A Better Way to Track Time and Materials Work
Whether it’s called “time and materials”, “cost plus”, or “force account”, the work done outside of a fixed price contract presents challenges on most heavy construction projects. B2W Track provides a more effective, automated way to track this work and ensure that it is accounted for and billed correctly.
Time and materials (or T&M) work, by nature, is often taken on with little notice, and the scope can be agreed to informally on the job site. The fact that different T&M labor rates, equipment rates and materials prices can apply per business unit, per customer and per job further complicates tracking efforts. Many contractors must rely on separate and sometimes manual, handwritten processes to supplement the primary field log.
With the B2W Track software solution for field tracking and analysis, contractors can:
- Log, track and differentiate all work performed by a crew on a single field log; there is no need to create separate logs for different jobs or for fixed price versus T&M work
- Keep costs and resource utilization separate for fixed price contract work and T&M work; quantities, hours, costs, and productivity for the fixed-price work is not impacted by activity reported for T&M work
- Add T&M work to a fixed-price job to handle additions to work scope and track those items separately from original scope of the contract
B2W Track also allows contractors to establish reusable T&M price sheets for labor, equipment, materials, and miscellaneous billable items, set a price limit for T&M work and track against that limit. They can set mark-ups per job for T&M prices on materials, subcontractors and trucking. Finally, they can produce T&M work summary reports for customer review and get timely sign-offs on a printed hard copy or electronically on a tablet.
Of course, a mobile app for the field tracking solution is essential, allowing employees on the job site to track fixed price and time and materials work remotely.
For a more in-depth look at how B2W Track can streamline the creation and tracking of T&M work, please take a look at this 15-minute demonstration video.