Field work

Farm labor management software for crews and contractors

Know which lot and which task every jornal went to.

Plan the cycle by lot, task, and contractor. Your team logs progress from the phone or on WhatsApp, and Arlo costs it against the plan while you can still correct course.

Book a 20-minute demo See how it works
arloagro.com / field-cycles
Arlo field cycle with budgeted against actual cost and each task's progress by lot and by day

FC-2026-SEM-40-SEM-41

September 28, 2026 – October 11, 2026 In progress
View report
Budgeted cost
$16,420,300.00
Contractor: $15,680,000.00Supplies: $740,300.00
Actual cost
$17,104,850.00
Contractor: $13,902,400.00Supplies: $3,202,450.00
104.2%
Budget
-$684,550.00 over budget
Tasks
19/32
completed
88.6%
Progress
Almost done
Delayed
3
tasks delayed
05 Oct – 11 Oct 2/2
By lot By contractor By task
Week92%
14/15 tasks · $6.2M / $4.1M
Mon 5
3/6 $1.6M
Tue 6
4/6 $2.4M
Wed 7
2/5 $812k
Thu 8
9/14 $1.2M
Fri · today 9
1/5 $214k
Sat 10
0/1 $0
Sun 11
0/1 $0
2B 118%
1/1 tasks · $912k / $773k
Sanitary pruning for pink disease North crew 72%
142 · $516k
111 · $396k
no log
no log
log
7A 100%
2/2 tasks · $338k / $338k
Drench fungicide for Phytophthora
100% East crew
466 · $107k
800 · $183k
Stationary sprayer transport
100% East crew
1 · $48k
23 17%
1/1 tasks · $123k / $725k
Broad mite control with stationary sprayer South crew 11%
no log
no log
298 · $123k
no log
log
2,459 trees left

Payroll goes out every week. Where it went, nobody knows.

Today

  1. Work is assigned on WhatsApp and closed with a "done".

    "Boss, lot 3 is done" is the whole report you get.

  2. Contractors get paid for what they say they did.

    Their count, the foreman's, and the notebook never match.

  3. Jornales leave the cash box with no lot or task.

    The week's payroll goes out and nobody knows which lot or task it paid for.

  4. The cycle runs over budget and nobody sees it.

    You find out once the cycle has closed and the money is already paid.

  5. And you can't see how much margin labor takes on each lot.

    In coffee, harvesting alone is about half of production cost (Cenicafé, 2024), and the day rate rises every year.

With Arlo

  1. The supervisor logs progress from the lot, by jornal or by unit.

  2. Each contractor is paid for the work actually done.

  3. Every jornal carries its lot, its task, and its cost.

  4. You see planned against actual in the same week.

  5. You know what each task costs, on every lot.

How field work gets logged and costed.

  1. The supervisor logs the work in the lot

    From the phone they pick the task, the lot, and the crew, and enter the jornales or the units done. Arlo costs it at the agreed rate.

    Log labor execution

    Date 10/09/2026 5:20 PM
    Today Yesterday Day before
    Field task Sanitary pruning for pink disease
    Lot 2B
    Contractor North crew
    Assignment people optional
    PersonJornalesRate
    J. Pérez 2 90,000
    L. Mora 2 90,000
    R. Díaz 2 90,000
    Jornales 6
    Labor rate 90,000

    Jornales x labor rate

    Total cost $540,000.00
    Log work
    What the supervisor logs · Sample data

  2. Or reports it on WhatsApp

    They type "labor" and Arlo asks for the date, lot, task, crew, and jornales, one at a time. Arlo saves the log in the same cycle.

    Arlo online
    Today
    A field work log on WhatsApp, condensed

  3. Arlo costs it against the plan

    Arlo adds every log to the cycle's progress and actual cost, by lot, task, and contractor, the same day.

    FC-2026-SEM-40-SEM-41

    FC-2026-SEM-40-SEM-41 In progress
    Budgeted cost
    $16.4M
    Actual cost
    $17.1M
    104%
    Budget
    $684,550 over budget
    Tasks
    19/32
    3 delayed
    Progress by contractor
    NC
    North crew
    4 tasks · last log Oct 9
    72%
    $4.6M / $5.6M -18%
    WC
    West crew
    3 tasks · last log Oct 8
    92%
    $2.1M / $1.9M +7%
    EC
    East crew
    6 tasks · last log Oct 8
    100%
    $4.3M / $4.3M 0%
    SC
    South crew
    2 tasks · 1 delayed
    11%
    $123k / $1.1M -89%
    The cycle in Arlo, the same day · Sample data

Planned and actual, in the same table.

Arlo builds the cycle's cost report from every field work log. The report shows progress, jornales, and actual cost by contractor, by task, and by lot.

Pay each contractor for the work done

The cycle's cost report lays out, per contractor, planned against actual quantity, jornales, and labor cost. You pay from what the supervisor logged in the lot.

  • Progress in task units and in jornales
  • Day rate or piece rate, per contractor
  • A PDF per contractor with the tasks done and the amount to pay
arloagro.com / field-cycles / report

Cost Report — FC-2026-SEM-40-SEM-41

Download Excel
Total Budget
$16,420,300
Total Actual
$17,104,850
Variance
+$684,550
104.2% of budget
Labor Cost
$13,902,400
Supply Cost
$3,202,450

Work completed

Contractor Planned task qty Actual task qty Task progress Planned labor units Actual labor units Labor progress Actual labor cost
North crew 2,480 trees 1,786 trees 72% 62 jornales 51 jornales 82.3% $4,590,000
East crewmixed units — — 100% 48 jornales 48 jornales 100% $4,320,000
La Esperanza Irrigation 12 ha 12 ha 100% 30 jornales 31 jornales 103.3% $2,790,000
West crewmixed units — — 92% 24 jornales 23 jornales 95.8% $2,079,624
South crew 2,757 trees 298 trees 10.8% 20 jornales 6 jornales 30% $122,776

See which task is falling behind

The Progress tab groups the cycle by lot, contractor, or task. Each row shows how far along it is, what it costs against plan, and which days had no log.

