Labor rate software?

[Plan B]

Does anyone here know where i can get downloads or go buy software for heavy equipment labor rate charges? I started my own on-site repair buisness and i want to be competetive with the shops and dont want to over or under charge people. I dont want to have to buy a bunch of books so im looking for software to load into my laptop so i can look up the labor rate on site....Anybody know where i can get this?

 

[alrman]

I don't know alot of things - I don't think that there would be a software 'package' that you can use for such a purpose. I used to run a dealer workshop & I would often get calls from other dealer workshop managers who would be checking our rates so they could keep theirs similar. You may have to make some calls & find out what local dealers & repairers are charging. It would also depend on the area where you intend to work, the setup & equipment & tools you have & knowledge / experience you have to offer the customer you were looking for - owner operator; fleet owner; mining contractors etc.
My rates are about 20% lower than the local dealer & that is barely enough...........alot of expenses - insurance; superanuation; vehicle running costs; tooling; manuals; workers compensation; & of course....TAX!
You may have to start on a lower rate just to get people to give you a go.

Don't want to put you off but research, research, research.......
If all else fails - try it & see how you go
Good Luck ! :drinkup :drinkup
PS - (other expense - alchohol to ease the stress)

 

[Plan B]

No no no what i meant was flat rate charges...how many hours to charge to each job. My labor rate is $50hr and thats cheap compared to shops, I just dont wanna charge too many hours to a job or not enough hours.

 

[alrman]

I SEE !
Such software probably not popular for construction equipment - maybe for highway vehicles ....
Had that sort of info while at dealer for warranty repair times - (the amount of hours you were allowed to claim for a repair)
I was never a fan of recommended hours to to a job - some jobs seemed impossible to do within time & others you could do the job twice over. As you probably know - older equipment can always take longer to repair than newer machines eg - rust, worn heads of bolts, pins siezing etc.
A set of track rollers should only take a few hrs to do by the book - but when half a dozen bolts shear it can turn into a couple of days.
My theory is - it takes what it takes - if your customers complain at the price you are charging - remind them of the charges the big boys ask. If your honest - 99% of people won't care how much or how long it takes - the rest of them you don't want to work for anyway, cause they will complain about anything.

 

[Cat Wrench]

No no no what i meant was flat rate charges...how many hours to charge to each job. My labor rate is $50hr and thats cheap compared to shops, I just dont wanna charge too many hours to a job or not enough hours.

There are way to many variables for any type of flat rate in construction equipment repair.
Cat used to have a guide with some of there stuff years ago but I haven't heard of that in years.

Your hourly rate is not enough to turn a profit if you are working in the field in a service truck you have to pay for out of that $50 per hour. You better talk to someone who has some business experience about how much you need to make just to break even. Don't shot yourself in the foot. The difference between charging 45% of the dealer or 75% won't make or break your chances of getting the work but it will break you from being able to maintain your equipment and tools plus making a profit.

Only work COD trust me on this.

 

[DanRooks]

There are way to many variables for any type of flat rate in construction equipment repair.
Cat used to have a guide with some of there stuff years ago but I haven't heard of that in years.

Your hourly rate is not enough to turn a profit if you are working in the field in a service truck you have to pay for out of that $50 per hour. You better talk to someone who has some business experience about how much you need to make just to break even. Don't shot yourself in the foot. The difference between charging 45% of the dealer or 75% won't make or break your chances of getting the work but it will break you from being able to maintain your equipment and tools plus making a profit.

Only work COD trust me on this.

Good Advice alrman and Cat Wrench! By chance do you have or Know where I could get a copy of this CAT Publication? I am very aware of the time variation to which you refer. I would still like to see the CAT Pub.

One of my long term future projects is to put together a data collection system that would allow collection of time for repair jobs by many different people. One of the problems is that any owner or even dealer usually does not have enough similar repairs, to create a statistically accurate sample of similar jobs on a particular machine. A group of many people doing a similar job, could produce the necessary quantity for accuracy.

