Labor items overview
Architecture, engineering, and construction firms often use labor codes or staff types to identify the different occupations required on a project. These codes can be imported into an estimate and used to define payroll rates for timecards.
Payroll rates must be applied at the labor item level only when rates are standardized, such as on union or prevailing wage jobs. In these cases, the payroll rate defined on the labor item overrides any rate specified in the employee profile.
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Labor items appear in both the Cost DB and the Time & Expenses modules.
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For labor timecards, payroll rates defined in the labor item always override rates set in the employee profile.
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You can use labor items as follows:
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Labor item examples:
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For a general contractor or subcontractor:
- Carp-F: Carpenter Foreman
- Carp: Carpenter
- Carp-A: Carpenter Apprentice
- Elec-F: Electrician Foreman
- Elec: Electrician
- Elec-A: Electrician Apprentice
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For an architectural or engineering firm:
- Arch: Architect
- Arch-Sr:Senior Architect
- Appr: Apprentice
- Eng: Engineer
- Eng-Sr: Senior Engineer
- ProjCoord: Project Coordinator
- IntDes: Interior Designer
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Optionally, specify classification codes, such as cost codes, to group or filter labor items.
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Optionally, define locations to create distinct estimating rates by geographic area. This is useful for contractors working across multiple cities or counties.
Create labor items
Edit labor items
- Update the header information and classifications of labor items
- Manage location-specific estimating rates
- For labor timecards, edit the labor item payroll rates: