It felt like longer
The quote for the cabinet allowed a certain number of bench hours. It was a lovely piece. It also took a long time: the veneer matching was fiddly, the doors needed refitting after the timber moved, and the finishing took an extra coat. At the end, you have a feeling it went over, but no record. The next cabinet quote uses roughly the same hours, because you have nothing else to go on.
Why makers do not record time
Time sheets feel like office work, and most makers went into furniture to avoid office work. When time is recorded at all, it is written at the end of the week from memory.
- Nobody records time per commission as the work happens.
- Where time is recorded, it is not split by stage, such as machining, joinery, assembly and finishing.
- The quote's hour estimate is never compared with what happened.
- Interruptions, such as site visits and deliveries, are mixed into bench time.
- Several people work on a piece and nobody adds up their time.
What not knowing costs
If a type of piece always takes longer than quoted, you are working part of every one of those commissions for nothing. You will not see it in the accounts, which only show that the year was busy and the margin was thin. Without data, you cannot tell whether a problem is pricing, method or a particular detail. And you cannot give a new maker a sense of how long things should take.
Time capture that makers will use
- Each person picks the commission and stage they are working on from their phone, or a tablet on the wall, with one tap to start and one to stop.
- Stages match how you think about the work: machining, joinery, assembly, finishing, fitting. You choose the list.
- Interruptions such as site visits, deliveries and admin are recorded as their own categories, so bench time stays clean.
- Forgotten taps are easy to correct at the end of the day, with a nudge if someone was clocked on a job overnight.
- When a commission is finished, its actual hours by stage are compared with the quote.
- Reports show, by piece type and detail, where you consistently go over or under, and your quoting tool can use these actuals.
| Question | Today | With time capture |
|---|---|---|
| How long did it take? | A feeling | Hours by stage |
| Did we go over the quote? | Probably | Actual against quote |
| Which stage runs long? | Unknown | Stage breakdown |
| What should we quote next time? | Same as before | Based on actuals |
We design it with the people at the bench. If it is slower than writing on the wall, nobody will use it.
Pricing on evidence
After a few commissions, patterns appear. Perhaps fitted pieces always run over on site, or veneered work takes longer at finishing than you think. You adjust quotes on evidence. Conversations with clients about changes are easier, because you know what a change costs in hours. And when you take on a new maker, you have a realistic picture of how long things take in your workshop.
Recording time also shows where hours go that are not on any quote: collecting timber, sharpening, fixing a machine, a site visit that ran long. Some of that is simply the cost of running a workshop, and seeing it helps you set a realistic hourly rate. Some of it points to changes, such as batching timber collections or charging for site measures, that are worth making.
Do you know your real hours?
- You do not record time per commission.
- You suspect some types of piece are underpriced.
- Quotes use the same hours as they did years ago.
- Site visits and deliveries eat into bench time unnoticed.
- Several people work on a piece and nobody totals it.