Labour is one of the most dynamic elements in Uptick. When it isn't appearing on invoices or your profitability data looks skewed, it is usually due to a specific configuration or workflow gap.
1. Revenue vs. Cost of Labour
Before troubleshooting, remember how Uptick separates these two concepts specifically for Labour:
Revenue (Work Tab): This is what you charge the customer. It comes from Labour rates added to the Work tab.
Cost (Timesheets): This is the internal cost to your business. It comes from Technician Timesheet Sessions and their individual hourly cost rates.
2. Troubleshooting Invoicing Issues
Problem: Labour is missing from the invoice.
Is it "Performed"? Service tasks must be marked as "Performed" to flow onto an invoice. Otherwise, it won't be picked up.
Is it "Billable"? Check the Service Task on the Work tab. Ensure the Billable checkbox is ticked.
Is there a labour rate attached? You cannot invoice "time" alone; it must be a Labour Product from your catalogue. Ensure the service task has a product selected.
Price-book Mismatch: If the customer is on a specific price-book, check if the labour rate's price is specified in that price-book. If not, the labour rate price will use the Default pricebook's value which could be zero.
3. Troubleshooting Profitability & Margin Review
Problem: Labour cost is $0.00 or seems incorrect.
Unapproved Timesheets: Until a timesheet session is Approved, Uptick treats it as an committed cost. It only becomes an actual cost once an office user approves it.
Missing Technician Hourly Rate: Actual cost is calculated as:
Duration x Technician Hourly Rate.Check: Go to Control Panel > Individual Rates.
Fix: Ensure the technician has a "Default" cost rate set. Without this, their time has no dollar value.
Estimated vs. Actual: If you are looking at "Estimated Profitability," the system uses the cost price set on the Labour Product. If you are looking at "Actual Profitability," it uses the Approved Timesheets.
4. Troubleshooting Timesheets
Problem: Technician cannot submit timesheets or sessions are missing.
"Submit" Button Greyed Out (Android):
Ensure that all sessions for the day have been ended.
Check Permissions: The user must have the "Can update tasks" permission.
Sync Issue: Have the tech go to the About tab and select Reload all data.
Session not showing on the Task (Web):
Ensure the technician has initiated the time session on the correct task.
Refresh the page or clear the browser cache.
Multiple Technicians: If multiple techs log time, Uptick aggregates the total cost. If the total looks too high, expand the Timesheets section on the task to check for overlapping sessions or duplicates.
5. Troubleshooting Logic (Included Labour & Increments)
Problem: The "Extra Labour" prompt isn't appearing.
Uptick has a feature that alerts you when technician time exceeds the "Included Labour" on an attendance fee for callout/manually created tasks only:
Attendance Fee Setup: Go to Control Panel > Labour Rates. The "Attendance Fee" product must have:
Attendance Fee checkbox ticked.
Included Labour (in minutes) defined (e.g., 60 mins).
Labour Increment (in minutes) defined (e.g., 15 mins).
Prompt Location: The warning appears in Margin Review or on the Create Invoice page when Uptick detects that the callout task has more recorded task session time than covered labour on the Work tab.
6. Permissions Checklist
If you can't see or edit labour rates, ensure your security group has:
"Can change site configuration settings" (To edit Labour Rates).
"Can update tasks" (To manage time sessions).
"Can approve timesheets" (To move costs from commited to actual).
Quick Troubleshooting Summary Table
If you see this... | Check this first... |
Labour not on Invoice | Is the service task marked Performed? |
Cost is $0 on Margin Review | Are the timesheets Approved? |
Tech can't log time | Do they have the Can update tasks permission? |
Wrong labour price | Is there a Price-book override for this client? |
No "Extra Labour" alert | Is Included Labour set on the Labour Product? |