---
title: "What is the calculation for dispatch time in job costing for technicians?"
slug: "how-technician-dispatch-time-calculated-in-job-costing"
updated: 2026-07-11T16:47:35Z
published: 2026-07-11T16:47:35Z
canonical: "help.servicetitan.com/how-technician-dispatch-time-calculated-in-job-costing"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.servicetitan.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is the calculation for dispatch time in job costing for technicians?

## Problem

Users may wonder if the time technicians are dispatched to a job site is factored into Job Costing. For any jobs that are not the first drive of the day, dispatch time is always included under *Labor Pay* in job costing. For the first job of the day, the calculation depends on the technician's *First Drive Settings*.

## Solution

### Review First Drive Settings for technician

1. Navigate to **Settings** ![A simple icon representing a settings gear. ](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/icon-gnav-settings-inactive.png) **> People > Technicians**.
2. Click **Edit** for the technician you want and then click the **Payroll** tab.
3. Under *Hourly Pay,* review the technician's *First Drive Settings*. ![Settings for technician's hourly pay and first drive compensation options displayed on screen.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/First_Drive_Settings.png)
  1. **Always pay first drive:** The technician always accrues paid hours between dispatch and arrival to the first job of the day
  2. **Pay first drive if technician is clocked into event:** The technician is not be paid for the first drive by default. The technician must do one of the following to begin accruing paid hours for the day:
    1. Clock into a paid timesheet code
    2. Begin a paid non-job appointment
    3. Arrive at their first job
4. Ensure your preferred *First Drive* setting is selected.
5. When you're finished, click **Save Changes**.

### Understand dispatch time and working Time

Dispatch time refers to the period when a technician is driving to a job site. Working time is the duration spent working on the job site.

For any jobs that are not the first drive of the day for the technician, both times are always included in the *Labor Pay* calculation, affecting the total cost on the invoice. For example, if the technician was dispatched to their second job of the day for one hour and then worked on the job site for three hours, the *Regular* column under labor pay shows 4h 0m.

If a job is the technician's first drive of the day, the dispatch time depends on the technician's *First Drive Settings*:

- If **Always pay first drive** is selected, then the first drive is always included under labor pay in job costing.
- If **Pay first drive if technician is clocked into event** is selected, then the first drive is only included under labor pay in job costing if the technician clocked into a paid timesheet code or began a paid non-job appointment before they were dispatched.

The calculation of actual costs (labor, materials, overhead) against revenue for each job to determine true profitability.

**What it does:** Shows which job types, technicians, or BUs are truly profitable after accounting for all costs, not just top-line revenue.

**Also called:** Job profitability, Cost tracking

**Tags:** Core

[See the full glossary →](https://help.servicetitan.com/docs/glossary-overview)