New Time Clock Helps Auto Repair Shops Track Labor

Labor time is a crucial component of an auto repair shop’s productivity. It’s important to know how long a job is billed for, and how long it takes for the technician to complete the work. Keeping track of a shop’s labor margin increases efficiency.

To help auto repair shops with this process, we have integrated a Time Clock for auto repair feature into our Mobile ManagerPro software for the Manager SE shop management system.

It’s quick and easy to use:

1 – To begin using the Time Clock, first open up Mobile Manager Pro on your tablet.

2 – Clocking In — As the working technician, you will need to be signed in as the user of the tablet. Sign in from the drop-down menu underneath the three vertical dots on the right upper side of the tablet screen.

Sign into Mobile MangerPro

Sign into Mobile MangerPro

3 – Next, open Work Order from the Work In Progress (Ensure that you are the assigned technician for each labor operation you will be clocking into!)

Time clock - assigned tech

Make sure you are the assigned tech for each labor operation.

 

4 – Select the Time Clock icon on the order tab’s top toolbar to open the Clock In window.

Time clock icon - clock in

Click the time clock icon at the top to clock in

 

5 – Check off each labor item you want to clock into from this new window. Technicians can select one or multiple labor items. Select OK to clock in. The time clock will now begin to keep count.

Clock in

6 – To clock out, select the Time Clock icon from the Order. This will open the clock out window. Select Yes to clock out.

Clock out

Note: Technicians also have the ability to clock in and out of a job multiple times. The actual hours for each labor item are recalculated after each clock out.

An overview of the Time Clock’s current usage is available from Mobile Manager’s main menu on the left side of the Tablet screen. Simply tap to open the drop down menu and select Time Clock. Here users can see the list of technicians who are currently clocked into a job (see below). To the right of each technician’s name, you will see a time clock displaying their progress in real time. Under each technician’s name, is the list of the labor items the technician is working on. The work order number, customer name, and vehicle are also displayed. Select a technician from this window to open the associated work order.

See techs clocked into a job.

See techs clocked into a job.

Once the technician clocks out, the time recorded is automatically transferred back into the management system. The time spent clocked in will show as the technicians’ “actual hours.” When using the time clock for jobs on the same work order, the time punched in is divided between labor items. Time is divided according to each labor item’s billed time.

Utilizing this feature will accurately credit technicians with their actual labor time. Keeping track of technicians’ labor time is essential for running productivity reports and managing a shop’s overall labor margin.

 

 

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