Telling Sammy What Work You Subcontract Out

Most tradies subbie out some part of a job. A builder might sub out the tiling and the sparky work. A plumber might bring in a concreter for the slab cut. Sammy now has a Subbie line type built for exactly that, alongside Materials, Labour and Other.

A subbie line is a package price from another trade. Keeping it separate matters for three reasons:

• Your hours stay honest. Subbie work doesn't count towards your crew's labour hours, so Sammy doesn't think your team is on site for the tiler's three days.
• You can mark it up differently. Subbie packages get their own markup, so you're not adding your full labour margin on top of another trade's price.
• Your takeoff shows it separately. Subbie lines get their own section in the takeoff report, so you can see at a glance what you're paying out to other trades.

Your clients never see the word "subbie". Proposals, PDFs and invoices look exactly the same as before.

Adding a subbie line yourself#

1. Open the estimate and tap Add item
2. Under Category, choose Subbie
3. Enter the description, quantity, unit and rate as usual
4. Save the line

You can also ask Sammy in the chat panel. Something like "make the tiling a subbie line" or "add a subbie line for the electrical rough-in at $4,200" works fine.

Getting Sammy to quote subbie work automatically#

Sammy will only put a line down as Subbie when you've told him what you subcontract. He never assumes work is subbied out. Until you set this up, he'll keep quoting that work as labour and materials, the same as today.

There are two ways to tell him. Use either or both.

Option 1: Add a subbie rate rule#

Best when you know what you pay a subbie for a type of work.

1. Go to Settings, then AI Settings
2. Open Rate rules and tap Add Rule (or Add Manually if you haven't got any rules yet)
3. Give the rule a name, like "Tiling – subbie package"
4. Set the Type to Subbie
5. Enter the rate and unit, for example $65 per m²
6. Add a short note on when Sammy should use it, like "Use for all wall and floor tiling"
7. Save

From then on, when a job includes tiling, Sammy prices it as a subbie line using your rate.

Option 2: Tell Sammy in his instructions#

Best when you always sub out a whole trade but the price varies job to job.

1. Go to Settings, then AI Settings
2. Open Advanced instructions
3. Add a line like "I subcontract all electrical and plumbing work" or "Tiling is always done by a subbie"
4. Save

Sammy will put that work down as subbie lines and estimate a package price for it.

If you've done a Train Sammy session on a past job, he may already have asked whether you used your own crew or a subbie. That answer counts too.

Setting your subbie markup#

Subbie lines have their own markup so you can keep it lower (or higher) than your labour markup.

1. Go to Settings, then AI Settings
2. Tap Basic trade customisation
3. Turn on Variable markups if it isn't already
4. Set the Subbie markup
5. Save

If you don't set one, subbie lines use your default markup. You can also change the subbie markup on any individual estimate using the markup sliders, or ask Sammy in the chat to do it for you.

Re-categorising an existing estimate#

Sammy won't quietly change lines on estimates you've already built. If you want him to look through an estimate and move the subbie work into Subbie lines:

1. Open the estimate
2. Tap Actions (on a computer it's in the bottom-right corner), then More Actions
3. Under Manage, choose Re-categorise lines

Sammy reviews every line and tells you how many he moved. This is the only way he'll re-type lines on an existing estimate, and he'll still only pick Subbie for work you've told him you subcontract.

What the takeoff shows#

The takeoff report gets a Subbies section, with a subbie hours total at the bottom so you can see the time other trades are on site. If you'd rather hide it (for example when sharing the takeoff with your crew for a materials run), open Sections on the takeoff and untick Subbies.

What your clients see#

Nothing changes. Subbie lines appear on proposals, PDFs and invoices as ordinary priced lines, and the word "subbie" never shows up anywhere a client can see. If you ask Sammy to organise an estimate by cost type, he'll call that group "Specialist trades" rather than naming your subbies.

Kits and integrations#

• Kits – When you build a kit, you can set a component's type to Subbie so it comes into every estimate already categorised.
• Simpro, Ascora and ServiceM8 – Subbie lines push across the same way your Other lines do today.
• Suppliers – Sammy won't try to match subbie lines against your supplier catalogues, because they're not something you buy from a supplier.

Tips#

• Name rate rules after the work, not the person. "Tiling – subbie package" ages better than "Dave's tiling". If you want the subbie's name on a line, put it in the line's note.
• Set your subbie markup once in Basic trade customisation rather than adjusting it on every estimate.
• If Sammy keeps quoting a trade as labour that you always sub out, check that you've added a rate rule or an instruction for it. He needs to be told.