Track hours in seconds, bill them automatically
Technicians log time straight from the app, by timer or by hand, and hours flow automatically from the planning into the timesheet and onto the invoice. No double entry, no forgotten hours.
With Hours & Hourly Rates in OutSmart you register worked hours quickly and accurately. Technicians can track their time via the app, manually or via a timer. From the planning hours are automatically processed into the timesheet so you don’t have to do double work.
OutSmart Hourly Rates is a rate management module for field service companies that centralises all labour tariffs — standard rates, overtime, weekend surcharges, specialist fees, and customer-specific pricing — in one place. Rates apply automatically to work orders, quotes, and invoices based on technician role, job type, and time of day, eliminating manual calculations and pricing errors.
Manual rate management vs. OutSmart Hourly Rates
| Topic | Without OutSmart | With OutSmart |
|---|---|---|
| Rate storage | Spreadsheet per technician or per customer, often out of date | Central rate card — one update applies everywhere immediately |
| Applying rates | Manually looked up and entered per quote or invoice | Rates applied automatically based on role, job type, and time |
| Overtime calculation | Manually counted and checked — frequent errors | Automatically calculated based on configured thresholds |
| Customer pricing | Different sheets for different customers — easy to mix up | Customer-specific rates stored against the account — always correct |
| Rate changes | Update every spreadsheet, hope nothing is missed | Change once in the rate card — applies to all future jobs instantly |
| Invoice accuracy | Errors discovered by clients — damages trust | Correct rate applied every time — no disputes, no corrections |
Automatically adjust rates
A key advantage is that hourly rates are set up as separate hour types in OutSmart. You can differentiate between working time, travel time or evening and weekend hours, each with its own rate. The timer automatically links the right hour type: half an hour of work at €100/hour is immediately recorded as €50. This makes billing accurate and eliminates extra administration.
This gives you control over costs and transparency towards your customer. Customers see exactly which hours were made and at which rate. For your team it means they spend less time on administration and can focus on the work itself. The registration flows effortlessly from work order to invoice.
Practical example
A sewer service company applies standard day rates and a higher rate for evening work. Technicians start a timer in the app. If a job starts at 15:00, OutSmart records the standard rate. If the job goes past 17:00, the system automatically switches to the evening rate. No calculations afterwards – everything is immediately correct on the invoice.
Benefits
- Automatic linking of time to the correct hour type
- Supports day, evening and weekend rates
- Less administration – hours from planning processed directly
- Accurate and transparent billing
Work orders per year
Customers trust OutSmart
Years of experience
Frequently asked questions about OutSmart Hourly Rates
Hourly rate management centralises all your labour tariffs — standard rates, overtime, weekend and public holiday surcharges, specialist fees, and customer-specific pricing — in one place. OutSmart Hourly Rates applies the correct tariff automatically to every work order, quote, and invoice based on who did the work, when, and for which client.
Yes. OutSmart supports multiple rate cards with different rates per technician level, job category, or task type. For example, a junior engineer can have a different standard rate than a senior specialist, and installation work can be priced differently from maintenance.
You configure overtime thresholds and surcharge multipliers in the rate settings — for example, 150% after 8 hours per day or on Saturdays, and 200% on Sundays or public holidays. OutSmart applies these automatically when hours are registered, with no manual calculation needed.
Yes. Individual customers can have their own agreed rates stored against their account. When a job is created for that customer, OutSmart uses the customer-specific rate automatically — regardless of the standard rate card.
No. Rate changes apply to new jobs and quotes created after the update. Existing work orders and invoices retain the rate that was in effect when they were created, maintaining a correct audit trail.
Yes. When a technician or office user creates a quote, OutSmart pulls the applicable rate from the rate card automatically. The client sees an accurate, itemised quote based on current rates — no manual lookup or calculation required.
Yes. Travel time can be configured with its own tariff — for example, a lower rate per hour for driving time than for on-site work time. This is especially relevant for jobs that involve significant travel or where travel is billed differently under a contract.