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Help Center › Admin screens, field by field › Field work Settings tab: hours, late jobs, photos, job costing and alerts
Field work Settings tab: hours, late jobs, photos, job costing and alerts
Every field on the Field work Settings tab: time zone, week start, forgotten timers, activity list, late jobs, photo rules, job costing and alerts.
On this page
This tab sets how clock-in time is counted, when a job counts as late, whether photos are required, and how job costs are worked out.
Where to find it: Contractor Hub → Schedule & Field → Field work → Settings tab. Only the owner can open it. Anyone else sees “Only the owner can change these.”
All changes are saved together with one Save settings button at the bottom.
Time & hours worked
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Company time zone (tz) |
Days and weeks of hours worked are cut in this time zone. | Pick a US zone: New York, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Anchorage, Honolulu or Puerto Rico. | “Website’s time zone (…)” shows your site’s zone. |
Week starts on (week_start) |
The first day of the week for hours and weekly totals. | Monday, Sunday or Saturday. | Monday. |
Close forgotten timers after (hours) (auto_close_hours) |
A clock-in left running this long is closed at the last known time and flagged for review. It is never closed at a guessed time. | 2 to 24. | 12. |
| What people clock in for: activity name box | The names offered when someone clocks in. | Edit a name, such as “Shop / yard”. | Job work, Travel, Loading / prep, Shop / yard, Break, Other. |
| Paid (checkbox on each activity) | Whether that activity counts as paid time. | Tick if paid. | Job work, Travel, Loading / prep, Shop / yard and Other paid; Break unpaid. |
| Counts as job cost (checkbox) | Whether that time is added to a job’s labor cost. Job work and Break are locked. | Tick if it belongs on jobs. | Job work, Travel and Loading / prep on; Shop / yard, Break and Other off. |
| Remove (link) | Deletes an activity. Not available for Job work or Break. | Click. | |
| + Add activity | Adds a row named “New activity” (paid, not a job cost). | Click, then rename it. |
Jobs
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
A job is “late” after (minutes) (overdue_minutes) |
A job not started this long after its start time is marked late. | 5 to 240. | 30. |
Crew-finished jobs wait for a manager’s approval (require_approval) |
A crew’s finish is held until a manager approves. | Tick to require. | Off. |
A “before” photo is required to finish a job (require_before) |
The crew must add a before photo to finish. | Tick to require. | Off. |
An “after” photo is required to finish a job (require_after) |
The crew must add an after photo to finish. | Tick to require. | Off. |
Finishing a job never charges the customer. A service template set to “create a draft invoice” makes a draft you review and send yourself.
Job costing
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Count materials (materials_basis) |
Which materials count toward a job’s cost. Options: Used on the job; Bought for the job. | Pick one. | Used on the job. |
Show an overhead allocation (your overhead % from Settings → Costs) (include_overhead) |
Adds an overhead share to job costs using the overhead percent from your Costs settings. | Tick to show. | Off. |
Warn when labor passes the estimate by (%) (over_budget_pct) |
Flags a job when actual labor hours exceed the estimate by this percent. | 0 to 200. | 10 (placeholder, not approved; set your own). |
| Your own cost per hour ($) — for jobs you work yourself | Your cost rate when you work a job. Blank means the company labor rate from Settings → Costs. | A number such as 45.00. | Blank (“Company rate”). |
Alerts
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Managers get field alerts too (late, blocked, finished jobs, hours worked…) (alert_managers) |
Sends managers the same operational alerts as you. | Tick or untick. | On. |
Tell employees when their schedule changes (notify_crew) |
Notifies linked employees when their schedule changes. | Tick or untick. | On. |
The wording, channels and on/off of each alert are in Settings → Messages → Field operations (see settings-messages-and-alerts-catalog).
Steps
- Open Field work → Settings (as the owner).
- Pick the Company time zone and Week starts on.
- Review the activity list. Untick Paid for unpaid activities and decide Counts as job cost for each.
- Set the late minutes and tick any photo or approval rules you want.
- Choose how materials count, and set your own cost per hour if you work jobs.
- Click Save settings. Look for “Saved.”
Tips
- Change the week start before payroll week begins, not mid-week.
- Add a separate activity for training or meetings so it does not land on job costs.
If something goes wrong
- Settings tab is missing: you are not signed in as the owner.
- Hours land on the wrong day: check Company time zone.
- Timers close at odd times: the entry is closed at the last known time and flagged; review it in Hours.