Rate Group Reporting FAQ
A few months ago we launched a webinar focused on the new EquipmentWatch Rate Group Report feature. This has been our most popular one yet (download it here if you missed it). You all had some great questions during the live Q&A session, and we received a ton of additional inquiries after the webinar wrapped. Interested in reading some of the most commonly asked questions? Here they are.
Q: During the webinar you referenced a Dr. Mike Vorster article on charge rates. Is there a link you can share?
Yes! We’re huge fans of Mike Vorster’s work here at EquipmentWatch. You can find the aforementioned article here: https://www.constructionequipment.com/how-set-internal-rate
Q: I want to create O&O rate groups but don’t have time to customize every cost factor. Which factors did you recommend I focus on?
If you’re completely strapped for time, just focus on fuel costs and mechanic’s wage. These can be set at the group-level so it only takes a minute to update your entire fleet. But if you’ve got a bit more time to spare, we strongly recommend going into each individual model and updating the purchase price and annual use hours. These will have a major effect on the quality of your equipment rates.
Q: I’m interested in rate groups, but would like to research a bit more on my own. Do you have any materials I could read?
We wrote a quick article about the new rate group report feature on our product blog. Here you can learn the ends and outs of rate groups before creating your first report.
Q: You mentioned an option to upload a fleet rather than searching models individually. How can I leverage this upload feature?
Our product guide gives you step-by-step instructions on how to use the model upload tool to add existing fleets quickly and conveniently.
Q: Why did you include idling rates in the report?
Everyone knows idling equipment costs businesses money. But it’s easy to overlook or even ignore without an actual dollar amount assigned to it. If you really want to change that behavior within your organization, use the rates calculated in this report to educate your teams on exactly how much money could be saved by reducing idling time. We’ve worked with several fleet managers in the past to do just that, and the resulting change has been significant.
Q: Are your mechanics wage estimates “loaded”?
Before we begin, we’ll answer what this individual meant by “loaded” mechanics wages. The “loaded” cost is what the company spends to employ a mechanic full-time, including benefits and other costs such as wages, insurance, unemployment, etc. The answer is yes, our mechanics wages include fringe benefit estimation. Learn more about how EquipmentWatch mechanics wages are calculated on our dictionary.
Thanks for all the great questions! If you have more, send them my way using the contact info provided at the bottom of this post.
For more information on Rate Groups or to see a live demo of EquipmentWatch, call us at 888-307-1713 or schedule a free demo here.
Erin C. Kadzis
Product Marketing Manager – EquipmentWatch
[email protected]
770 618 0123