Tech Commissions and Payouts

What This Is

KeyBolt can split each job's profit between the tech who did it and the shop. You set a percentage for each tech, and KeyBolt does the math on every completed job. You can also set different rates for evenings and weekends, shop-wide, and those replace a tech's own percentage when they apply. See Pay More for Nights and Weekends. This is on both plans, Basic ($99/mo) and KeyBolt Pro ($189/mo). Only owners and managers can set or change a tech's split.

How the Split Is Calculated

KeyBolt splits the margin, not the full bill. Here is the order, in plain terms:

1. Start with the job's pre-tax amount, after any discount you gave. Sales tax is never split. It is the shop's to remit, not the tech's to earn. Take $30 off a bill and the tech's share drops with it, because a discount is the shop's decision and everyone shares it.
2. Subtract company parts, the parts that came off your shop's shelf. What is left is the margin.
3. Apply the split percentage to that margin. On a one-tech job, that is the tech's share. On a job with a team, that is the pool, and KeyBolt then divides the pool between the techs on the job. See Pay Two Techs on One Job.
4. If a tech used their own parts on the job, those are added back to that tech as a straight cost reimbursement (dollar for dollar). Tech parts are not split. On a job with more than one tech the money follows whoever is named on the part, so two techs who each bought their own parts each get paid back. A part with nobody named goes to the lead tech.
5. Whatever is left over is what the shop keeps.

Example: a $300 pre-tax job with $50 of company parts has a $250 margin. At a 40% split, the tech earns $100 and the shop keeps $150. If the tech also supplied $20 of their own parts, the tech's payout becomes $120 and the shop still keeps $150.

If a job's parts cost more than the bill, KeyBolt clamps the margin at zero so the tech is never charged for the shop's loss.

Set a Tech's Default Split

1. Go to Team in the sidebar.
2. Find the team member. Under their name you will see Split: 0.0% with a small pencil.
3. Tap the pencil, type a number from 0 to 100, and tap Save.

When you save, KeyBolt updates the percentage and recalculates any of that tech's jobs that have not been paid yet, so the new rate flows through right away. The confirmation tells you how many jobs were recalculated. Jobs that were already paid are history and are left alone.

Override the Split for One Job

Sometimes one job deserves a different cut, a tough after-hours lockout, a job a tech mostly handled solo. You can override the split on a single job without changing the tech's default.

1. Open the job. The job must be Completed or Invoiced for the payout section to appear.
2. Open the Finance tab and scroll to Costs. The Payout Preview is there, under the profit card.
3. Tap Custom split for this job.
4. Type a percentage from 0 to 100 and tap Save. Leave it blank and Save to clear the override and fall back to the tech's default.

The Payout Preview updates live and shows the breakdown: Revenue (pre-tax), Company parts, Margin, the Tech share at the split you set, the Tech payout, and what the Shop kept.

Only owners and managers can change a split or an override. If you do not see the edit option, your role does not allow it.

See What a Tech Has Earned

On the Team page in the sidebar, each non-owner team member has a small earnings strip showing:

• This month, with the number of jobs that contributed.
• YTD (year to date).

These totals come from each tech's completed and invoiced jobs. A tech with no payouts yet simply shows zeros, so you can see at a glance that there is nothing to pay rather than the card disappearing.

The Commissions Report

For the full breakdown across a date range, use the Commissions report.

1. Go to Reports.
2. Open the Commissions tab.
3. Set the date range you want.

The table has one row per tech with these columns: Tech, Split (their percentage), Revenue, Earned (their payout), and Shop kept.

One thing to know: the Commissions report counts only jobs whose bill has actually been paid, dated by when the money came in. The quick earnings strip on the Team page counts jobs once they are completed or invoiced, paid or not. So the two numbers can differ for the same period. The report is your "what to actually pay out" view; the Team-page strip is a faster running tally.

Can Techs See Their Own Earnings?

Not today. Commission numbers, the Payout Preview, and the Commissions report are for owners and managers. The reports area requires a permission that the tech role does not have, and a tech's dashboard shows only their assigned jobs, not dollar figures. If you want a tech to see shop reports, that is a role decision. See Team management.

Related Articles

• Add and manage your team
• Control what your techs can see
• Find the right report
• Clock in and out