Field app
Offline field app for greenkeepers and grounds crews, PIN sign in
The TurfOps field app is an offline field app for greenkeepers and grounds crews in South Africa. A worker signs in with their mobile number and a 6 digit PIN, with no email address and no password, and logs fuel, hour meters and turf readings from any phone. With no signal, each entry is saved on the phone and sent when coverage returns. Field seats are free and unlimited. Built in Cape Town by TurfOps (Pty) Ltd.
PIN sign in for field workers
A field worker opens TurfOps on any phone, types their mobile number and a 6 digit PIN, and is in. There is no email address and no password. The office invites each worker with a link they can open from WhatsApp, the worker chooses their own PIN, and only an active field worker's PIN works. Someone who works for two companies on TurfOps picks which one after signing in. The session lasts twelve hours and is held in a signed cookie that scripts cannot read. A PIN session reaches the field capture screens and nothing else: the readings and fuel capture page, Log fuel, the hour meter and the monthly kilometre declaration. Management screens, settings and other organisations' data are out of reach by design. Field seats are free and unlimited, so every greenkeeper, operator and driver on the contract can have one.
- Mobile number plus a 6 digit PIN, on any phone
- No email address, no password, nothing to reset
- Twelve hour session in a signed cookie
- Field capture screens only, enforced before the page loads
Offline data capture with no signal
The field app assumes the signal will drop. The capture page is kept on the phone by a service worker, so it opens again on the back nine with no coverage. When a worker saves a reading or a fuel entry with no signal, it is written to a queue on the phone first, photos included, and the screen says it is saved on this phone. The page shows how many captures are waiting. They send by themselves when the phone finds coverage again, when the app is next opened, or when the worker taps Sync now. Entries send in the order they were taken, and each fuel entry carries its own request id so a retry never logs the same fill twice. An entry the server rejects stays on the phone with the reason shown.
- Readings and fuel entries queue on the phone, photos included
- A waiting count and an Offline marker on the page
- Sends on reconnect, on next open, or on Sync now
- Sign in pages are never cached on the phone
Fuel, hours and readings from the phone
The capture screens use large tap targets and few fields. Log fuel asks one question, where did the fuel go: into a machine, into a tank, or a tank reading. A fill goes against a machine and the worker's name. At a garage the worker photographs the slip and TurfOps reads the litres, the amount, the date and the garage off it for the worker to check. The hour meter screen finds a machine by its number, name or registration, shows the current meter and the last reading, and takes the new one; a lower number than last time asks for a confirmation that the meter was replaced. The turf reading screen takes a green speed, moisture or clipping reading against a site and a zone. Every entry carries the person who made it, so the office never chases anyone.
- Log fuel: into a machine, into a tank, or a tank reading
- Snap the slip and the litres, amount, date and garage fill themselves in
- Hour meter and odometer by machine number, name or registration
- Monthly kilometre declaration per vehicle
Installs to the home screen, no app store needed
TurfOps runs in the phone's browser and installs to the home screen like an app. On Android, Chrome offers Add to home screen; on an iPhone it is Share, then Add to Home Screen. Once installed it opens full screen with its own icon, straight onto the field capture page, with no address bar and no store account to create. Because it is the web app, every worker is on the current version the moment it is deployed, with nothing to update by hand on every phone in the crew. The camera and location work through the browser, so a fuel slip photo or a location fix needs no extra software. Any phone that runs a modern browser will do, which matters when the crew's phones are their own.
- Android: Add to home screen in Chrome
- iPhone: Share, then Add to Home Screen
- Opens straight onto the capture page, full screen
- Always the current version, nothing to update by hand
Apple Watch greenkeeping, in testing
A TurfOps app for Apple Watch is in testing and not yet generally available. It is a standalone watch app, so it does not need an iPhone app beside it. The watch is paired once with a six digit code generated under Settings, Devices; no password is ever typed on the watch. From the wrist a team lead can report a fault by speaking it, log a fuel fill against a machine, or score a hole on the same audit categories as the web app. Every entry is saved on the watch before the network is touched and syncs when coverage returns, in order, without duplicates. The watch keeps a cached copy of the sites, holes, machines and tanks, so it works with the radio off. Location suggests the site; a manual picker is always offered.
- Report a fault by voice, transcribed on the watch
- Log a fuel fill against a machine
- Score a hole on the organisation's audit categories
- Works with no signal, syncs in order when it returns
Common questions
What is a greenkeeper app?
A greenkeeper app is a phone app the crew use to record work where it happens instead of in a notebook or a group chat. The TurfOps field app covers fuel fills, tank readings, hour meters, kilometre declarations and turf readings such as green speed and soil moisture. Each entry carries the worker's name, the time and, where it fits, a photo, so the office gets the record without chasing anyone.
Does the TurfOps field app work with no signal?
Yes. The capture page is kept on the phone, so it opens with no coverage. Anything saved with no signal goes into a queue on the phone, photos included, and sends by itself when the signal returns, when the app is next opened, or when the worker taps Sync now. Entries go in the order they were taken and a retry never logs the same fill twice.
How do field workers sign in without an email address?
With their mobile number and a 6 digit PIN. A worker types both on any phone and is in; there is no email address and no password. The worker chooses the PIN when they accept the invitation the office sends them. The session lasts twelve hours, and a PIN session can only reach the field capture screens, not management, settings or any other organisation's data.
Do I pay per user for the field app?
No. TurfOps is priced per site per month, and field seats are free and unlimited, so every greenkeeper, operator and driver on the contract can sign in without changing the bill. Full seats, for the managers running budgets, compliance and reporting, are included per tier. Current prices are on the pricing page.
Is there an offline data capture app for grounds crews in South Africa?
Yes. TurfOps is built in Cape Town by TurfOps (Pty) Ltd for South African operators maintaining golf courses, estates and grounds across several sites. The field app was designed for the person holding the rake first: a PIN instead of a password, capture that keeps working with no signal on the back nine, and sync when coverage returns. It runs on the crew's own phones in the browser and installs to the home screen.
Is there an Apple Watch app for greenkeepers?
TurfOps has an Apple Watch app in testing. It is not yet generally available. It pairs with a six digit code, never a password, and lets a team lead report a fault by voice, log a fuel fill or score a hole from the wrist with no signal, syncing when coverage returns. Email info@turfops.co.za to ask where testing stands.