Adding Labor Rates to Your Work Order Library

Labor rates define how your team's time is billed to tenants on work orders. Each rate represents a type of work or staff role with a set hourly cost. When a Building Engineer logs hours against a work order, they select from the rates in your library and the billing calculation runs automatically. Configuring rates correctly means consistent, auditable billing and less manual correction during verification.

Labor rates also carry cost code rules that map charges to your accounting system. If your billing workflow includes exporting data to a system like Yardi, cost codes need to be configured on each rate before your first billing run.

Only Building Admins can create and manage labor rates. Building Engineers can adjust rate details at the work order level.

• Add a Labor Rate
• Edit a Labor Rate

Add a Labor Rate

1. Navigate to to Work Orders > Work Order Setup > Labor Rates
2. Click + Create Labor Rate and a drawer will open on the right. Fill in the following:
   • Name: The role or type of work being performed, such as Engineer, Overtime Labor, or Cleaning Staff.

   • Rate / Hour: Your internal hourly cost before markup or tax. The billable amount is this rate multiplied by hours logged on the work order.

     

3. Under Defaults, configure how the rate behaves when added to a work order. These settings pre-load on each entry but can be adjusted at the work order level.
   • Billable: Check if time at this rate should be billed to the tenant. Uncheck for internal labor such as administrative time or warranty work.
   • Apply Tax: Check if labor at this rate is subject to tax. Actual tax application also depends on your site tax settings and tenant tax-exempt status.

   • Apply Tenant Markup: Check to apply your site or tenant-level markup rate. To set a rate specific to this labor type, configure it in Labor Markup instead.

     

4. Under Labor Markup, set a default markup type for this rate. It carries through automatically when the rate is added to a work order. Building Engineers can override it on individual work orders as needed.
   • $ Fixed Amount: Adds a flat dollar amount per hour. For example, a $50.00 rate with a $10.00 fixed markup bills at $60.00 per hour.
   • % Percentage: Applies a percentage of the hourly cost. For example, a $50.00 rate with 20% markup bills at $60.00 per hour.

   • Note: A custom markup rate configured here will override the tenant markup rate. To use the tenant rate instead, leave Markup Rate % at 0.00 and rely on Apply Tenant Markup in Defaults.

     

5. Optionally add Cost Code rules. Cost code rules map this rate's charges to your accounting system and drive the billable breakout in custom reports and batch exports. Click Add Rule to create a rule. Each rule includes:
   • Cost Code: Required. The cost code for this portion of the charge.
   • GL Account: Optional. The GL account number if your accounting workflow requires it.
   • Amount: Which portion of the charge this rule applies to. Options are Base Cost (No Markup or Tax), Markup Only, Total Pre-Tax Cost (Base + Markup), and Total Cost (Base + Tax + Markup).
   • Make Negative Amount (Uncommon): Multiplies the Amount by negative one in billing reports. Used when a charge needs to post as both a positive debit to one account and a negative credit to another, for example for variable costs like vendor invoices or electric meter charges.

   • You can add multiple rules per rate to break out different portions to different cost codes. Each rule appears as a separate row in your billing reports.

     

6. Click Save. The rate is now available to add to work orders.

Edit A Labor Rate

1. Navigate to Work Orders > Work Order Setup > Labor Rates.
2. Click the edit icon next to the rate you want to update. The same drawer will open with the rate's current settings. 
3. Make your changes and click Save