Time & Materials Billing Explained

Time & Materials Billing Explained . . .

Time and Materials, often referred to as T&M, is a great way of meeting the needs of our customers in a productive and cost effective way.  When T&M billing is utilized the customer is charged for the exact time and the exact materials that are used in delivery of the service.  T&M provides a way to pursue projects when it is not possible to accurately estimate the duration or extent needed to complete the service upfront.  At BSS we also provide Fixed Price billing and Per Service billing – click the links to find out more about these types.

Time-and-material

Time and Materials can be confusing so we want to make sure that T&M billing is fully explained and understood.  Here is an example of a T&M service:

Example: Irrigation Repair (need irrigation services – click HERE)

Repair irrigation system. Billed at Time plus materials @ $95 per Hour. Minimum $95.

Time: $95/Hr

Materials: As needed

So let’s say that an irrigation crew (2 members) repairs your irrigation system and they are there for 1 hr.  They replaced 3 spray heads, programmed the irrigation unit and audited and adjusted the entire system. 

Here is a breakdown of the cost.

1 hr X 2 crew members = 2 hrs (man-hours)

3 – 4” Pop Up Spray Head @ $3.00 ea

Total Expense for the Service

2 hr X $95/Hr = $190.00

3 Spray Heads X $3.00 ea = $9.00

Total Cost of Service = $199.00

All of the T&M services that we provide utilize our team members expertise and training, hard work ethic and the quality that we demand from our employees. Many of them also require specific certification and licensing to ensure that we provide the service safely and in compliance with all of our state requirements.

Time and Material billing is a great way to only “pay for what you get.”  Make sure that you keep an eye on your project so that what is required does not exceed your expectations.  For example, there are many times when customers believe that their lawn “should take an hour or two to clean,” when the reality is that much more time and effort will be required.  You should discuss this with your BSS representatives to make sure there is understanding between you and your crew.

What are the Materials in T&M?

The definition of ‘Materials’ is basically anything that is needed to effectively provide the service for you.  Most materials are pretty basic. For example if we are providing a ‘Noxious Weed Spot Spray’ service for an area of your property and you are being billed T&M – The time will simply be the time it requires our team member to walk your property and spray the weeds.  The materials will simply be the chemical amounts that were used during this visit to treat the weeded areas.

There are some materials that might not be as obvious.  If we are providing a cleaning service, we may need to haul off and dump debris from your property and we incur a dump fee to do this. This expense is passed along to you as a material cost for the completion of your service.  Another example would be if while our irrigation team member was providing ‘Irrigation Repair’ services and identified that you have a serious issue in your home water system that requires the services of a plumber.  If our team member contacts and coordinates that work of the plumber. The plumber expense would be passed along to you as a material cost for the completion of the service.

T&M – A Great Option with You in Mind!

We could endlessly run through examples and scenarios, but the idea is pretty easy to understand.  Thank you for taking the time to read this and if you do ever have a question about T&M billing please let us know and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

Take a look at our FULL SERVICE LIST and see all the services that we provide and take note of those with T&M billing.