During the quoting phase, the project manager needs to calculate crew member costs and prices based on different criteria to make sure the project is profitable. One key factor here is to charge the client accordingly based on the crew costs with a margin (This varies per company and client).
With the given time schedule of the event, the crew costs can be estimated more precisely. With the custom pay rates, it is possible to:

• Combine hourly and daily rates

• Apply factors on hourly and daily rates

Set up custom rates

There are two types of custom rates that can be applied to either crew members or functions. 

• Costs can be applied to both functions and crew members.

• Prices can only be applied to functions.

The price is the amount charged to the customer for the function. The costs are internal costs to your business.

You can add and edit them in settings Configuration module > Financial > Crew rates

Here you can manage your staff rates. This ensures that you always charge the correct rate and have a proper insight into actual crew costs and margins. When you change rates here, this new rate will only apply to newly scheduled positions and crew members. Existing positions and scheduled crew will keep the old rate.

Global rates vs. individual rates

Global rates are price/cost rates that are shared in a workspace, which means that they can be linked to various crew members.

Individual rates are rates that are only applied to a specific crew member. For example, a more experienced sound technician might have a rate higher than the others. You can set up an individual rate for a crew member in the Rates tab, ensuring it is tailored specifically to them.

Add global rates

1. Navigate to settings Configuration module > Financial > Crew rates
2. Click + Add rate
3. Choose Price rate or Cost rate 
4. Name the rate.
5. Click on + Add rate factors to scale rates by hours.
6. Save

Add individual rates

1. Go to the people Crew members module and double-click on a crew member.
2. Go to the Rates tab.
3. Click on INDIVIDUAL RATE
4. Name the rate.
5. Click on + Add rate factors to scale rates by hours.
6. Confirm
7. Save

Overtime rates 

Overtime rates are calculated based on the custom rate created just like the one above. In order for Rentman to calculate the overtime rate for that particular crew, crew members must register their overtime hours using the watch_later Time registration Module. 

By registering more hours than the planned function, Rentman will use the crew member's attached rate to calculate overtime. 

Following the custom Video Operator rate above, if the crew member's planned function 10 hours but they worked 11 hours, one extra, the total price would be: $450 + $67.50 = $517.50.

If your crew then work overtime for a total of 13 hours, the calculations will be $450 + ($67.50 * 2) + $90.00 = $675.00. 

Take a look at this article on utilizing the watch_later Time registration Module

Link rates to crew members

A single crew member might have different skills such as technician, DJ, and driver. In the Rates tab of the crew member, you can link multiple rates for each crew member on an individual level. You can also create individual rates. 

1. Open a crew member and go to the Rates tab.
2. Click on + Link rate
3. Select a rate.
4. Save

Bulk edit crew 

To apply the same global rate to multiple crew members in one go:

1. Select crew in your group Crew members module
2. Click on the 3 dots more_vert
3. Click on monetization_on Link rates.
4. Select a global cost rate.
5. (Optional) make this rate default.
6. Confirm

How to archive crew rates

Crew rates in Rentman are essential for accurate budgeting, payroll management, and profitability analysis within your project. Over time, crew rates get outdated and need to be archived or updated.  Note: Before archiving a crew rate, ensure that it is not linked to any active projects or assigned to any crew members. Any projects still using the crew rate must be archived first. Deleting projects will result in the loss of valuable statistical and financial data, so archiving is the preferred option.

Here is how you can archive your existing crew rates: 

1. Go to settings Configuration > Crew Rates 
2. Select the crew rate you want to archive.
3. Click on More options more_vert button > Archive
4. Read the pop-up and click on Confirm
5. Save

How the factors are calculated

In sum, price rates and cost rates consist of multiple rates split over specific hourly units. 

In the example of Crew Rate 2022 (see screenshot below) the first rate covers Hours till 10,00. This means that if a crew member works from 0:01 to 9:59 hours, a Fixed rate of €700,00 is applied.

Afterwards, perhaps every additional hour after 10 hours is considered overtime, an additional Hourly rate of €100,00 is applied. 

The overall calculation can be found in the planned or actual costs in the Finance tab of a project. 

The totals are not summed up per rate. 

Tip: If further Hourly rates are calculated based on a percentage of the previous Hourly rate, it is possible to make this calculation in the according input field. Example:

FAQs

How can I use day rates as charges?

We generally recommend to set up crew functions per day and connect them to the time schedule but we also know that some customers just want to quote and plan for total days like:
2 x 2 stage technicians for 2 days
You can add a price rate and set up day rates for each day 24 hours / 48 hours / 72 hours / … and set a fixed rate accordingly.

How can I apply a half day rate or minimum charge?

Same applies for half day rates and minimum charges, by basically setting those thresholds for the hours accordingly. Examples for a 5 hours rate:

Can I sort rates?

Yes, you can sort rates by alphabetical order.

1. From the Name row, click on the More optionsmore_vertbutton.
2. Select Sort Ascending or Sort Descending.

Can I see my archived crew rates?

Yes, you can see them in the Archived rates.

1. Navigate to settings Configuration module > Financial > Crew rates.
2. Click on  ARCHIVED RATES