Understanding Rate Factors

What is this?

Rate factors define how much of the owning and operating rate applies based on what the equipment is doing. A machine that is working on a project pays full owning and operating costs. A machine sitting idle on site pays reduced rates. A machine in the yard or in maintenance might pay owning only.

You define factors like Working (1.0 / 1.0), Idle on Site (1.0 / 0.0), Standby (0.8 / 0.0), In Transit (0.5 / 0.3), In Maintenance (0.0 / 0.0), and In Yard (0.5 / 0.0). These multiply against the base rate to calculate the actual charge.

How to use it

Step 1: View rate factors

Go to Rates > Rate Factors. The top shows your factor definitions with color-coded cards. Below is a grid showing the factor values for every project and location in your organization.

Step 2: Override factors per location

The grid lets you set different factor values for each location. Click any cell to change the owning or operating multiplier. For example, the Paving Division might charge 0.9 owning for Standby while the rest of the company charges 0.8.

Step 3: Create new factors

Click + to create a new rate factor. Set the code, name, owning and operating factor values, and whether it is available for assignment to equipment.

Filter by type

Use the type filter to show only Owning Rate or Operating Rate columns in the grid. This simplifies the view when you are focused on one cost type.

The full details

• Factor math: Daily charge = (Base owning rate x Owning factor) + (Base operating rate x Operating factor)
• Hierarchical overrides: Set a default at the company level, override at the division level, override again at the project level. The most specific value wins.
• Color coded: Each factor has a color (green for Working, orange for Standby, blue for Transit, etc.) that carries through to the charge timeline.

Tips

• Start with the defaults. Working = 1.0/1.0, Idle = 1.0/0.0, Yard = 0.5/0.0 covers most contractors.
• Override sparingly. Company-wide defaults handle 90% of cases. Only override at the project level when there is a real contractual reason.