreman on one job for two weeks, using the same questions as your paper form.

How do the three setups compare?#

Every competitor price comes from that vendor's own website, checked on October 14, 2026. Appello's cell describes how we price; we don't publish list prices. Links are in the sources at the end.

Setup	Example	What the foreman does	What the office gets	Price (as published)
Note app	Goodnotes	Writes by hand with an Apple Pencil on a template of your paper form	A handwritten page as a PDF	Free for 3 notebooks; Essential US$11.99/year
Daily report app	Raken	Fills in a structured report with photos and voice-to-text	A branded PDF with the day's weather, emailed automatically	Basic US$23 per user/month, billed annually, 3-user minimum
Daily report app	Fieldwire	Fills in a Daily Report form: weather, delays, accidents, injuries, notes	A form record per day on the project	Forms start on Business, US$64 per user/month, billed annually
Field platform	eSUB	Daily reports, T&M and time in one app	Reports, T&M and time on the same job	No prices on its site
Field platform	Appello	Fills in your daily report as a form, posts photo notes to the job, enters hours by cost code	A PDF of each report to the people you choose, on the same job record as timesheets, T&M and job cost	No user limit; price scales with users, the modules you use and a standard server fee; quoted

What should a digital daily report capture?#

Start with your paper form. Most subs' dailies already ask for the right things:

• Date, job, and who filled it in
• Weather and site conditions
• Crew on site and hours worked
• Work done, by area or system ("3rd floor, chilled water risers, 60% jacketed")
• Material delivered or short
• Delays and who caused them
• Inspections, visitors, safety issues
• Extra work the GC asked for, and who asked
• Photos

The last two are why subs go digital. When a GC disputes a back-charge eight months later, a photo with a time and place on it beats a line in a notebook. Our guide to field documentation for ICI subcontractors covers what to record and why.

Is a note app on an iPad good enough?#

For some contractors, yes. If the paper is getting lost on dashboards and all you want is to keep it, Goodnotes on an iPad with an Apple Pencil is the cheapest fix. Your foreman writes the way they always have, and the page lives on the iPad instead of the dashboard.

What you don't get:

• Nothing is tied to a job. Goodnotes can search handwriting, but a page is still a page. It isn't a record on the job with a date, crew and hours the office can filter or total.
• Hours that go anywhere. Crew hours on the daily still get re-typed into the timesheet and then into payroll.
• Proof. A handwritten page doesn't carry a GPS stamp or a signature tied to a person.

If those matter, you need one of the other two setups.

Daily report app or field platform?#

It comes down to what happens after the report is filed.

A daily report app is the right size if the GC is the main reader. Raken builds a branded PDF with the day's weather and emails it automatically, and its Basic plan includes photos. Fieldwire's Daily Report form records weather, delays, accidents, injuries and notes, alongside its plans and tasks. Both are quick to roll out. But crew hours still live somewhere else unless you add their time tracking (on Raken's Performance plan, or Fieldwire's timesheet form).

A field platform is the right size if your office re-types the same information two or three times. The foreman's hours become the timesheet, the extra work becomes a T&M ticket, and labour lands on the job cost. That's more setup, and it's worth it when the re-typing is costing you an office person's week.

A quick test: count how many times a foreman's Tuesday gets typed by someone in the office. If it's more than once, a daily report app alone won't fix it.

Do you need special iPads?#

No. A few practical choices:

• Cellular or Wi-Fi. A cellular iPad sends reports from site as they're filed. A Wi-Fi model works too if the app saves the report with no signal and sends it once the iPad is back on the trailer's Wi-Fi or the truck's hotspot. Ask each vendor whether theirs does.
• A rugged case and a strap. It's going to be dropped.
• An Apple Pencil only if you're going the note-app route. Form-based apps are built for tapping and typing.
• Phone or iPad? Every option in the table also works on a phone. An iPad is easier for drawings and longer reports. A phone is already in the foreman's pocket.

How do you roll it out without losing your foremen?#

1. One foreman, one job, two weeks. Pick someone respected, not just the youngest.
2. Same questions as the paper form. Don't add fields in week one. The goal is "same report, no paper."
3. The office reads every report the same day, and replies to at least one. If nobody reads it, the foreman stops writing it.
4. Add photos in week two, then extra work and T&M.
5. Then expand, with that foreman showing the next one.

Our post on mobile technology adoption for field crews goes deeper on getting crews to stick with it.

What should you ask in a demo?#

• "Show me the daily report on an iPad, and then on a phone."
• "What happens in a basement mechanical room with no signal?" Test it; don't take a yes for an answer.
• "What does the GC receive, and can I send it automatically?"
• "Can the GC's super sign the extra work on the iPad without an account?"
• "Where do the crew hours on the report go next?"

Where is Appello not the right fit?#

Appello is built for ICI trade contractors with field crews. It isn't built for:

• A one-person shop with no field crew. A note app and an Apple Pencil will get the paper off the dashboard for far less.
• Residential builders and remodelers.
• General contractors who need document control and submittals for the whole building.

Where does Appello fit?#

Appello is for ICI trade contractors, often union, whose foremen's reports turn into timesheets, T&M tickets and progress claims.

• On the iPad. Appello has a mobile app for iPad and phones. Foremen fill in forms, post notes with photos, and enter time from the same device. With no signal, forms are saved on the device and sync when it's back in signal.
• Your form, not ours. The daily report is a form you build once, during setup, to match your paper one. The form builder rebuilds it with photo, signature, person and equipment questions. Required forms show on the job card each day.
• Proof built in. Every submission records the worker, job, GPS position and time. A signature question captures the GC super's signature in person, without an Appello login.
• Sent automatically. Each submission becomes a PDF, emailed to the people you choose.
• No re-typing. Hours go in by job and cost code. A signed work order becomes a T&M invoice with its labour, material and equipment lines. Percent complete by line feeds the progress claim, and budget vs actual updates as timesheets are approved.

See Safety & Forms and Project Management for more.

FAQ#

Can a foreman write by hand on an iPad and still have it count?
A handwritten PDF is still a record, and Goodnotes can search the handwriting. What it can't do is turn the page into hours, a T&M ticket or a job record, or send it to the GC on its own. If the GC's contract sets a format for daily reports, check it before you switch.

Is an iPad better than a phone for daily reports?
For long reports and drawings, yes. For a quick daily with photos, a phone works and is already on site.

Will older foremen use it?
Most will if the questions are the same as the paper form and someone in the office reads every report. Start with one respected foreman.

Do I need a cellular iPad?
Not if the app works offline. Appello's mobile app saves forms filled in with no signal and syncs them when the iPad is back on Wi-Fi or a hotspot. A cellular iPad gets the report to the office sooner. Either way, ask each vendor what happens when there's no signal, and test it.

Can the daily report feed timesheets and billing?
In a field platform, yes. In a note app, no. In a daily report app, only if you add its time tracking.

Sources#

All accessed October 14, 2026.

• Goodnotes, pricing and searching handwritten notes
• Raken, daily reports and pricing
• Fieldwire, forms launch post, timesheet forms and pricing
• eSUB, home page and features
• Appello, mobile app overview and filling in forms on mobile

Related reading#

• Paper-Based vs. Software Paperless Systems: The Cost Savings of Adopting a Digital Document Management System
• Field Documentation Best Practices for ICI Subcontractors
• Mobile Technology Adoption for Construction Field Crews
• T&M Billing: When to Use It and How to Document It
• What Construction Software Works with QuickBooks for Subcontractors?