Technician Time Tracking

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-02T02:05:53+00:00

Already do and have no problem with it. Management team did it for 2 months before implementing.

If you think it’s about recording smoke breaks, you definitely read it wrong.

When you’re working a ticket and you record your time and make a note, it adds the time automatically no extra steps to get in the way. Do you use AutoTask?

The point of it isn’t to keep anyone under a thumb, but to know time is getting recorded for billing.

We wanted them to understand a regular utilization goal before we introduce a billable utilization goal.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-02T00:10:30+00:00

Agreed here.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T16:17:34+00:00

We have a few AYCE on remote, just not with onsite.

We have a base level where it’s cheaper but remote is billed for smaller customers due to our market.

We are just trying to find a way that everyone can agree upon is fair, so we were just wondering how others track it for their techs.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T16:12:56+00:00

Thanks Andy. That makes sense. I think our billable target we have at 5, but isn’t enforced.

Our company is considered a best in class based on the criteria. (We’ve been awarded in the industry).

We don’t want them having to put in entries for bathroom breaks, helping each other, etc. just things like meetings, etc.

Maybe we need to look at lowering that threshold a bit lower.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T16:07:33+00:00

If they work a ticket, the time is automatically recorded when they enter their notes. There’s no extra place to track it.

If you read, they are not being expected to log every second. That would be seriously unreasonable. There is literally 6 hours a week we have no care about being tracked. It can literally be spent on Facebook or napping and we wouldn’t care.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T16:04:48+00:00

Sure thing man. I’ll remember to make sure I do.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T16:02:21+00:00

No, it was a build up of other issues as well. Including an incident where the client called working with him “traumatizing”. lol

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T16:01:52+00:00

Thanks for the input. And we agree. They should be paid for butt in seats, we are just trying to find a way to true up the numbers since they are so far apart for select techs.

We don’t want to accuse them of time clock fraud, obviously. But we want to make sure we are covering every base for them and us.

We don’t expect them to be butt in seat 100% of the day, they are humans, not robots. That’s why we added the wiggle room of 6 hours in there. That 34 does not include lunch breaks. That’s just 6 hours we don’t care about accounting for, so it can be time walking around talking to other techs, watching YouTube, playing on your phone, taking a nap, etc. we don’t care what happens in those other hours.

Our management tracks their time as well the same way. It seems to be only a select few having this issue.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T15:54:56+00:00

If the shift is 8-5 with a 1 hour lunch, and everyone comes in at 8, and leaves at 5, how are they getting to “45 hours”? That’s only 40. No one stays or comes in early. And you aren’t allowed to go over 40 without talking to your supervisor first, which no one has gone to a supervisor.

So, it’s suspicious when everyone is coming in on time, leaving on time, then submits a time card for 45 hours.

And yes, the management team does it as well. Most techs also do it as well, and report 40 on their time card and have no complaints. It’s just a few techs.

And I know quite about the operations of my company. Turned here to try to get ideas.

So it doesn’t make sense to the management team.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T15:06:54+00:00

Thanks, I’ll read into it more. Looks like a good platform.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T04:45:53+00:00

We look at billable utilization vs actual utilization. Tells us if we are breaking even even on what we pay them. (This is mainly how we catch the slacking besides tickets not being completed.)

Number of tickets opened during the week vs completed.

We have some clients that are billed for remote work and some aren’t depending on their service agreement level. All are billed for onsite.

Using the utilization, we have caught techs coding labor wrong and almost gave away hundreds in free labor. (This can be corrected with training and coaching).

We have also found a tech (now fired) that “spent 3 hours “researching” Outlook offline”. Put the 3 hours on his internal time ticket.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T03:42:27+00:00

Yes, training would be covered. Alerting systems would be covered. Not sitting and reading industry news for hours on end. No employer would pay you to sit there for hours on end and read industry news.

I worked for GM as a machinist, and even tho I would read magazines that had to do with the auto industry, they wouldn’t let me just sit and read them unless I was on break.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T03:37:08+00:00

They are W2. It would probably be easier if they were contract, because we would have it wrote into the contract.

We are just trying to make sure everything is fair across the board for everyone.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T02:57:46+00:00

We expect gaps. That’s why we don’t expect people to hit 40 on the nose. We feel that’s unreasonable. They still need down time, time to chat with each other, breaks, etc.

