Have technicians clock onto each job rather than onto the day. Once time is tied to a job, you can see from your phone who is on what, how long it has run, and which jobs are waiting. A shop TV board then shows the same thing to everyone in the building.

What should an owner be able to see?

Who is clocked onto which job right now
Who is clocked in but on no job
Jobs waiting on parts or approval
Hours spent against hours billed on each job
Efficiency by technician over a pay period

How is technician efficiency calculated?

Efficiency is usually billed or flagged hours divided by hours clocked onto jobs. A tech who bills 8 hours from 6.5 clocked hours is at about 123%. Productivity is different: it compares clocked job hours to total hours at work, which shows waiting and idle time. Use both, because they point to different problems. Waiting on parts is not a tech's fault.

How does this work in WrenchPilot?

Techs clock on from a phone or tablet, and time attaches to the job. Owners see live status, a TV board groups jobs by status for the shop floor, and efficiency reports use the same time records. Forgotten clock-outs can be corrected by someone with permission.

How do I roll this out without a fight?

Tell the team what it is for. Explain that it finds billable hours and shows when parts or approvals are holding them up. Do not use the first month's numbers to discipline anyone, since early data is messy. If you pay flat rate, show techs that their hours are now recorded more fairly.

When will this not help?

A system cannot create accountability that no one enforces. If time is not checked weekly, techs will drift back to clocking on at the end of the job. In a two-person shop where you can see every bay, you may not need it for this reason alone.

Want to see it on your own work?

Bring a real repair order to a WrenchPilot demo, and check current pricing first. Lite is $100 per month for one user. Pro is $300 per month with up to 10 technicians, no per-user fees, and no contract.

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