Workflow Attribution & Billing
Understand how Labor time follows warehouse work and how eligible 3PL labor becomes a client charge
Labor attribution answers two questions: what was the worker doing, and which operational record did the time support? Accurate attribution improves performance review, operational costing, and 3PL client billing.
Ways Labor Time Is Recorded
| Source | Typical Use |
|---|---|
| Kiosk | Worker clocks in, changes jobs, starts or ends a break, and clocks out |
| Manager action | A manager starts, switches, finishes, or ends work for a worker |
| Manual activity entry | A verified missed scan or off-kiosk activity is added later |
| Auto Tracking | A supported ShipOS workflow starts or switches the matching Labor work |
| Related-record Labor Hours | Labor is logged directly on a work order, purchase order, or cycle count |
Whichever method is used, confirm the worker, warehouse, job, time window, and related work are correct before reporting or billing.
Auto Tracking
Warehouse Configuration can automatically track:
- Picking
- Packing
- Cycle Counting
- Receiving
- Put Away
- Replenishment
When an enabled workflow begins, the worker can be clocked into or switched to its matching Labor work. The worker's Timeline and the related operational record provide the best place to verify the result.
Successful actions in a matching enabled workflow mark that exact entry as auto-tracked and refresh inactivity. With Auto-Pause Inactive Jobs enabled, ShipOS ends a stale eligible system job at the configured timeout and opens No Job. Manual selection or assignment alone does not make an entry eligible. The worker remains clocked in, and a queued next job remains queued. Mobile/web presence and kiosk heartbeat do not count as workflow activity. This safeguard does not depend on Labor Alerts.
Inactivity auto-pause is not workflow completion and does not create a work-order or purchase-order Labor charge. Existing automatic billing remains tied to normal workflow completion.
Roll out one workflow at a time. Confirm job creation, warehouse selection, switching behavior, and end-of-work handling before enabling another area.
System Jobs and Related Work
ShipOS maintains jobs for standard warehouse work and can create jobs linked to:
- Work orders
- Purchase orders
- Cycle counts
Open the linked job from Labor → Jobs (opens the Cybership dashboard in a new tab) to see when it is active and follow its action to the related record. Manage the source record rather than editing the system job.
Labor Hours on a Related Record
Records opened from Work Orders (opens the Cybership dashboard in a new tab), Purchase Orders (opens the Cybership dashboard in a new tab), and Cycle Count (opens the Cybership dashboard in a new tab) can show a Labor Hours tab. It includes:
- Workers currently clocked into the record
- All attached activity
- Work window and duration
- Status and notes
- Total workers and total duration
- CSV export
When edit access is available, select Log Hours to attach verified work directly to that record.
Log Hours
- Open the record from Work Orders (opens the Cybership dashboard in a new tab), Purchase Orders (opens the Cybership dashboard in a new tab), or Cycle Count (opens the Cybership dashboard in a new tab), then select Labor Hours.
- Select Log Hours.
- Choose the worker.
- Enter the start time.
- Enter an end time, or leave it open only when work is still active.
- Add notes that explain the work or correction.
- Confirm the entry.
Completed entries can be edited or deleted from the report. Active entries must be clocked out before deletion.
3PL Labor Billing
Labor billing is what the warehouse charges a client. It is separate from wages and payroll.
Eligible completed work-order and purchase-order Labor entries can create a client Labor charge when all of the following are ready:
- The warehouse operates as a fulfiller for the client
- Charges are enabled for that relationship
- A matching Labor billing rule and rate are available
- Work Order Auto Billing or Purchase Order Auto Billing is enabled
- The entry is completed work with a positive duration
Break and lunch entries are not client-billable Labor charges.
Rounding Billable Time
Two settings control the billing quantity:
- Labor Billing Rounding — the interval, in minutes
- Billing Rounding Mode — up, down, or nearest
Raw operational time remains important for worker reporting. The rounded quantity is for client billing.
Correcting Billed Labor
When a completed entry is edited, its related automatic Labor charge is updated when it is still safe to change. If the charge is already on a finalized invoice, the original invoice history is preserved and the correction is represented by an additional charge or credit as appropriate.
Deleting Labor Hours is permanent. If the associated charge has already been invoiced, a credit is created to offset the billed amount.
Review the worker, time, client, and related record before editing or deleting billed Labor. A time correction can change charges and invoices.
Manual Labor Charges
Use a manual Labor charge for a client-approved billing adjustment that should not change worker time. Use a Labor Hours correction when the underlying work entry itself is wrong.
| Situation | Correct Action |
|---|---|
| Wrong clock-out time | Edit the Labor Hours entry |
| Entry should not exist | Delete the eligible Labor Hours entry |
| Work happened but was never recorded | Log Hours or add a manual activity entry |
| Client-approved fee with no worker-time correction | Create or update a manual Labor charge |
To attach the charge to a job, type at least three characters of the job's name in Job to search every job in the charge's warehouse. On a work order or purchase order, Job lists only that order's own job, because charges on that order can only be tied to it.
Add a clear description to any manual charge so reviewers can understand why it exists.
Troubleshooting
No Automatic Charge Was Created
- Confirm the entry is completed work, not an open entry, break, or lunch.
- Confirm the job is linked to a work order or purchase order.
- Confirm the client relationship allows charges.
- Confirm the matching auto-billing setting is enabled.
- Confirm a Labor billing rule and rate apply.
- Confirm the duration is positive.
Labor Is on the Wrong Record
Open the job from Labor → Jobs (opens the Cybership dashboard in a new tab) and the worker from Members (opens the Cybership dashboard in a new tab) to identify when the work changed. Correct the entry or log the verified time against the intended record, then recheck charges.
A Correction Created an Adjustment
Check whether the original charge was already finalized on an invoice. Finalized history is not silently rewritten; increases and decreases are carried forward as adjustments.