What are Metal Pay Rates (Variable)?

Menu path

Set-Up > Set up Pay Rates > Metal Pay Rates - Variable

This dialog allows you to set up labour rates for metal roofing installation that change based on roof pitch and storey level. Variable pay rates give you more precise control over pricing by accounting for the increased difficulty of steeper pitches and higher storey work.

You can create up to 50 different labour rate tables. You select which pay schedule to use for a job in the Cover > Select-metal dialog box.

🧾 Main Settings

Field	Description
Name	The name of this pay schedule (must be unique)
Storey	The storey level to which the following rates apply. A schedule can have up to 10 storeys
Auto-Fill Intervals	The pitch ranges you want to set for the job. Click the Intervals button at the foot of the dialog to set these. Click on an interval value to edit that column of rate multipliers
Auto-Fill Storey	Set the Auto-Fill multipliers for each storey
Line items	Enter the rate per unit area or length for each line item. For roof removal and gutter removal, only the first rate is used during reporting

🔧 Control Buttons

Button	Function
Select	Displays the existing schedules. Select one for editing. After selecting, the Update button appears
Delete	Deletes the currently selected schedule
Add	Adds the current schedule (schedules must have unique names)
Update	Updates the currently selected table with your changes
Intervals	Define the pitch intervals you want to use (see Interval Labels section)
Next/Previous Page	Toggle between the two available pages
OK	Closes and saves your changes
Cancel	Closes without saving changes

🛠 Special Pay Rates

You can add custom labour charges that apply to specific flashing and trim work. This is useful for items requiring extra processes that change the cost compared to regular trim.

Add-User: Adds any sort of labour charge for flashing and trim. Each new item gets a unique index number. The example above shows a new rate for 'Tear-off and clean up'.

Using Special Rates: When you define a flashing item and select the Pay Rate Schedule, these special rates become available. First select the variable pay rate containing the special rate, then select the specific special rate.

Delete User: Removes a user-defined charge. You'll be prompted for the index number of the item to delete.

User defined pay rate for Special Gutters

🛠 Example Use Cases

Setting higher rates for steep pitch roofs (e.g., 30+ degrees)
Adjusting rates for multi-storey buildings
Creating special rates for complex flashing work like scribing hip caps
Setting rates for caulking ridge 'Z' bars
Custom rates for tear-off and cleanup work etc

💡 Tips

Start with basic pitch intervals (e.g., 0-15°, 15-30°, 30-45°, 45°+) and adjust based on your experience
Consider the extra time and difficulty when working on steeper pitches and higher storeys
Test your rates on a few jobs before rolling out widely