Settings Glossary
This reference lists every configurable field in BayWise Scheduler with a plain-English explanation of what it does. Settings are accessed via the gear icon in the top navigation bar. Fields are organised by the settings section in which they appear.
Settings marked per location apply only to the location currently selected in the location switcher. Changes made in one location do not affect other locations unless you are using MSO Template Controls to publish settings across locations.
Operations Settings
Operations Settings control the core rules that govern how your workshop runs each day — opening hours, break periods, bay scheduling behaviour, and clock-in requirements. All fields here are per location.
Path: Settings → Operations
Operating Hours
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open / Closed toggle (per day) | Settings → Operations → Operating Hours | Marks a given day of the week as open or closed for business. When a day is set to closed, no jobs can be scheduled on that day and the calendar shows it as unavailable. | Toggle (on/off). Configured independently for each day of the week. |
| Open time (per day) | Settings → Operations → Operating Hours | The time your workshop begins accepting jobs on an open day. Jobs cannot be scheduled to start before this time. The calendar grid begins rendering from this time on open days. | Time picker (HH:MM). Must be set for any day marked as open. |
| Close time (per day) | Settings → Operations → Operating Hours | The time your workshop stops accepting new work on an open day. Jobs scheduled to run past this time will show a scheduling warning. | Time picker (HH:MM). Must be later than the Open time for the same day. |
| Closed day exceptions | Settings → Operations → Operating Hours | Specific calendar dates — such as public holidays, annual shutdown periods, or one-off closures — on which the workshop is closed regardless of the usual weekly schedule. Each exception date is shown on the calendar as a closed day. | Date picker, multi-select. Exceptions are stored by date and re-evaluated each year. |
Break Times
Break times block out periods during the day when technicians are generally unavailable. They appear as grey bands on the calendar grid and are excluded from AI scheduling windows.
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Break name | Settings → Operations → Break Times | A short label for the break period, such as “Lunch”, “Morning Tea”, or “Prayer Break”. The name is displayed on the calendar grid and referenced in scheduling conflict messages. | Free text, required. Up to 50 characters. |
| Start time | Settings → Operations → Break Times | The time this break period begins. No new job steps are auto-scheduled to start during the break window. | Time picker. Must fall within the workshop’s operating hours on the days this break applies. |
| End time | Settings → Operations → Break Times | The time this break period ends. Jobs may be scheduled from this time onward. | Time picker. Must be later than the break’s start time. |
Bay Buffer Time
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Buffer Time | Settings → Operations | The minimum gap in minutes that BayWise enforces between the end of one job and the start of the next job in the same bay. This time allows the bay to be cleared, inspected, or prepared before the next vehicle enters. The buffer is applied automatically when scheduling and is visible as a shaded gap on the calendar grid. | Integer, minutes. Minimum: 0 (back-to-back, no gap). Recommended: 10–30 minutes. There is no enforced upper limit, though values above 60 minutes significantly reduce daily throughput. |
A bay buffer of 15 minutes works well for most general workshops. Denting, painting, and spray painting bays typically benefit from a longer buffer of 20–30 minutes to allow for full clearance and preparation.
