Setting Up

Ensure you have completed the following:


  • Ensure each staff member has a record in Settings / Operators/Staff. You may also want to set the Average Hourly Cost
  • Also, in Settings / Operators you should link to a Contact record and ensure the email in this set if you need to email Job notifications (Remote working) or email Payslips
  • If you want to set a default Job as soon as user logs in then select Settings > Operators/Staff > General Tab and set ‘Default Job’.
  • If you do not have a default Job set you should then ensure ‘Log Time’ is selected from the top menu and then log onto your first job or internal task (eg: ‘Setup’ for pushing the equipment out). To set default screen to be the ‘Log Time’ select Settings > Operators/Staff > General Tab and set ‘Initial Screen’ to ‘Log Time’
  • In Settings > System ensure ‘Use Job Logging’ has been ticked so that Log times are not automatically updated with the Invoiced times.

Logging Time


When each staff member arrives at work they should ‘Log In’ on a computer by selecting the ‘Login’ option from the top menu and entering their pass-code (or scan an Operator card / barcode). If they have a default Job set (see above), it will log them onto that else they should select the Log Time option and select a Job or internal task to start work and log you not that Job or Task.


When finishing a Job or Task you do NOT Log off, you just Log on to the next Job / Task, or log onto ‘Lunch / Leave’ when stopping work. This automatically logs you off the last Job / Task.


To log onto a Job you can either enter a Job Number in the top box on the Log Time screen or select an internal task from the list below. Note the list of Jobs is designed to show each technician which jobs been allocated for them. If they want to include jobs allocated to others they can un-tick the ‘Only me’ check box, also if you want to jobs with the Job Status set to a waiting for parts option you can un-tick the ‘Only Parts Ok’ check box. You can click on any column header on the list to change the order, eg: to put the latest Jobs first click on the Job No column.


When going on a statutory or agreed paid break (eg: Smoke) then Log onto: ‘Break’. When the break is finished, log onto the Job or Task you will be doing.


When you go on Lunch or when you go home at the end of the day select ‘Lunch/Finish’ which will automatically log you off the last Job/Task.


Changing Operators

Often a engineers share the same computer for logging Jobs and the screen is left on the Log Time screen. Before using the ‘Log Time’ screen always make sure the right person is logged in (eg: the correct operator name is shown in large at the top of the Log Time screen and also on the bottom task bar).


There are 3 ways to change the Operator (staff member):


  • You can scan an Operator Card or Barcode
  • You can enter a code of: –O<Pass-code> (where <Pass-code> is your pass-code
  • You can select ‘Login’ from the top menu (or press the shortcut key: F12), and then enter your pass-code.



Using Barcodes to make logging time easier


To create barcode labels we would normally create a temporary stock item with the appropriate Label format (eg: ‘Label 56X25 3L’ does not print prices).


Then change the Barcode Number (In Alternate Numbers) and the Description to suit. For example for the barcode to log an Operator / Staff member on we would put the Name in the description and -O<Pass-code> in the Part Number (where <Pass-code> is your operator pass-code). Note: You may want to cut off the text below the barcode to hide the pass-code.


Most of the Job Card reports will include a barcode for the Job Number so you can scan that to log onto a job. Note the barcode for a Job is prefixed with ‘-J’ so you could also enter this on the keyboard to select a Job Number eg: -J123456


You can also create barcode labels for the 10 internal job buttons. This would just have the Barcode Number of the single letter that is underlined on each button. You can also type this in and press the Enter key. You can also hold down the Alt key and press the letter. Sometimes you need to press Alt to see the underlined letter.


Internal Jobs


The pre-defined internal Jobs / Tasks are:

-JS – Setup

-JM – Maintenance

-JB – Break

-JW – Waiting

-JF – Finish / Lunch

-JG – General Workshop

-JE – General Sales

-JP – General Parts

-JA – Customer Assist – Sales *

-JC – Customer Assist – Workshop *


Most of these are classed as Non-Productive as they are not directly linked to income. The codes marked with * are classed as Productive. Retail Jobs and Warranty Jobs are classed as Productive. Re-work is classed as Non-Productive. You would normally have your most skilled (and expensive) resources assigned to Productive jobs.


Reporting

When analysing work we use 3 main KPIs

Productivity

In Evopos terms this is the split between productive time (normally work that is being paid for) and non-productive time (Setting up, Maintenance, Breaks etc). Everyone normally has some non-productive time but the goal is to minimise it especially with the higher skilled (more expensive) staff. For example in a bike workshop you would normally get the apprentices to push the bikes out in the morning. Productivity is calculated by the actual work done in a period rather than what has been invoiced. Productivity reports can also be used as a time sheet as it is a complete record of when each person has worked and what they have been doing. Because this is a full record their standard wage can be calculated from it (bonuses, if applicable, could be calculated from Efficiency or set targets).


Efficiency

This is basically how efficiently (quickly) staff can complete Jobs. Efficiency is measured between the Logged (worked) time and the final Invoiced time. If 2 hours are Logged and 1 hour is Invoiced the efficiency is 50%, if 2 hours are logged and 3 hours are Invoiced the efficiency is: 150%. Because we need the final Hours Invoiced we normally do this by Jobs Invoiced in a period.


Proficiency

This is a combination between Productivity and Efficiency. It is harder to calculate accurately as Productivity is based on everything that has been worked on in a time frame, where as Efficiency is based on what has been invoiced in a time frame. To get accurate figures we need details of which uncompleted Jobs have been carried forward from each period.


Bonus Schemes


Some businesses have found it advantageous to set up a bonus scheme to encourage work to be done quickly and efficiently but not too quickly so mistakes are made. There are various ways you can do this, the following is one example.


  • Standard Hours - Pay a standard hourly rate based on the hours worked. This may be adjusted if breaks have been longer than the statutory amount or work has not been deemed to be carried out in the prescribed manner. A target amount of Hours is normally set for a period. Re-work may be deducted from this
  • Additional Hours - In certain cases working over the target number of hours may be paid for but only if agreed and minimum productivity and efficiency levels are met.
  • Bonus - The specified period for a bonus can be different to the standard payments for hours worked. If the productivity and efficiency percentages for that period are above target percentages, plus the number of Productive Hours are above the target number, then you may want to pay a bonus.This is normally based on a percentage of hours over the target Productive Hours.


Other businesses prefer to review the performance on a regular basis by using the same information, and if changes to the performance are evident then wages can be adjusted accordingly.