Labor matrix
A table that sets the labor rate by a bracket of the job's hours, so a short job is billed at a higher rate per hour than a long one, or the reverse. The line's hours pick the bracket; the bracket's rate multiplies the hours.
The idea is the same as a parts matrix with hours in place of cost. A shop decides that the first hour of a job carries the fixed costs of writing it up and pulling the car in, so the rate per hour on a half-hour job is higher than on a four-hour job. The matrix is the table that says so. The slope can run either way: Kaizen CPAs' 2025 page defines the matrix as a tool "to adjust labor rates based on the complexity and time requirements of a task" and its illustrative tiers rise with the hours, a job past ten hours at a higher multiple of the standard rate. The table below runs the other way, and both are a shop's own decision.
| Hours on the line | Rate applied (example figures only) |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1.0 | $160 |
| 1.1 to 3.0 | $150 |
| 3.1 and up | $140 |
Labor on the line = line hours × the rate of the bracket the line hours fall in
A labor matrix is read once per line by that line's hours, never by the order's total, so two one-hour lines and one two-hour line can price differently on the same ticket. That is the thing to decide before it goes live: whether the shop wants that, or wants the bracket chosen by the job as a whole.
Where a named rate applies to the line, for a fleet account or a canned job, the named rate wins and the matrix is not read. Try the brackets on your own lines with the parts and labor matrix calculator.
Sources (1)
- How a Labor Matrix Boosts Your Auto Repair Shop's Profitability · Kaizen CPAs, Eric Joern · read November 4, 2026