In any population of data you will have Best Case, Worse Case, Mean(average) and the Median. These four pieces of info is what would help Plan B. (I agree with your idea of charging by the hour.) A bell shaped curve will result from the data.

The real use for this information is for long term and short term Maintenance Planning. When you are budgeting for down time and technician hours, this would be invaluable.

Heavy Equipment owners, managers and techs need to create and use this data collection system. Does anyone agree with me?
Dan

 

[DanRooks]

No no no what i meant was flat rate charges...how many hours to charge to each job. My labor rate is $50hr and thats cheap compared to shops, I just dont wanna charge too many hours to a job or not enough hours.

Plan B I know how difficult it is to consider changing your hourly rate. Maybe $50./hour is a good rate for you. No one can tell you what is correct. Only you can calculate this. Most Accountants are at a loss to tell you how to do this calculation.

A MANAGEMENT Accountant will be able to help. This is NOT a CPA. I am including a link to someone who is a management consultant, has very reasonable fees and understands the correct way to cost your time or your employees cost. Watch this free video. You will see why you need help with this. http://bit.ly/EmployeeCostPrice
Dan

 

[Plan B]

Well guys the reason i charge 50 to 55hr is because of a couple of guys in this small area im in charge that rate. I started at $65hr but when i ran into the couple of companies who used these other guys they were like "i already have someone who can do it for $50" so i matched it and got their buisness. I could probable charge others a higher price but if they hear of me charging someone else less there will be problems. So i dont charge more than $55 but when i get all my equipment to do other jobs these other guys cant then my rates will go up because i can provide services that they cant. For right now $50 is good for me until i build up a good reliable amount of customers. As far as the hourly rate is concerned I guess ill wing it on the heavy equipment or call the dealership and get a qoute every now and then and try to keep records of it so ill have an idea on what to charge. I also work on heavy trucks and farm tractors. I can get the flate rate software for the trucks but i guess i cant for the heavy equipment. Thats ok ill just learn as i go ,Thanks for the info!

 

[Cat Wrench]

Good Advice alrman and Cat Wrench! By chance do you have or Know where I could get a copy of this CAT Publication? I am very aware of the time variation to which you refer. I would still like to see the CAT Pub.

One of my long term future projects is to put together a data collection system that would allow collection of time for repair jobs by many different people. One of the problems is that any owner or even dealer usually does not have enough similar repairs, to create a statistically accurate sample of similar jobs on a particular machine. A group of many people doing a similar job, could produce the necessary quantity for accuracy.

In any population of data you will have Best Case, Worse Case, Mean(average) and the Median. These four pieces of info is what would help Plan B. (I agree with your idea of charging by the hour.) A bell shaped curve will result from the data.

The real use for this information is for long term and short term Maintenance Planning. When you are budgeting for down time and technician hours, this would be invaluable.

Heavy Equipment owners, managers and techs need to create and use this data collection system. Does anyone agree with me?
Dan

I unfortunately lost almost all of my old Cat publications which included the old "flat rate" book by an accident that happened once while I was out of town.

There are just to many variables to use any flat rate pricing when it comes to heavy equipment repair.
The only jobs I will quote a hard price on is complete engine remanufacturing.

 

[DanRooks]

I unfortunately lost almost all of my old Cat publications which included the old "flat rate" book by an accident that happened once while I was out of town.

There are just to many variables to use any flat rate pricing when it comes to heavy equipment repair.
The only jobs I will quote a hard price on is complete engine remanufacturing.

I know exactly what you are saying about the many variables in Heavy equipment repairs. There is a difference between working on car or light truck and an excavator with 35.000+ parts!

Please let me know if you come across the above CAT publication.

 

[Coldfront]

I second that there is really no flat rate for heavy equipment or truck repair other than the flat rate the equipment company pays for warranty work which is always under paid. Thats why no one likes warranty work. When doing a job you never know what you are going to run into, like who mickey moused it together the last time.