Converting to Time & Materials

Time & Materials (T&M) jobs work differently than fixed-price estimates. These are jobs where you do not provide a total price up front. Instead, the customer is billed for actual hours worked and materials used.

This method is commonly used for trusted clients or open-ended work where the final scope cannot be accurately defined in advance.

Creating the estimate

Because pricing is not the focus, you only need a single line item on the estimate grid. You can use Free Entry Mode or Manual Mode to describe the work.

Do not worry about entering an accurate price or number of days.

Tracking hours and materials

After the first day of work, open the estimate and go to the Job Hours & Materials page.

Start the job, then enter the hours worked and materials purchased for that day.

Enabling Time & Materials mode

Next, go to the Job Projections page and enable the option This is a Time & Materials Job.

Once enabled, the estimate grid displays a single column showing the current cost of the job.

Viewing details and creating an invoice

When the job is complete, or when you want a detailed breakdown, click the View T&M Details button.

This opens a detailed breakdown of hours and materials and allows you to generate an invoice.

The Invoice Options button lets you choose which line number the hours and materials will appear on the invoice. Starting them lower on the invoice leaves room at the top to describe the work performed.

Click Create Invoice to generate the final invoice.

Any space above the selected line number can be used to describe the work completed for the customer.

That’s all there is to using Time & Materials jobs in The Paint Estimator.