Interactive User Guide - FlatRate Pro

🎯 GearGenius.AI™ Suite: Two Tools, One Mission

The GearGenius.AI™ Suite provides two powerful, complementary tools to help automotive professionals maximize their productivity and advance their careers:

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FlatRate Pro

Job & Career Tracking

Track flat-rate jobs, build your professional work history, and prove your expertise—like a CARFAX for your career.

✓ Job logging & efficiency tracking

✓ Performance analytics

✓ Career history reports

✓ Earnings optimization

⏱️

Where's My Time Go

Daily Activity Tracking

Track how you spend your time throughout the day with intelligent activity tracking and insights.

✓ Multi-activity time tracking

✓ Daily productivity insights

✓ Time allocation analytics

✓ Pattern detection

💡 Which Tool Should You Use?

Use FlatRate Pro when you want to track specific jobs, measure efficiency against flat-rate times, and build your professional work history.

Use Where's My Time Go when you want to understand how your entire day is spent across different activities (wrench time, waiting, paperwork, etc.).

Both tools sync with your account and can be used together for complete visibility into your productivity!

🚗 FlatRate Pro: The CARFAX for Your Career

Just as a CARFAX report creates a trusted, verifiable history for a vehicle, FlatRate Pro builds a permanent, timestamped record of your professional skill.

📝

Log Your Jobs

Quick capture of details, book time, and actual time

📊

Analyze Performance

AI-powered dashboard with efficiency trends

🎯

Build Your History

Permanent work history for career leverage

⚡ Quick Start: 5 Minutes to First Job Log

Step 1: Profile Setup

✓

Create account at geargenius.ai

✓

Set name and hourly rate

!

Configure pay schedule (crucial for accuracy)

Step 2: First Job Entry

Job:

Brake Pad Replacement

Vehicle:

2019 Honda Civic

Book Time:

1.5h

Actual Time:

1.2h

Efficiency: 125% ✨

📐 Understanding Your Metrics

Overall Performance Score

A comprehensive metric (0-100) that gives you an at-a-glance assessment of your performance, accounting for speed, consistency, and productivity.

A+ 90-100 🏆 Outstanding - industry leading

A 85-89 🌟 Excellent - above standard

B+ 80-84 🎯 Very good - meeting expectations

Average Efficiency

125%

(Flat Rate Hours ÷ Actual Hours) × 100

🟢 Excellent: 100%+ 🔵 Good: 85-99%

🟡 Average: 70-84% 🔴 Poor: <70%

Productivity

87%

(Hours Worked ÷ Hours Available) × 100

Shows how much of your available time is spent on billable work. Target: 85-87.5%

Proficiency

109%

(Hours Produced ÷ Hours Available) × 100

True measure of time usage. Combines efficiency × productivity. Goal: 100%+

Effective Labor Rate

$38/h

Total Labor Sales ÷ Flat Rate Hours

Revenue quality metric. Aim to meet or exceed posted shop rate.

🧮 Interactive Metric Calculator

Flat Rate Hours

Actual Hours

Hourly Rate

123%

Efficiency

$280

Earnings

$43/h

Effective Hourly Rate

1.5h

Time Saved

💰 Tech Dashboard: Your Earnings Command Center

Simplified Earnings-Focused View

The Tech Dashboard is designed specifically for technicians who want simple, actionable performance insights focused on your paycheck. Access via "My Earnings" in the main navigation.

🎓 Understanding the Hour-for-Hour Ratio

The ratio compares how many flat-rate hours you earned versus how many actual hours you worked. It's the key to understanding if you're making money or losing it.

Example: Good Ratio 1.2:1

✅ Flat Rate Hours: 8.0

✅ Actual Hours Worked: 6.5

= 8.0 ÷ 6.5 = 1.23 ratio

You earned 8 hours of pay for only 6.5 hours of work. You "gained" 1.5 hours!

Example: Break Even 1.0:1

⚠️ Flat Rate Hours: 6.0

⚠️ Actual Hours Worked: 6.0

= 6.0 ÷ 6.0 = 1.0 ratio

You earned exactly what you worked. No gain, no loss. This is your minimum target.

Example: Losing Money 0.8:1

❌ Flat Rate Hours: 4.0

❌ Actual Hours Worked: 5.0

= 4.0 ÷ 5.0 = 0.8 ratio

You worked 5 hours but only earned pay for 4. You "lost" 1 hour of unpaid work.