Clock-In Requirements
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Require Clock-In for Assignment | Settings → Operations | When this toggle is enabled, a technician must be clocked in before any job can be assigned to them. Attempting to assign a job to a technician who has not clocked in will display a blocking warning. When disabled, jobs may be assigned to technicians regardless of their clock-in status. | Toggle (on/off). Default: off. Applies to all technicians at this location. |
| Assume Default Clock-In | Settings → Operations | When enabled and mandatory clock-in is disabled, BayWise automatically treats all rostered technicians as clocked in at their shift start time. This removes the need for explicit clock-in actions in workshops that do not track attendance granularly. When mandatory clock-in is enabled, this setting has no effect. | Toggle (on/off). Default: off. Only relevant when Require Clock-In for Assignment is off. |
Billing
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default Billing Rate | Settings → Operations | The standard labor rate per hour charged to customers. Used as the fallback billing rate when a technician does not have an individual rate set on their profile. This value feeds into revenue calculations, incentive scheme variables (such as Labor Revenue), and reporting. | Numeric, currency per hour. No enforced minimum or maximum. Set to your workshop’s standard workshop rate. |
Break Handling
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Break Handling | Settings → Operations | Controls how scheduled break periods interact with job scheduling. Two options are available: Schedule After — jobs that overlap a break period are shifted to start after the break ends, keeping the job as a single uninterrupted block. Split Around — jobs are allowed to span across a break, with work time calculated as the sum of the segments before and after the break. | Select: “schedule_after” or “split_around”. Default: “schedule_after”. Applies to all bays and technicians at this location. |
Auto-Start
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-Start Next Step | Settings → Operations | Controls whether the next step in a multi-step job activates automatically when the current step is marked complete. When enabled, all step transitions across all multi-step jobs at this location are automatic. When disabled, every next step enters “Pending” status and requires manual activation by a controller or advisor. Completion tags (sign-off gates) take precedence — a step with a completion tag will always wait for sign-off before the next step activates, regardless of this setting. | Toggle (on/off). Default: off. Applies globally to all multi-step jobs at this location. |
Technician Settings
Technician settings are configured per technician record. Each record covers the technician’s contact details, skill profile, recurring availability, and workload limits.
Path: Techs tab → select a technician → Edit, or Settings → Team (depending on your role)
Profile Fields
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Technician record → Profile | The technician’s display name as it appears on job cards, assignment panels, the calendar grid, and in technician performance reports. | Free text, required. |
| Phone | Technician record → Profile | The technician’s contact number. Used for internal reference only; not shown to customers. | Free text, optional. No format restriction. |
| Technician record → Profile | The technician’s email address. Used for internal reference and, where notification integrations are configured, for system alerts. | Free text, optional. Standard email format. |
Skills
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skills | Technician record → Skills | The service categories this technician is qualified to perform. BayWise uses the skills profile to filter eligible technicians during manual job assignment and to power AI scheduling suggestions. A technician will only appear as assignable to a job if they hold the skill required by that job’s service. | Multi-select. Up to 16 skill types available. See the Skill Types Reference for the full list and descriptions. A technician with no skills set will not be excluded from any assignment — this is useful for general-purpose or support roles. |
Availability
Availability defines a technician’s expected recurring weekly schedule. This is distinct from clock-in, which records their actual daily attendance.
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Available toggle (per day) | Technician record → Availability | Marks a given day of the week as a working day for this technician. On days toggled off, the technician will not appear as bookable and will be excluded from AI scheduling suggestions for that day. | Toggle (on/off). Set independently for each day of the week. |
| Start time (per day) | Technician record → Availability | The time this technician’s shift begins on a given working day. Scheduling suggestions will not assign jobs that start before this time. | Time picker. Required on any day marked as available. |
| End time (per day) | Technician record → Availability | The time this technician’s shift ends on a given working day. Jobs should not be scheduled to run past this time. | Time picker. Must be later than the shift start time for that day. |
WIP Limit
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| WIP Limit | Technician record → WIP Limit | The maximum number of active jobs this technician can be assigned to at the same time (Work-In-Progress limit). BayWise uses this to prevent overloading individual technicians. AI scheduling suggestions will respect this ceiling when recommending assignments. Controllers can still manually assign beyond this limit, but will receive a warning. | Integer. Default: 3. Minimum: 1. No enforced maximum. Values above 5 are uncommon outside specialist shops running tightly timed short-duration jobs. |
Notes
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | Technician record → Notes | A free-text field for any additional information relevant to this technician — for example, specialist certifications not captured by the skill list, preferred equipment, rostering notes, or training requirements. Not visible to customers. | Free text, optional. |
Bay Settings
Bay settings are configured per bay record. Each bay represents a physical workspace, lift, or service area in your workshop.
