How Sammy Gets Pricing
Sammy generates pricing for your estimates using a combination of industry knowledge and your custom settings. Here's how it works.
Base Pricing Knowledge
Sammy has been trained on a broad corpus of Australian trade information, including:
- Industry standard rates – Typical labour rates for different trades
- Material costs – Common pricing for building materials
- Regional variations – How pricing differs across Australian locations
- Trade practices – Standard approaches to different types of work
This gives Sammy a solid foundation for generating realistic estimates, even before you add any custom settings.
How Your Settings Improve Pricing
Sammy's base knowledge is a starting point. Your custom settings make estimates more accurate and tailored to your business.
Trade Settings
Your trade type, finish level, and location help Sammy:
- Apply appropriate rates for your specific trade
- Adjust for premium vs standard finishes
- Factor in location-based pricing differences
Rate Rules
When you add rate rules, Sammy uses your actual rates instead of industry averages. For example:
- Without rate rule: Sammy estimates an electrician at $90/hour based on industry data
- With rate rule: Sammy uses your specific rate of $105/hour
Rate rules override Sammy's base pricing for both labour and materials.
AI Instructions
Your custom instructions guide how Sammy approaches estimates:
- Include specific allowances (waste, contingency, etc.)
- Prefer certain brands or quality levels
- Add standard items you always include
Supplier Data
After reconciling with your suppliers:
- Material costs reflect your actual purchase prices
- No more guessing – you're using real data
The Pricing Hierarchy
When generating an estimate, Sammy applies pricing in this order:
- Your rate rules – If you've set a specific rate, it's used first
- Supplier pricing – For reconciled items with supplier matches
- AI instructions – Any pricing guidance you've provided
- Base knowledge – Industry data as a fallback
The more you customise, the less Sammy relies on base knowledge.
Why Prices Might Differ from Your Expectations
If Sammy's pricing seems off, consider:
- No rate rules set – Sammy is using industry averages, not your rates
- Different finish level – Check if Standard is selected when you do Premium work
- Location differences – Your postcode affects pricing assumptions
- Missing context – More job detail helps Sammy price accurately
Improving Estimate Accuracy
To get the most accurate estimates:
- Set up your trade customisation – Tell Sammy what trade you're in and where you work
- Add rate rules – Enter your actual labour and material rates
- Upload supplier lists – Use real costs from your suppliers
- Write detailed descriptions – More detail means better estimates
- Review and adjust – Refine estimates with Sammy's help
Over time, as you add more rules and supplier data, estimates become increasingly accurate to your business.