💰 What This Means for Your Paycheck:

Higher ratio = More money per hour worked. If you're paid $30/hour flat rate:

• 1.2:1 ratio = You effectively earn $36/hour ($30 × 1.2)

• 1.0:1 ratio = You earn exactly $30/hour ($30 × 1.0)

• 0.8:1 ratio = You only earn $24/hour ($30 × 0.8) - working for less!

✅

Today's Status

Good Day

7.2 hours earned / 6.5 hours worked = 1.11:1 ratio

$247.50

$38.08/hour (vs $34.29 base rate)

Daily Status Thresholds:

🌟 Great Day: ≥ 1.2:1 (20%+ more pay than hours worked)

✅ Good Day: ≥ 1.0:1 (earning what you work or better)

⚠️ Okay Day: ≥ 0.9:1 (close to break-even, need improvement)

❌ Tough Day: < 0.9:1 (losing money, working for free)

🧮 Interactive Ratio Calculator - Try It Yourself!

Adjust the values below to see how different scenarios affect your daily status and earnings:

Flat Rate Hours Earned

Hours you get paid for

Actual Hours Worked

Hours you spent working

Your Pay Rate ($/hr)

Your flat rate hourly pay

Live Results

Your Ratio

1.11:1

Day Status

Good Day! ✅

Performance Bar

Earnings Impact

Total Earnings: $216.00

Effective Rate: $33.23/hr

Time Saved/Lost: +0.7 hours

💡 Try changing the values above to see how different scenarios affect your earnings!

💼 Understanding Pay Periods

Pay periods determine how your data is grouped for tracking and analysis. Set your pay schedule in Profile Settings to match your actual paycheck schedule.

📅 Weekly

• One week at a time

• Choose your week start day (e.g., Monday)

• Example: Monday-Sunday cycles

Best for: Shops with weekly pay

📅 Biweekly (Every 2 Weeks)

• 14-day periods

• Set an "Anchor Date" (recent payday)

• System calculates all periods from that date

Best for: Most common pay schedule

📅 Semi-Monthly (Twice per Month)

• Two periods each month

• Option 1: Days 1-14 & 15-End of Month

• Option 2: Days 1-15 & 16-End of Month

Best for: Shops paying on 15th and last day

📅 Monthly

• Full calendar month

• 1st to last day of each month

• Simple month-to-month tracking

Best for: Salaried or monthly contractors

💡

Why Pay Periods Matter:

• Time Range Filters: "Current Pay Period" and "Previous Pay Period" match YOUR actual schedule

• Goal Tracking: Weekly/period goals align with when you get paid

• Earnings Analysis: See exactly what you made per paycheck period

• Accurate Comparisons: Compare this pay period vs last pay period fairly

🎯 Example: Biweekly Pay Period

If you set Anchor Date: October 4, 2025 (your last payday):

• Current Period: Sep 21 - Oct 4, 2025

• Next Period: Oct 5 - Oct 18, 2025

• Following Period: Oct 19 - Nov 1, 2025

The system automatically calculates all past and future periods from your anchor date!

🎮 Try Different Pay Schedules:

Select a pay period type:

Preview of Current Period:

💰

$2,847.50

Gross Earnings

+12.5% vs last period

⚡

18.5%

Efficiency Margin

Above 15% target

🏃

118%

Speed Ratio

+6.3% faster

⏰

+$456

Time Value Gained

6.2h saved

🥇 Money Makers - Your Most Profitable Jobs

🥇

BRAKE JOBS

12 jobs • 87% success rate • Avg: 2.1h

$52.30/hr

$1,247 total profit • ROI: 340%

🥈

OIL CHANGES

18 jobs • 94% success rate • Avg: 0.8h

$43.80/hr

$629 total profit • ROI: 245%

💡

AI Recommendation

Focus on brake jobs - they're your highest profit margin at 78% with excellent ROI. Consider increasing brake job capacity by 15% to boost monthly revenue by ~$420.

🔍 Explore Job Types - Click to See Details

⏱️ Time Tracker: Know Where Your Time Goes

Global Activity Tracking

The floating ⏱️ button on every page gives you instant access to track exactly where your productive time is spent throughout the day.

