Guide for independent technicians
How to Check Your Dispatch Company's Weekly Report for Underpayments
By Ron Malkian, field technician and founder of Ron Reports · Updated
To check your dispatch company's weekly report, match every job on it against your own records by date, address, and amount, then recompute your cut with your agreed split, parts, and fees. Any job that is missing, doubled, paid below what you collected, or split at the wrong rate is money you are owed.
What is a dispatch pay statement?
A dispatch pay statement, often called the weekly report, is the document a dispatch company sends a subcontracted technician listing each job, what the customer paid, the deductions, and the technician's share for that pay period. It is the company's version of your week. Your closing messages and receipts are yours. Checking the report means making the two agree.
Locksmiths, tow operators, garage-door, HVAC, and appliance technicians who split pay with a dispatcher all get some version of this report. The format changes from company to company, but the errors that cost you money are the same seven.
What you need before you start
- Every closing message for the week. The text, email, or app note you send when a job closes, with the amount collected and the address.
- Parts receipts. One receipt per parts deduction.
- Your agreement terms. Your split (for example 30% to you), whether it applies to gross or net, and who pays card fees.
- Any fixed fees. Dispatch, lead, or per-job fees that come out of your share.
- The company's report for the same dates.
The 7 errors that cost technicians money
These are the discrepancies Ron Reports' report comparison is built to flag. Each one can be caught by hand with your own records.
| # | Error | What it looks like | How to catch it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missing job | A job you completed is not on the statement at all. | Count jobs. Your records and the report should have the same number for the week. |
| 2 | Amount below what you collected | The job is listed, but the total is lower than what the customer paid. | Compare the paid amount on every line against your closing message. |
| 3 | Wrong split rate | Your share works out to a different percentage than your agreement. | Divide your share by the net on a few jobs. The result should equal your split. |
| 4 | Parts deducted twice or overstated | Parts on the report are higher than the receipt, or appear on two lines. | Match each parts charge to a receipt. One receipt, one deduction. |
| 5 | Card fee charged twice or on the wrong base | A processing fee appears twice, or is taken from your share when the company ran the card. | Check who processed each card payment and confirm the fee appears once. |
| 6 | Duplicate fee or double charge | The same dispatch, lead, or per-job fee is deducted more than once. | Total each fee type and compare it with the number of jobs it should apply to. |
| 7 | Cancelled or callback job charged back | A deduction for a job that was cancelled, redone, or never assigned to you. | Ask for the job reference behind every chargeback before accepting it. |
How to audit the report, step by step
- Count the jobs. Your records and the report should list the same number of jobs for the same dates. A different count means a missing or extra job.
- Match each job by date and address. Pair every line on the report with one of your closing messages. Anything left unpaired on either side needs an explanation.
- Compare the amount collected. The paid amount on the report should equal what the customer paid you.
- Check parts against receipts. One receipt, one deduction, same amount.
- Recompute your cut. Use your split on the correct base. Our free profit split calculator does this in seconds.
- Total the fees. Card, dispatch, and per-job fees should appear once per job they apply to.
A worked example
Here is one week checked line by line. These jobs and amounts are an illustration, using a 30% split on net (paid minus parts), the default split in Ron Reports.
| Job | Your records | Company report | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon · 1840 W Belmont Ave | $350 paid · $50 parts · cut $90.00 | $300 paid · $50 parts · cut $75.00 | −$15.00Amount below what you collected |
| Tue · 55 E Washington St | $165 paid · $0 parts · cut $49.50 | Not on the report | −$49.50Missing job |
| Wed · 2210 N Lincoln Ave | $240 paid · $40 parts · cut $60.00 | $240 paid · $80 parts · cut $48.00 | −$12.00Parts deducted twice |
| Thu · 920 Green Bay Rd | $290 paid · $60 parts · cut $69.00 | $290 paid · $60 parts · cut $69.00 | $0.00Matches |
| Short for the week | −$76.50 | ||
Three of four jobs had a problem, and none of them is obvious from the report alone. The Monday job shows the right address and the right parts, so only the paid amount gives it away. The Tuesday job simply is not there.
How much a small error costs over a year
Small differences add up because they repeat. If one job a week is under-credited by $15, that is $780 over 52 weeks. A card fee taken twice on a $300 card job processed at 2.6% plus 15¢ costs $7.95 each time it happens. Checking the report every week is how those amounts stay with you instead of the company.
What to do when you find a discrepancy
- Write it down per job. Date, address, what you collected, what the report shows, and the difference.
- Attach your proof. The closing message and any receipt for that job.
- Send one clear summary in writing. Keep it factual: “These three jobs differ from my records by $76.50 in total.” Most errors are honest mistakes and get fixed faster when they are easy to verify.
- Keep everything. The same records support your taxes, and the IRS generally recommends keeping them for at least three years.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. For a dispute you cannot resolve directly, talk to a qualified professional in your state.
Check your report automatically
Ron Reports does this comparison for you. Paste each job's closing message as you finish it, then upload the company's weekly report as a PDF or HTML file. It matches every job by date, address, and amount and flags missing jobs, underpayments, and double charges with the exact difference.
The free plan includes 40 jobs a month and one full report check. Pro is $19.99 a month for unlimited checks, and the first month is free.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I check my dispatch pay report?
Check it every pay period, the day it arrives. Most dispatch companies settle weekly, and a mistake is far easier to prove while the jobs are a few days old and your closing messages, photos, and receipts are still easy to find.
What records should a 1099 field technician keep?
Keep the closing message or invoice for every job, receipts for parts, and each weekly statement the company sends. The IRS generally recommends keeping tax records for at least three years (IRS Publication 583), so those same records double as your proof in a pay dispute.
What is the difference between a split on gross and a split on net?
A split on gross applies your percentage to the full amount the customer paid. A split on net subtracts parts first. On a $300 job with $40 in parts at a 30% split, gross gives you $90 and net gives you $78, so always confirm which one your agreement uses.
Can I check a scanned or PDF dispatch report?
Yes. You can compare a PDF or printed statement by hand with the steps in this guide. Ron Reports also reads PDF and HTML reports, including scanned ones, and matches each job against your saved jobs by date, address, and amount.
Is a 60/40 split fair for a field technician?
The percentage alone does not tell you. What matters is what the split is applied to (gross or net), who pays card processing fees, and whether lead, dispatch, or per-job fees come out of your share. Two 60/40 deals can pay very different amounts on the same job.