billed hour vs. machine hours

[Tradesman]

My year end was the end of January so I was looking at invoices and inspection logs I did a little bit of math and found that over the last year I had about 80% machine time vs. billed hours. I didn't go any farther back to see if it was a one off or if it represents the norm.
I wonder if my numbers might be skewed a little because I do a lot of work for Mennonite community and most of my jobs for them are 2 hrs and 59 minutes or just over but not enough to charge another 1/2 hour

 

[crane operator]

Are you saying your billed hours is only 80% of the hours that got put on the crane? I wouldn't be shocked by that #. Warming up the truck, fueling at the end of the day, greasing and washing off the road salt, etc, the clock hours add up.

I actually never keep track of hours. The age of my machines, hours aren't affecting the resale. I really only track the fuel usage.

 

[Tradesman]

Are you saying your billed hours is only 80% of the hours that got put on the crane? I wouldn't be shocked by that #. Warming up the truck, fueling at the end of the day, greasing and washing off the road salt, etc, the clock hours add up.

I actually never keep track of hours. The age of my machines, hours aren't affecting the resale. I really only track the fuel usage.

The opposite, 80% of billed hours on clock

 

[crane operator]

Some clocks don't read actual time, they put more time on, if you're running wide open, than they do if your just idling. Then you don't put on much clock hours siting putting around on a jobsite. We put on far less hours than the guys running a dozer wide open all day long. I do quite a bit of idling.

 

[Tradesman]

Mine is in the computer of the truck. I was away from the shop today for 9 1/2 hours with a 1/2 hour for lunch I billed 9 hours and the clock 8.9 hours. When I'm on a job with 1/2 hour breaks I sometimes shut down and it reflects on the clock, but not the invoice. I'm always pleased when I compare hours billed to hours on clock, quite often I pick up hours I always mark down my hours on my daily inspection sheets. There isn't space for it but is interesting to track the hours.

 

[crane operator]

I take a 1/2 hour off the invoice for lunch if they have it, but if they sit for a hour for lunch, the other 1/2 hour is on the bill. The clock runs for everything else. If the truck is 3 hours away in tulsa, and I'm on site at 10:00, the crane bills until the truck gets there. Some customers get upset, but you have to bill for it. No one else works for nothing for 3 hours, we shouldn't either.

 

[AllDodge]

Have paid for work done based on arrival and departure, also clock hours and don't mind either way so long as I get a good job.

Had a guy show up to do some finish work for a buddy, and this guy is known to great work. Place was already flat (40x104 pole barn) but my D3 (old and sloppy) and I'm not good enough just yet. Guy says it will take 4 days (10 hours each) to do it. I don't see how it would take that long, but he does great work.

First 1/2 day moving lots of dirt and looking good. Then machine slows down several times, figure out he is on the phone. Only time machine stops is when he takes a leak. This continues for the second and third day. At noon on 3rd day buddy tells the guy he's paying to complete the day but that's it. Did nice work but watching him work, I figure he could have been done in a 1 1/2 days. I used my 955 to pack down the edge

 

[f311fr1]

I invoice for all time. Mobilization hours are at a lesser rate. So if we work 10 hours in Nashville 2 hours total to mobilize to and from, 8 hours machine time. If less than 8 hours of machine time I charge for operator time for the rest of the time. We charge straight through lunch and any breaks. Ground man gets charged straight through.

 

[crane operator]

I guess I should clarify a little bit on how our billing works. The cranes all rent by the hour. Smaller cranes are 3 hour minimum, the bigger ones are 4 hour. I don't charge by hour meter time.

I charge what some term "port to port". That means that the customer bill starts when I leave my shop, and it stops when I get back to my shop, customer pays all travel time. I'll take off a 1/2 hr for lunch, if they take one. If we leave the crane on site for multiple days, I just charge a "operator" fee for his wages traveling back and forth from my shop to the jobsite.

I charge overtime on Saturday's and Sundays. If my guys are on overtime on Friday morning already, I pay my operator overtime, to go out and set a unit for a 3 hour minimum, but I won't charge the customer overtime for that- its not the customer's fault we've been busy that week. If the guys are on the same site and working big hour days, then I'll charge overtime for that. We go so many different places its hard to be ridgid on the overtime charges, and I figure it all kind of works out in the end.

I had a guy a while back, one wood beam to set about a hour and a half from my shop. Says it will only take 10 minutes to set it. I told him it would probably end up being a four hour bill, by the time I drove out there, set up the crane,set the beam, and travel back home. He threw a fit, but I told him "if you think I'm driving 3 hours, to bill you a hour of crane time, you're crazier than I am".

I don't need the practice, and I can stay home and lose money, I don't have to go work to lose it.

 

[Birken Vogt]

Drive time at full rate, your Isuzu ring gear proves why that is necessary. Drive time tears stuff up faster than anything.

 

[AzIron]

you have to bill your travel time both directions it just cost to much to run a truck down the road for free i have a lot of jobs i will take 2 backhoes to one to do the dipping and the other with my big hammer when i am on jobs like that i have a 4 hr minimum on the dipping machine because most of the time you spend an hour hammering to dig for 15 minutes. and when i take 2 machines i charge on and off the job for both i may eat the dead head time depending but most of the time i move between jobs so it works out the way i see it there paying you to do the job right clean and timely if they dont like the cost call someone else. i used to take off a 1/2 hour for lunch breaks on the big comercial jobs but there so disorganized and waste so much time i dont lose any sleep over it anymore when i am by myself i usually dont stop. i have never thought about charging overtime but if i work saturdays its cause i am trying to catch up and its usually not that customer that put me behind.

 

[Bumpsteer]

Anytime I've ever had a crane here, flat rate port to port....

Ed

 

[Natman]

I charge travel time 1 way, on a "good" job, not too far and 6 or 8 hours of work. The 1 hour jobs 1 hour, away I charge both ways. Some jobs, depending on my mood, I'll charge full rate to get there and half rate coming back. All depends on whether it's a regular customer or a one off job, a slow payer or a quick payer effects my travel time also. And I hate to say it, but whether or not I'm missing a powder day at my local ski area can effect how generous I am. Though I can drive at 65-70, I go 60, it makes the math easier. No complaints yet, so I guess I'm doing something right. I like keeping it all a bit flexible, though consistant for my regulars at the same time. Port to port keeps it dirt simple, anyone can understand that.

I also have a sliding scale on my min show up time, sometimes 2.5 hrs, more 3 hours min. lately, again it all depends on who and what the job is about. The only thing that stays the same I guess is my hourly rate, except for out of state Utah contractors, they get charged 15% more and still think I'm cheap.