How it works
- Time for jobs = paid hours a day − fixed time.
- One slot = average job length + average drive to the next job.
- Jobs per tech per day = time for jobs ÷ one slot, rounded down. A slot you cannot finish before the end of the day is not a job.
- Crew per week = jobs per day × days × techs.
- Share of paid time on jobs = jobs per day × job length ÷ paid hours. This is close to what many shops call technician utilization.
If you enter the jobs a week you want to run, it tells you how many techs that takes at today's numbers and how many jobs you are over or short.
The levers
- Drive time. Grouping jobs by area and planning tomorrow's routes the night before is usually the cheapest capacity you can find. See how to dispatch techs efficiently.
- Fixed time. Parts runs and paperwork at the end of the day add up. Stocking the truck for tomorrow's jobs and closing jobs out on the phone takes much of it back. See how to manage van inventory.
- Job length. Return trips for a missing part or a second opinion double a job. A better first-time fix rate is capacity.
Before you hire
If the calculator says you are short, check the levers before adding a truck: a tech costs far more than a better schedule. When you do need one, how to hire service technicians covers the process, and how to schedule service calls covers protecting room for emergencies.
SWITCHBOARD's dispatch board can rebuild tomorrow's routes to cut driving, and nothing moves until you press Apply. Its Who's free view ranks the nearest tech with the time and the skills for an urgent call.
Questions people ask
Why round down to whole jobs?
Because a tech cannot start a 90-minute job with 40 minutes left in the day. Rounding down shows the capacity you can actually book.
Should I schedule techs to 100% of their time?
No. Leave room for emergencies, overruns and callbacks, or one long job pushes every later customer.
Where do I get average job length and drive time?
From your own records: clock-in and clock-out on jobs, and the time between them. A few weeks of real data beats a guess.
Is my data saved?
No. Everything runs in your browser.