Blackpurl offers two options for costing technician hours on Customer Order Service Jobs. The option you choose determines how labour profitability is calculated — either using a fixed rate on each Labour Code, or using each technician's individual pay rate. This article explains both options and how to set up Option 2.
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Option 1 is the current default for new Blackpurl dealerships. When a Labour Code is created, a labour cost rate is entered directly on that Labour Code record. Whenever the Labour Code is used on a Customer Order Service Job, the technician's cost is calculated using that fixed rate — regardless of which technician clocks onto the job.
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This means all technicians share the same labour cost rate for a given Labour Code. For example, if a Labour Code has a cost rate of $55.00 per hour, every technician who clocks onto that job is costed at $55.00 per hour. This rate is what Blackpurl uses to calculate profitability.
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Option 2 allows each technician to have their own labour cost rate recorded against their profile. The rate used to calculate profitability on a completed Customer Order Service Job is determined by which technician actually clocked onto the job.
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For example, if Master Technician Frank is paid $42.50 per hour and Technician Sam is paid $30.00 per hour, Blackpurl will use each person's individual rate when calculating labour profitability — rather than a single shared rate.
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Navigate to System Settings > Systems & Controls - Shop Settings and set the Default technician costing rate.
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This default rate is required because when a Customer Order Service Job is first created and a Labour Code is added, it is not yet known which technician will clock onto the job. The default rate allows Blackpurl to display an estimated (Est.) profitability figure while the job is in progress.
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Navigate to System Settings > Users - Time Clocking Staff and open each technician's record to enter their individual labour cost rate.
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On the Time Clocking Staff screen, note the following:

In the technician's details form, enter the hourly rate that reflects what it costs the dealership for that person to be on site (i.e. their wage). For example, if you pay Keith $50.00 per hour, enter that amount in the Labour Cost field and click Save.
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If your dealership is currently using Option 1 and you want to switch to Option 2, contact the Blackpurl Support Team and request that Option 2 be enabled. Note the following:

Once Option 2 is enabled, the Cost Rate field on Labour Code records will no longer appear. Because Blackpurl is now using individual technician rates instead of a fixed Labour Code rate, this field is no longer needed.
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When a Customer Order Service Job is marked as complete, Blackpurl treats job clocking as finished. At that point, Blackpurl recalculates labour profitability using each technician's actual labour cost rate and the number of hours they clocked onto the job.
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Option 2 also allows technician clocked hours to be recorded as Work in Progress (WIP) in your accounting package. To support this, two Labour WIP Control Accounts are available in Accounting Integration:

If you are unsure which GL accounts to use for these control accounts, discuss your options with your accountant before making changes.
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For further detail on how Option 2 works, see Option 2 Job Costing: Technician Hours Explained.