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Reference guide · updated 2026-09-12

A pool route doesn't divide evenly into hours the way a lot of other field service does — one stop might take eight minutes, the next twenty-five if there's a filter to backwash or an algae problem to treat. Most owners pay per pool serviced instead of per hour, then choose between two ways to set that per-pool rate.

The two structures

Flat rate per pool pays the same amount for every pool serviced that period, regardless of how many the tech does. It's simple and fully predictable on both sides.

Tiered by route volume raises the per-pool rate once a tech's total pools serviced in the pay period crosses a threshold — rewarding whoever covers more of the route, picks up overflow stops, or takes on extra volume in a busy week.

Worked example
Tiered bands: 1–20 pools/week → $12.00/pool · 21–35 → $14.00/pool · 36+ → $16.00/pool. Flat-rate comparison: $14.00/pool flat.

Tech A, 15 pools this week:
Tiered: 15 falls in the 1–20 band → 15 × $12.00 = $180.00
Flat: 15 × $14.00 = $210.00
Flat pays $30.00 more for the lower-volume week.

Tech B, 38 pools this week:
Tiered: 38 falls in the 36+ band → 38 × $16.00 = $608.00
Flat: 38 × $14.00 = $532.00
Tiered pays $76.00 more for the higher-volume week.

When each one fits better

  • Route sizes are fairly consistent week to week: flat rate's simplicity has little real downside — there's not much volume variation for a tiered rate to reward.
  • Volume genuinely swings — seasonal demand, a tech covering someone else's stops, callout jobs layered onto a regular route: tiered rewards the tech actually carrying that extra load, where flat rate would pay them the same as a quiet week.
Common mistake Counting a cancelled or rained-out stop as "not serviced" without deciding that up front. A tech who held the time slot for a stop that got cancelled last-minute can end up a pool or two short of a tier they'd otherwise have cleared — decide whether a scheduled-but-cancelled stop counts toward the threshold, and apply that rule the same way every period, not case by case.

Tiers apply to the whole period, not just the jobs after the threshold

Once a tech's pool count for the pay period crosses a tier threshold, the higher rate applies to every pool serviced that period — not only the ones serviced after the threshold was crossed. This is the same convention used for tiered commission elsewhere on this site: the rate depends on the period's total volume, so it can only be finalized once the period is over, not job by job as the count climbs.

  • Doing this by hand for one period: the free calculator handles the percentage + full-tip-passthrough case; for tiered-by-volume specifically, the sheet template below has it built in.
  • Running this every pay period: the sheet template calculates the correct tier automatically from each tech's total job count in the filtered date range.
  • Would rather not touch the data entry: send us your route data and pay rules, and get a payroll-ready file back within 24 hours, whichever structure you use.
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