Path: Bays tab → select a bay → Edit
Profile Fields
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Name | Bay record → Profile | The display name of this bay as it appears on the calendar grid, job cards, and AI scheduling outputs. Common examples: “Bay 1”, “Lift A”, “Denting Bay”, “Paint Booth”, “A/C Bay”. | Free text, required. |
| Notes | Bay record → Profile | Internal notes about this bay — for example, maximum vehicle dimensions, specialist use restrictions, equipment quirks, or cleaning requirements. Not visible to customers. | Free text, optional. |
Equipment Links
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment Links | Bay record → Equipment | Equipment items from the Equipment Catalog that are physically located in or permanently associated with this bay. BayWise uses equipment links during scheduling: a job that requires a specific piece of equipment will only be suggested for bays where that equipment is linked. AI equipment detection can pre-populate this list from a photo of the bay. | Multi-select from the Equipment Catalog. Equipment items must be created in the catalog before they can be linked. A bay may have zero or many equipment items linked. |
Maintenance Mode
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance Mode | Bay record → Maintenance | When enabled, this bay is taken offline. No new jobs can be scheduled into it, and it is excluded from AI scheduling suggestions. Existing jobs in the bay are not automatically cancelled or moved — they remain in place and must be rescheduled manually. The bay appears greyed out on the calendar grid and is labelled as “Under Maintenance”. | Toggle (on/off). Default: off. Takes effect immediately on save. |
Service Catalog
Each entry in the Service Catalog defines a service type your workshop offers. Services are used when creating jobs and building repair presets.
Path: Settings → Catalog → Services
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Name | Service record | The name of this service as it appears when creating a job or repair preset. Examples: “Full Service”, “Oil & Filter Change”, “Brake Pad Replacement (Front)”, “AC Regas”. | Free text, required. |
| Category | Service record | The broad service category this entry belongs to. Used for filtering in the catalog view and for reporting breakdowns by service type. | Fixed list: Maintenance, Repair, Diagnostic, Body Work, Finishing. |
| Estimated Duration | Service record | The default amount of time BayWise allocates for this service when it is added to a job. This figure is used for calendar placement, bay utilisation calculations, and AI scheduling suggestions. The duration can be overridden at the individual job level. | Integer, in minutes. Required. No enforced maximum. |
| Skill Requirement | Service record | The technician skill type required to perform this service. When a skill is set, only technicians holding that skill will appear as eligible assignees during job creation and in AI scheduling suggestions. | Single-select from the 16 skill types, or “None” if no specific skill is required. |
Equipment Catalog
The Equipment Catalog is a library of tools, machines, and equipment items present in your workshop. Items in the catalog can be linked to bays to enable equipment-aware scheduling.
Path: Settings → Catalog → Equipment
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment Name | Equipment record | The display name of this equipment item. Examples: “4-Post Lift”, “2-Post Lift”, “Hunter GSP9700 Wheel Balancer”, “Snap-on ZEUS Diagnostic Platform”, “Infrared Paint Curing Lamp”. | Free text, required. |
| Category | Equipment record | A grouping label for this equipment item, used for filtering within the catalog. There is no fixed list — enter a category that reflects your workshop’s organisation (examples: “Lifts”, “Diagnostics”, “Tire Equipment”, “Finishing”, “Fluid Services”). | Free text, optional. |
| Notes | Equipment record | Optional internal notes about this equipment item — for example, the asset tag number, calibration schedule, known operational limits, or which technicians are trained to use it. | Free text, optional. |
AI Settings
AI Settings configure which AI providers and models power each of BayWise’s intelligent features. Each feature area can be configured independently, allowing you to use different providers for different tasks.
Path: Settings → AI
API keys are stored securely and masked immediately after saving. You will not be able to view a saved key again. If you need to update or replace a key, type the new key in full and save — it will replace the previous value.