  • Variance against budget on every row
  • Delayed tasks in view before the cycle closes
  • The whole cycle or just this week
arloagro.com / field-cycles / progress
Lots Contractors Tasks
Whole cycle This week
Tasks
Progress
Actual / planned cost
Status
Activity by day
Sanitary pruning for pink disease
8 tasks · last log Oct 9
72%
1,786 / 2,480 trees
$4.6M / $5.6M -18%
Drench fungicide for Phytophthora
6 tasks · supplies $1.2M / $521k
100%
1,266 / 1,266 trees
$5.5M / $4.8M +14%
Irrigation canal repair
4 tasks · supplies $800k / $0
100%
12 / 12 ha
$3.6M / $2.7M +33%
Soil fertilization
9 tasks · last log Oct 8
92%
1,820 / 1,980 trees
$2.1M / $1.9M +7%
1 delayed
Mite control with stationary sprayer
5 tasks · supplies $1.2M / $220k
11%
298 / 2,757 trees
$1.3M / $1.4M -1%
2 delayed
Total
88.6%
$17.1M / $16.4M +4%
29/32 tasks with logs

Arlo charges every task's cost to its lot

The report shows labor and supplies, budgeted and actual, lot by lot. With the same lot's harvest and remisiones, Arlo works out what a kilo costs you to produce.

  • Cost per lot with labor and supplies
  • Lots ranked by how far they ran over budget
  • Arlo splits the estate's overhead across lots by area
arloagro.com / field-cycles / report

Cost by Lot

Download Excel
Lot Bud. Labor Act. Labor Bud. Supply Act. Supply Total Budget Total Actual Variance
L8 $2,700,000 $2,790,000 $0 $800,000 $2,700,000 $3,590,000 +$890,000
7A $4,320,000 $4,320,000 $520,780 $1,184,450 $4,840,780 $5,504,450 +$663,670
7C $1,944,116 $2,079,624 $0 $0 $1,944,116 $2,079,624 +$135,508
23 $1,135,884 $122,776 $219,520 $1,218,000 $1,355,404 $1,340,776 -$14,628
2B $5,580,000 $4,590,000 $0 $0 $5,580,000 $4,590,000 -$990,000
Total $15,680,000 $13,902,400 $740,300 $3,202,450 $16,420,300 $17,104,850 +$684,550

Real estates already cost their field work in Arlo.

Figures as of August 2026, from the perennial estates that use Arlo for field work.

Field work in Arlo

August 2026

tasks scheduled in field cycles
9,757
progress logs made from the field
9,974
of scheduled tasks closed with a log
72%
contractors with their work costed
412
field cycles planned
149
of labor logged on Navelinas SAS's 228 ha, every peso tied to its lot, task, and contractor
421MCOP

The rest of the estate, in the same record.

What your team records in any module goes into the lot's record and adds to its cost per kilo and margin.

See which lots and tasks cost more than you planned.

In 20 minutes we go over your cycles, your task catalog, your contractors, and how you approve payments today, and tell you whether Arlo fits.

Book a 20-minute demo Message us on WhatsApp

Frequently asked questions

How do you track labor cost per hectare (or acre) by block?
Cost every field work log against its lot when it is recorded. In Arlo each log carries its lot, its jornales or units, and its cost, so you read labor cost per lot and per hectare in the cycle's cost report without building a spreadsheet.
How do you pay farm labor contractors only for work actually done?
Pay from what was logged in the lot. The cycle's cost report shows, per contractor, planned and actual quantity, jornales, and labor cost at the day rate or piece rate you agreed. Arlo generates a PDF per contractor with the tasks done and the amount to pay.
Can crews log day-rate and piece-rate work in the same system?
Yes. Arlo costs each log either in jornales at the day rate, or in task units such as trees, plants, or hectares at the unit price. One cycle can mix both, and each contractor can have their own rate.
How do you compare planned vs. actual labor and input cost per block?
The cycle's cost report puts budgeted labor and supplies against actual, lot by lot, with the variance on each. With the same lot's harvest and remisiones, Arlo also works out the cost per kilo and the lot's margin.
How do you assign tasks to crews and contractors across lots?
You plan a field cycle, usually 7, 15, or 30 days, and schedule each task by lot, contractor or crew, date, and quantity. The task catalog is your estate's own, with your names, units, and prices.
Can supervisors report progress on WhatsApp?
Yes. The supervisor types "labor" and Arlo asks for the date, lot, task, crew, and jornales or units, then saves the log in the cycle. They can also log from the phone's browser. Saving a log needs a connection. WhatsApp logging comes with the Smart plan.
How many contractors and supervisors can we add?
As many as you need. Arlo charges one subscription per farm, with unlimited users. Contractors and crews are records, so Arlo costs their work even if they never log in.
Is this farm payroll software?
No. Arlo records planned and actual work with its cost by lot, task, and contractor, and exports it to Excel. Payroll and accounting stay in the system you already use. Whoever runs payroll uses Arlo's Excel export to see what was done, on which lot, and what it cost.