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Custom Labor Rates & Time Tracking

Bolster gives you full control over labor pricing and production time at three levels: Company-wide custom labor rates,  Item-level labor settings in an estimate & Project-wide labor review in the Budget tab

Overview

Labor costs in Bolster are calculated dynamically using:

  • Labor type and hourly rate

  • Time required to complete work

  • Crew size

  • Quantity of work

You can define labor rates once at the company level, customize them per item when needed, and review total hours and costs before production begins.

Part 1: Accessing & Managing Company-Level Custom Labor Rates

Custom labor rates allow you to define your own hourly labor costs that can be reused across all estimates.

How to Access the Custom Labor Rates Page

  1. Log in to https://app.bolsterbuilt.com

  2. In the left-hand navigation, go to:
    Estimating, item library

  3. Click Labor rates

This opens the Custom labor rates table.

What You See on the Custom Labor Rates Page

On this page, you can view all labor rates created for your company, including:

  • Labor type name (e.g. Carpenter, Laborer, Framer)

  • Labor rate per hour

  • Number of estimate items using this labor type

  • Collection or grouping (if applicable)

This gives you visibility into which labor rates are actively being used in estimates.

Creating a New Custom Labor Rate

  1. Click + Create new

  2. Enter:

    • Labor type name

    • Hourly rate

  3. Save

Once created, this labor rate becomes available when configuring labor on estimate items.

Editing or Managing Existing Labor Rates

From the Custom labor rates table, you can:

  • Edit/View a labor rate

  • Duplicate a labor rate

  • Delete a labor rate

  • See how many estimate items depend on it

This makes it easy to update pricing without hunting through individual estimates.

When to Use Custom Labor Rates

Use company-level custom labor rates when:

  • Your payroll costs differ from AutoCost defaults

  • You want consistent labor pricing across all estimates

  • You use fixed or negotiated hourly rates

  • You want fewer manual overrides at the item level

These rates act as your default labor pricing foundation.

Part 2: Setting Labor Time & Rates on an Estimate Item

After labor rates are defined, you control how labor is applied per estimate item.

Accessing Item Labor Settings

  1. Open an Estimate

  2. Click any line item

  3. Expand Unit pricing

  4. Enable Labor costs

  5. Click Labor options

Labor Inputs Explained

Bolster calculates labor using four inputs:

Time to Complete One Unit

Defines the production rate per unit (hours, minutes, seconds).

Labor Type

Select either:

  • A default AutoCost trade, or

  • One of your custom labor rates

Hourly Rate

Auto-filled from the selected labor type, but can be overridden per item.

Crew Size

Number of people performing the work.

Bolster calculates labor as:

Time × Hourly Rate × Crew Size

Automatic Pricing Updates

As labor inputs change, Bolster automatically recalculates:

  • Labor cost per unit

  • Combined unit cost

  • Profit per unit

  • Final unit price

Part 3: Reviewing Labor in the Budget Tab

Once the estimate is built, all labor rolls up into the Budget.

Accessing the Budget Tab

  1. Open the project

  2. Navigate to:
    Production → Budget & materials

  3. Select the Budget tab

What the Budget Tab Shows

For each item, you’ll see:

  • Quantity

  • Unit cost

  • Hours per unit

  • Extended cost

  • Unit price

  • Extended price

  • Budgeted profit

  • Total hours

This provides a clear, project-wide view of labor before production begins.

How Everything Works Together

Level Purpose
Custom labor rates Define company-wide hourly costs
Estimate item labor Set production time and crew per task
Budget tab Review total labor hours and cost

All changes flow automatically—no duplicate entry.