🔧

Wrench Time

Hands-on repair work

⏳

Waiting

Parts, approvals, dependencies

📄

Paperwork

Admin, estimates, docs

🔍

Parts

Lookup, order, retrieve

✅

Approval

Customer/management

🧪

Test

Road test, diagnostics

🎮 Try It Out - Start an Activity:

Click any activity above to see how time tracking works

🤖 AI Integration & Smart Insights

Natural Language Understanding

Example job description:

"Brake job on Honda Accord. Had to wait 3 hours for rotors to arrive."

✅ AI understands:

• Work type: Brake repair
• Wait time: 3 hours for parts
• Delay reason: Parts delivery

Smart Recommendations

AI-generated tips:

• "Consider pre-staging brake components"
• "Use expedited parts delivery for time-sensitive jobs"
• "You've had 4.5h waiting time today - review parts workflow"

📥 Import Your Work History

Bring Your Existing Data

New to FlatRate Pro? Import your work history from shop management systems, Excel files, or PDF reports with AI-powered enhancement.

📊

CSV Files

Shop system exports

📈

Excel Files

.xlsx, .xls spreadsheets

📄

PDF Reports

Text-based shop reports

🤖 AI Enhancement Features

Before AI Enhancement

Raw import data:

• "Brk pd rplc"

• "Trn svc"

• "Oil chg + fltr"

• Inconsistent categories

• Abbreviated descriptions

After AI Enhancement 🤖

AI-enhanced data:

• "Front brake pad replacement"

• "Transmission service"

• "Oil change and filter replacement"

• Standardized categories

• Professional descriptions

Supported Shop Management Systems

• Shop-Ware

• Mitchell 1

• AutoVitals

• Tekmetric

• R.O. Writer

• ASA Shop Mgmt

• Nexsyis Collision

• And many others

📊 Analytics Dashboard Tour

Efficiency Trend Over Time

Track your consistency and improvement over time. The red line shows the 85% profitability target.

Performance by Job Category

Identify your strongest and weakest areas. Focus training on categories below 85%.

Weekly Performance Pattern

Discover your peak performance days. Schedule complex jobs when you're at your best.

Job Complexity Mix

A balanced mix ensures steady income and skill development.

🚀 Leveraging Data for Career Advancement

💼 For Job Interviews📈
Prove Productivity
"I consistently complete 25+ jobs per week with 92% efficiency"
⚡
Show Elite Skills
"My electrical diagnostic efficiency is 105% vs. 78% shop average"
📋
Verifiable History
Timestamped, detailed work history that can't be disputed

📊 For Performance Reviews

Sample Performance Report Highlights

Q3 Average Efficiency 89% (+12% vs Q2)

Shop Productivity Contribution $47,000 revenue generated

Beat-the-Clock Rate 83% (vs 75% target)

Goal Achievement All targets exceeded ⭐

🔧 Advanced Tools & Best Practices

🎙️ Total Voice Premium ($9.99/month)

Complete hands-free job entry. Speak naturally and AI extracts all details.

Example voice input:

"Just finished brake pads on a 2019 Honda Civic. Book time was 1.5 hours, took me 1.2 hours. Customer paid full flat rate."

AI automatically creates:

Job: Brake Pad Replacement

Vehicle: 2019 Honda Civic

Category: Brakes

Flat Rate: 1.5h

Actual: 1.2h

Efficiency: 125%

Daily Review (2 mins)

• Check overall score
• Review yesterday's efficiency
• Note any patterns

Weekly Analysis (15 mins)

• Study trend charts
• Review goal progress
• Plan improvements

Monthly Deep Dive (30 mins)

• Analyze category performance
• Adjust long-term goals
• Generate career reports

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Is FlatRate Pro really completely free?

Yes! All core features including unlimited job tracking, analytics, and reports are 100% free forever. Total Voice ($9.99/month) is the only optional premium feature.

Why is my efficiency sometimes over 100%?

That's excellent performance! It means you completed the job faster than the flat rate time, which is the primary way to increase your earning potential in flat-rate pay.

What's a realistic efficiency target for a new technician?

Aim for 70-75% initially, with a goal of building toward 85%+ as your skills develop. Master technicians often achieve 110-130% efficiency.

How is my data protected?

Your work history is stored securely with industry-standard encryption. Your information is never shared or sold. You have full control to export or delete your data at any time.

📖 GearGenius.AI™ Suite Guide

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