Cost Code Optional Fields: Hourly/Daily Cost & Billing Rates

🧾 Cost Code Optional Fields: Hourly/Daily Cost & Billing Rates

📘 Overview

In addition to the required fields, Ontraccr cost codes support optional fields that enhance how you track costs and generate billing. These include:

• Hourly or Daily Internal Cost Rates
• Hourly or Daily Billing Rates
• Use-case-specific overrides (e.g., wage overrides for labor)

These fields allow you to fine-tune how each cost code impacts project budgets, time tracking, and invoicing.

🧾 Optional Fields at a Glance

🔁 Behavior Details

🕒 Hourly Cost (Internal)

• Overrides the employee’s wage when this cost code is selected
• Example:
  • Worker normally earns $50/hr
  • Cost code has hourly cost of $55/hr
  • System uses $55/hr for labor cost tracking
• Overtime Rules Still Apply
  • If an employee logs 12 hours and overtime rules are configured (e.g., time-and-a-half after 8 hours), the override wage is still used as the base rate.

📆 Daily Cost (Internal)

• Assigns a flat daily cost, regardless of hours worked
  • Example: Even if the worker logs 3 or 10 hours, they are counted as costing $500/day
• Mutually exclusive with Hourly Cost (cannot set both)

💵 Hourly Billing Rate

• Used for determining what you should charge a client for time spent on this activity
• Example:
  • Cost Code has:
    • Hourly cost = $55
    • Billing rate = $75
  • Forms (like Timesheets or Invoices) can display both
• Can be used to:
  • Auto-populate billing totals in timesheet tables
  • Feed billing sections of forms and invoices

💰 Daily Billing Rate

• Alternative to hourly billing
• Sets a fixed charge per day regardless of hours worked
• Mutually exclusive with hourly billing

🔒 Behavior Rules

• You can’t set both hourly and daily costs — entering one disables the other
• Same for billing — choose either an hourly or daily billing rate per cost code
• Billing rates are used only if you enable billing-related features or exports

🧠 Tips & Use Cases

• Use daily costs for fixed-price trades or roles (e.g., equipment operator, site supervisor)
• Use billing rates if you invoice clients by time spent or want standardized pricing across jobs
• The system will always use the cost code’s override rate instead of the employee’s default rate if both exist