QuickBooks Workforce setup: install steps and settings that keep tracking working
Employees installing QuickBooks Workforce can fix stalled time and location tracking by setting permissions and battery options correctly.
QuickBooks Workforce, the employee-facing time tracking app, keeps drawing setup questions in community threads. The accepted answer on getting started reads less like an app tutorial and more like a device settings checklist. The controls that decide whether the app works sit in the phone itself, not in the app. We walked through the full solution; here is what it covers.
Where the setup stalls
Three things trip people up. The app can be hard to find on an iPad until a store filter is changed. The install prompts still use the app’s earlier name, QuickBooks Time, which looks like a wrong download. And after launch, missed permission and battery settings let tracking quietly stop without any visible error.
Installing on an iPhone
Open the App Store and search for QuickBooks Workforce. Before you tap Get, the listing’s information section answers two practical questions. A compatibility line confirms your device and operating system meet the requirements. A size entry shows how much storage the download needs. Select Get, then Open. The app will then ask whether it may send you notifications. That permission is optional for time tracking itself, so either answer works.
Note the wording of that request: it names QuickBooks Time rather than Workforce. That is expected, and we return to it below.
Installing on Android
The path is much the same in Google Play. Search for QuickBooks Workforce and open the listing. Compatibility appears under About this app, which lists your active devices and whether the app runs on each. Download size appears under App info. Go back one screen, tap Install, then Open.
Why is the app missing on iPad?
The Workforce app is built for the iPhone, so the iPad store hides it by default. Open the App Store and find the filter along the top of the results, which is set to iPad only. Switch it to iPhone only. The listing then appears, and you can download it to the tablet like any other app.
The settings that decide whether tracking works
Phones work hard to save power, and a time tracking app works against that instinct. It needs to run in the background, and when an employer requires location, it needs location access at all times. Battery saving features are the quiet culprit here. A restricted app can stop recording without telling you, which is why the accepted answer treats phone settings as part of setup rather than an afterthought.
On an iPhone, start with battery. Open Settings, tap Battery, and switch off Low Power Mode. If you run a separate battery saver app, set its permissions so it leaves Workforce alone. Then open the Workforce entry in Settings. Tap Location, choose Always, and turn on precise location. Notifications can stay off if you prefer. Turn on Background App Refresh as well. Finally, check the global switch under Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Location Services, and make sure it is on.
Android gathers the equivalent controls in one place. Open Settings, then Apps, then App Management, and find the entry listed as QuickBooks Time. That opens the App info page, where you can change permissions, battery behavior, and data usage. Under Permissions, choose Location and set it to allow all the time, with precise location on. Notifications are again optional. Tap Battery, select Unrestricted, then go back so the change is saved.
Why does the app still say QuickBooks Time?
Workforce is the current name for what used to be the QuickBooks Time mobile app, and traces of the old name survive. The iOS notification prompt uses it. Android lists the app under it in system settings. If you searched for Workforce, downloaded the official listing, and now see QuickBooks Time on your phone, you have the right app.
What the pattern tells you
Nothing in this setup points to a fault in the app or in the employer’s configuration. The accepted answer follows one consistent logic: install from the official store, confirm compatibility and size before downloading, then grant the background access the app needs. Doing that before the first shift prevents the silent failures that power saving and restricted permissions cause later.