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vision Provider | Settings → AI → Vision | The AI provider used to power equipment detection when a photo of a bay is uploaded. BayWise sends the image to this provider and interprets the response to suggest equipment items. | Select from the list of supported providers. Requires a valid API key for the selected provider. |
| Vision Model | Settings → AI → Vision | The specific model from the chosen Vision Provider to use for image analysis. Different models offer different trade-offs between accuracy, speed, and cost. | Select from models available for the chosen provider. |
| Scheduling Provider | Settings → AI → Scheduling | The AI provider used to generate scheduling suggestions — recommending which technician and bay to assign to each unscheduled job, based on skills, availability, WIP limits, and bay capacity. | Select from supported providers. |
| Scheduling Model | Settings → AI → Scheduling | The specific model to use for scheduling suggestions. | Select from models available for the chosen provider. |
| Duration Provider | Settings → AI → Duration | The AI provider used to estimate job duration when no exact match is found in the Service Catalog. BayWise sends a job description to this provider and uses the returned estimate for scheduling. | Select from supported providers. |
| Duration Model | Settings → AI → Duration | The specific model to use for duration estimation. | Select from models available for the chosen provider. |
| Repair Analysis Provider | Settings → AI → Repair Analysis | The AI provider used to analyse repair requirements and recommend approaches based on vehicle and fault data. | Select from supported providers. |
| Repair Analysis Model | Settings → AI → Repair Analysis | The specific model to use for repair analysis. | Select from models available for the chosen provider. |
| Incentive Provider | Settings → AI → Incentives | The AI provider used to generate incentive scheme formulas from a plain-text description of your desired outcomes. You describe what you want to reward; the AI produces a formula using the supported variables. | Select from supported providers. |
| Incentive Model | Settings → AI → Incentives | The specific model to use for incentive formula generation. | Select from models available for the chosen provider. |
| API Key (per provider) | Settings → AI → [provider section] | The secret API key issued by the AI provider, authorising BayWise to make calls to that provider’s API. Each provider requires its own separate key. Keys are validated for correct format on entry. | Alphanumeric string. Format varies by provider (for example, some providers use a prefix such as sk-). Not displayed after saving. Required before any AI feature will operate. |
Incentive Settings
Incentive schemes define how technician performance bonuses or score targets are calculated. Schemes are created at the organisation level and assigned to individual locations.
Path: Settings → Incentives
| Field | Location | Description | Notes / Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scheme Name | Incentive scheme record | A short, descriptive name for this incentive scheme. The name appears in scheme assignment panels and in technician performance reports. Examples: “Standard Commission”, “Q2 Efficiency Bonus”, “Senior Technician Tier”, “Workshop Throughput Incentive”. | Free text, required. |
| Formula | Incentive scheme record | A mathematical expression defining how the incentive score or bonus amount is calculated for a technician over a reporting period. The formula references the supported performance variables listed below. You may write a formula manually or use the AI formula generator to produce one from a plain-text description of your goals. | Formula string using the supported variables. Standard mathematical operators (+, -, *, /, parentheses) are supported. |
Formula Variables
The following performance variables are available for use in incentive scheme formulas:
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| Labor Revenue | Total billing revenue generated by the technician for the reporting period. |
| Jobs Completed | The total number of jobs marked as delivered by the technician in the reporting period. |
| Efficiency % | Actual time as a percentage of planned time (0-100%). 100% means the job took exactly as long as estimated. Below 100% means faster than expected. |
| Utilisation % | The proportion of the technician’s clocked-in time spent on productive job work, expressed as a percentage (0-100%). |
| Attendance Minutes | Total minutes the technician was clocked in during the reporting period. |
| Overtime Minutes | Minutes worked beyond standard hours for the period. |
| Steps Completed | Total number of completed job steps (for multi-step work) across the period. |
| Actual Minutes | Total productive work minutes — time spent actively working on jobs. |
| Planned Minutes | Total estimated/planned minutes across all jobs assigned to the technician. |
| Idle Minutes | Attendance time minus productive time — minutes clocked in but not working on a job. |
Example formula: labor_revenue * 0.05 + (efficiency_pct > 80 ? (efficiency_pct - 80) * 10 : 0)
This example awards 5% commission on labor revenue, plus a bonus for every percentage point of efficiency above 80%.
Use Settings → Incentives → Generate Formula to produce a starting formula from a plain-English description of your goals. Always review the AI-generated formula before saving, and test it against recent actuals to confirm the output is within your intended range.