Settings - Job Ticket Pricing

Administrator Guide: Configuring Auto Job Costs & Sale Prices

This guide outlines the process to set up automated job costing and pricing. This is a two-step process:

1. Global Rules: Enabling the automation logic and billing rules in General Settings.
2. Individual Rates: Defining specific hourly rates for each engineer in their User Profile.

Why Enable Auto-Costing?

• Eliminate Revenue Leakage: Automatically enforce Minimum Charges and Rounding rules. Never lose profit on short site visits again.
• True Profit Reporting: The system calculates two separate figures: your internal Cost (what you pay the engineer) and the customer's Sale Price (what you bill).
• Automated Complexity: Whether it’s a 2:00 AM emergency call-out or a Bank Holiday, the system automatically applies Premium rates without manual calculation.
• Total Integrity: Locking labour fields removes the risk of manual entry errors, ensuring invoices match the tracked data.

Part 1: Activation & Calculation Logic

Location: Settings > Company Settings > General Settings (Scroll to the Job Ticket section)

Use these settings to define how the system captures time and calculates the final bill.

1. Automation Toggles

• Sync Travel and Labour:
  • Function: Pulls start/stop times directly from the Engineer's Mobile App.
  • Security: Locks the Travel and Labour fields on the Job Ticket to prevent manual tampering.
• Allow Manual Edits:
  • Function: Allows authorized managers to manually adjust Start/End times on the Job Ticket (e.g., if an engineer forgot to clock out).
  • Action: Any manual change instantly triggers a re-calculation of all costs and prices.

2. Billing Constraints (Time Rules)

These settings ensure you bill for "value," not just "minutes."

• Minimum Charge: The minimum duration billable to a customer.
  • Example: Set to "1 Hour". If an engineer is on-site for 15 minutes, the Sale Price is calculated for 1 Hour.
  • Note: Your internal Cost remains at 15 minutes, giving you accurate profit reporting.
• Rounding Increment: Rounds the billable time up to the nearest block.
  • Example: Set to "15 Minutes". A job lasting 1 hour 10 minutes is billed as 1 hour 15 minutes.

3. Financial & Profit (Pricing Engine)

Define how the system converts Time into Money.

• Automated Pricing: When enabled, the system calculates a Suggested Sale Price.
• The Logic: (Billed Time × Engineer Rate) + Markup %
• Markup Fields:
  • Labour Markup %: Adds a percentage profit on top of the engineer's labour cost.
  • Travel Markup %: Adds a percentage profit on top of travel costs.
  • Smart Calculation: If the Minimum Charge is higher than the actual time, the markup is applied to the Minimum Charge value.

Part 2: Configuring Engineer Rates

Location: My Company > Current Employ / User

Automation requires data. You must define the base cost for each engineer individually.

1. Defining Base Rates and Hours

• Standard Rate: Enter the hourly rate charged during normal working hours (e.g., 120.00).

• Overtime Rate: Enter the premium hourly rate charged for work outside of standard hours (e.g., 190.00).

• Standard Start / End: Define your standard working day window (e.g., 08:00 AM to 05:00 PM).

• Public Holiday: Enter the special rate applicable for recognised Bank Holidays (e.g., 250.00).

• Travel Percent: This adjusts the active rate for travel time. (e.g., Setting this to 50% will bill travel at half the active labour rate).

2. Weekend Rules

• Sat / Sun Overtime: Check these boxes to flag Saturday or Sunday as "Overtime all day." This ensures the Overtime Rate is applied to every minute of work on these days, regardless of the time.

3. Advanced Rate Rules

• Initial Rate Lock: Controls billing continuity for jobs spanning across rate periods.

  • Unchecked (Default): Costs are calculated precisely. If a job crosses from Standard to Overtime (e.g., 5:00 PM), the rate changes mid-job.

  • Checked: The system locks in the rate active at the start time for the entire duration. If a job starts at 4:00 PM (Standard), the Standard Rate applies to the whole job, even if it finishes at 7:00 PM.

• Public Holidays: If a job date falls on a Bank Holiday, the system prioritizes the Public Holiday rate for the full duration, overriding all other settings.

Adding multiple reps to a job ticket will include the values for all the selected reps into the calculation.

Troubleshooting

To get the most out of your automation, keep these common scenarios in mind:

Why isn't the cost calculating on a ticket?

• Check the Rep’s Profile: Automation requires a base rate. Ensure the Engineer (Rep) has their rates defined in My Company > Current Employ / User. If the "Standard Rate" is £0.00, the calculation will result in zero.

• The "Save" Trigger: Costs are finalized once the Engineer marks the job as "Complete" via the app. If a job is "In Progress," the system holds the calculation until the final data is synced.

Managing Multiple Engineers on One Job

• Man-Hour Tracking: If you assign three reps to one ticket, the system calculates each individual’s rate against their specific time logs and aggregates them. This provides an accurate "Total Man-Hours" cost rather than just a flat "Clock Time" duration.

Multi-Day & Multi-Booking Totals

• Automated Aggregation: For jobs spanning several days, the system automatically sums every individual booking. It intelligently applies the correct rate for each specific date (e.g., Friday Standard vs. Saturday Overtime) and combines them into a single, comprehensive job total.

"The engineer forgot to complete the job!"

• Manual Adjustments: If you have Allow Edits toggled ON in Part 1, don't panic. An admin can manually fix the Start/End times on the Job Ticket. The system will instantly "re-run" the logic and update the cost, saving you from doing the math yourself.

Manually Adjusting Time Logs (Administrative Overrides)

If an engineer makes a mistake on the app—such as forgetting to start their travel on time—authorized users can manually correct the data to ensure the billing remains accurate.

• To Edit Travel Start Times: Open the Rep Report Editor by clicking the Green Pen icon. Locate the Travel Start field in the top-right corner of the dialogue to adjust the time.

  Note: This action requires specific administrative permissions.

• To Edit On-Site Start/End Times: Open the Booking Dialogue for the specific visit. You can directly edit the Start and End times here. Once saved, the system will automatically recalculate the labour costs based on your updated figures.