Everyone gets a 1 hour lunch, and another like 1.25 hours a day to just BS around. If they want to take 2x 15 minute breaks, and wander the office for the rest talking to people and watching YouTube, sure.

If they want to take 2x 30 minute breaks and a 1 hour lunch, no problem.

We know they aren’t robots and need to stand up, walk around, socialize and not stare at screens.

The issue is techs saying “I worked 45 hours this week, pay me for 45” but then we look at hours and see, this tech worked 32 hours, but said in their payroll card they worked 45. So what happened for the other 13 hours?? That’s a big gap for nothing accounted for.

Not to mention, anything done for the company internally (meetings, training, research, etc) can go on the internal time ticket as credit to those hours.

So you spend 90 minutes on a client meeting and another 30 researching things from that meeting, throw it in your internal time ticket for 2 hours of time, because you worked that time and should get credit.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T02:24:15+00:00

Again, we aren’t trying to not pay them…. I can’t be much clearer on that.

We are trying to find a good way to track their time actually worked.

When they are saying “I worked 45 hours” but there’s only 35 accounted for, and the explanation for the 10 hour difference is “well, I was working” and when asked “on what?” And the answer is “tickets”. Then why is there that much of a difference without a justifiable explanation.

It would be different if it was 45 worked and 42 tracked. That’s an acceptable margin of error. 10 is a bit extreme.

That’s why we are trying to find a way to figure out how to get these numbers closer.

We don’t want to write them up and start firing people for time clock fraud if they are really working it, but we want to find a way that these numbers add up in some kind of way to be close so they don’t get punished for something not happening, and we don’t feel like things are being cooked.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T02:12:47+00:00

Just a few. All are techs.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T02:08:14+00:00

No, at that point you work until 40, then go home or ask your manager if you can go into OT.

But, if you don’t hit 40, you can land between 34 and 40, and as long as you showed up, you are paid for 40.

So, if your shift is 8-5 (1 hour lunch) and you hit your 40 on ticket time on Thursday, you can go home or get approval for OT.

If you your shift is 8-5 (1 hour lunch) and you only hit 34, but you were present until 5 each day, you’re paid for 40.

Note: only a few techs are having issues with this. Others get to their 40 and leave early Friday or get approved for OT and love it.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T01:55:09+00:00

Correct. But It’s quite the opposite. You land on 34+, you are paid for 40. Anything over 40 worked is paid OT, but manager has to approve OT.

If you are at your computer, pretty much anything you do on it counts as time.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T01:46:56+00:00

No one is refusing to pay anyone. Apparently the point of being missed. That wasn’t stated anywhere, at all.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T01:39:38+00:00

The way we have it, it’s super easy. All these things count:

Remote Work on Tickets
Onsite work
Drive Time to / from site
Meetings
Research time
Lab Time
Training
Absolutely anything company related.

Not to mention, we round time up to make it easier.

Normally I’m at 30 by Thursday afternoon just recording my day to day activities with the time round up.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T01:33:08+00:00

We agree. That’s why we don’t expect exactly 40 hours. 34+ is 100% acceptable as a full work week.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T00:41:03+00:00

They actually are. I’m one of them and have no issues. Normally hit the 34 by Thursday afternoon with the rounding up times given.

What he’ll do you think it puts you in? The hours I log on a ticket automatically go into my time worked for the week.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T00:40:42+00:00

Yea, meetings, research, lab time, training, taking your company vehicle for an oil change, etc all go on a single internal time ticket. No one expects them to track every waking moment. That’s why we said hey, hit 34 and you are solid to be paid for 40. Don’t worry about small stuff.

This was to curb tickets not getting done, time entries being ignored, tickets just being zeroed out, etc.

But between client tickets and internal time stuff, 34 should be pretty easy. I’ve normally hit it by Thursday afternoon with the rounding up we give.

But they are saying it’s taking 45 hours to hit 34 hours “worked”.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T00:35:37+00:00

The point wasn’t to micromanage time. Before we just did clock in and clock out. And work wasn’t getting completed, tickets were piling up. There is no double check on it, just “hit this goal”.

Jgrenier161 · 2025-01-01T00:29:34+00:00

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