This guide explains how to set a default hourly minimum for your company and customize it per estimate, and how it flows into billing for your jobs.
Please note that hourly minimums in Chariot only apply to the special "Synced Hourly Rate" charge in your charge list.
How to Set and and Customize Hourly Minimums for Jobs in Chariot
Set Your Default Hourly Minimum
Go to Settings → General
Select Payment and Billing Settings
Find Hourly Rate Minimum Hours and enter your default (e.g., 2 hours)
This default will automatically apply to every new job you create.
Customize the Hourly Minimum on an Estimate
Each job can have its own hourly minimum, and you can set different minimums for each day of a multi-day move.
Open the estimate and go to the Work Date section
Click on the hourly minimum field
Enter a new value (e.g., 3 hours), or delete it to remove the minimum for that day
Click Done
For multi-day moves, add each day and set a different minimum as needed.
How the Minimum Applies
When you add an hourly rate to your estimate, Chariot automatically enforces the minimum:
If you plan for fewer hours than the minimum (e.g., 2 hours with a 3-hour minimum), the estimate will display the minimum hours instead
The customer-facing estimate will note the hourly minimum beneath the rate
The minimum is also enforced on the final bill.
How Hourly Minimums Work on the Billing Side - Crew and Office
Automatic Minimum Enforcement
When your crew starts billing a job (from the crew page or the office), Chariot automatically pulls in the hourly minimum from the estimate.
On the crew page, when selecting the hourly rate, Chariot displays the minimum (e.g., "minimum is 4 hours")
If the crew works fewer hours than the minimum, Chariot automatically charges the minimum
The Work Times section shows the actual time worked, while the Hourly Charges section reflects the minimum applied
The crew doesn't need to make any manual adjustments—Chariot handles the calculation automatically.
Multi-Day Jobs
For jobs spanning multiple days with different hourly minimums per day, Chariot pulls the correct minimum for each day. When the crew bills day two, it applies that day's specific minimum.
Overriding the Minimum
If you need to remove or adjust the hourly minimum after billing (e.g., for a customer exception):
Go to the job's billing section
Locate the hourly minimum field
Remove or adjust the value
The bill will recalculate automatically based on actual hours worked.
Summary
Hourly minimums flow automatically from the estimate to billing
Work times reflect actual hours; charges reflect the minimum
Each day of a multi-day job can have its own minimum
You can override the minimum on move day if needed