Workshop floor
You sold two labour hours. The repair took three.
Use labour-line time to understand overruns, improve estimates and keep recorded time separate from customer charges.
Updated 1 November 2026 · 3 minute read
Start with the work, not a performance verdict
An overrun is a question to investigate. A brake repair may include diagnosis, seized components, a parts delay or a second repair that was never separately described. A total for the whole job cannot tell you which task used the time. Recording time against the relevant labour line gives that conversation a clearer starting point.
Separate hours sold from hours worked
Illustrative example: a job has two labour lines, brakes at two hours and a service at one hour. The technician records three hours on brakes and one on the service. The job sold three hours and used four, but the service met its estimate. Review the brake line instead of increasing every labour estimate on the job. Linking time does not change the agreed price.
Keep time recording simple on the floor
In MechAxis, technicians can choose the labour line for their own work-log entry, including while a timer is running. Use clear task descriptions so they can identify the work without seeing customer prices. Authorised managers can correct the allocation. Linking an entry changes where its existing time is grouped; it does not rewrite its clock-on and clock-off events.
Check the unallocated time too
Some time may still belong to the job without a labour line. That time remains part of the job total. Review it before concluding that every task met its estimate. If a line is deleted, its recorded time stays with the job rather than disappearing. Use a consistent approach to breaks and waiting time so comparisons mean the same thing across technicians and visits.
Turn the finding into a better estimate
Ask what caused the extra hour and whether it is likely to recur. A repeated access problem may belong in the next estimate. Newly discovered work may need a separate customer approval. A one-off problem may simply need a clear note. Avoid using one unusual repair as the standard for every future job of that type.
Try a two-line test job
Create two labour lines with different sold hours. Record time against each, leave one short entry unallocated and review the job's sold-versus-clocked figures. Then inspect the labour cost basis in Job profit. The exercise shows how task time informs the recorded cost while the customer's agreed charges remain a separate decision.
Questions
Common questions
01Does recording an extra hour automatically charge the customer?+
No. Time allocation and agreed selling prices are separate. Review and obtain approval for any additional charge through the normal quote workflow.
02What happens to time without a labour line?+
It still counts towards the job. The job shows unallocated time so it can be reviewed instead of silently omitted.