How to Create a Service Quote

Click Optional in the Quote Setup page to adjust default material markups and / or pricing tiers , labour rates, tax codes, and discounts and fees, as well as STC / VEEC eligibility and values (AU only) for users in Australia.

If your business operates in the United States, this is particularly important for selecting different parts and labour tax codes to apply to the entire quote.

You can also remove and re-apply the customer's membership discount. Learn more in How to Use Memberships in Workflows.

Click Custom Fields to enter information in fields set up in System > Setup > System Setup > Custom Fields > Leads, Quotes, Jobs & Recurring.

You can set the completion progress for a cost centre in the cost centre settings for quotes and jobs. Additionally, the Start Date and End Date recorded on a project quote or job cost centre can be automatically updated based on the Start Date and End Date specified on the tasks assigned to the cost centre.

1. Open the required quote or job.
2. Access the Cost Centre List and open the required cost centre.
3. Go to Settings.
4. Enter the percentage completed in the Progress field.
   • The cost centre Progress field is not impacted by the Progress field available for tasks.
5. Select the Auto adjust based on tasks check box.
   • All new project quotes and jobs have this option selected by default.
   • This feature is only available for quotes and jobs that have multiple cost centres.
6. Click Save.

Go to Details > Settings in a service quote to adjust the overall settings for the quote. In addition to being able to Enable retention and enter information in custom fields set up in System > Setup > System Setup > Custom Fields > Leads, Quotes, Jobs & Recurring, you can also access the following options:

You can also enter a Quote Name supplied by the customer to add additional reference information to the quote, as well as an Order No. if required by the customer.

Adjust the date the quote was Created if required, as well as the Due Date and Validity period for the quote to receive system alerts. You can set a default Validity period or select to base the validity on the quote Created Date or Approved Date. Learn more in Quotes .

You can also assign a Salesperson and Project Manager if the relevant employees have been designated in their employee card files.

To manually move the quote to a different Stage or change the Status, select as applicable from the drop-down list. Alternatively, select Auto Adjust to use automatic triggers.

You can manually select the Date Approved or when the quote Stage is updated to Approved, the corresponding date is auto populated in this field.

Search and select to apply project Tags to the quote, select a different Cost Centre if required, and enter or update the Cost Centre Name. If you select a different cost centre after entering a Cost Centre Name, it is overridden by the new cost centre's original name defined in System Setup.

Quotes appear twice in Connect if you both assign and schedule the applicable Technician.

US only: If you use simPRO in the United States, the term 'retainage' is used instead of 'retention'.

If a catalogue item record is for a large quantity of a specific material, you can update it so that it can be added to a quote in smaller quantities. For example, a cable is purchased from the supplier in 100 metre coils and sold to customers in 1 metre lengths. Learn more in How to Estimate Pack Items.

To quickly add catalogue items, pre-builds, and take off templates to your project:

1. In the Parts & Labour > Billable tab, click in the Add a Part search field.
   • Note that this field is not visible if the cost centre is locked for items and prices
2. Filter by Catalogue items, Pre-Builds or Take Off templates. You can also add a one off item.
3. Search for the required catalogue item, pre-build or take off template by part number or name.
4. Click the item in the search results to add it to the Parts table.

Alternatively to add catalogue items, pre-builds, and take off templates from the different groups and subgroups:

1. Access the quote.
2. Go to Parts & Labour > Catalogue / Pre-Builds / Take Off.
3. Locate the items in their applicable Groups and / or Subgroups.
4. Within each group / subgroup, enter the quantity per item, then click Add Items. If you have set images to be visible on the Catalogue or Pre-Build, you can Modify table View to verify the corresponding images in the table.
   • In the Catalogue tab when you navigate to a group, click the drop-down arrow beside Create Subgroup and select Create Item to create a new item in the selected group.
   • Similarly, in the Pre-Builds tab click the drop-down arrow beside the ADD ITEMS and select Create Pre-build to create a new pre-build.
   • Note that if there are no items in the group or subgroup only the Create Item or Create Pre-build buttons are displayed.
5. Click Billable.
6. Manage parts and labour in a service quote as normal.
   • ​​If you are adding a pre-build, click Options > Edit Pre-Build On Quote to adjust the materials in the pre-build only in that quote. The original pre-build quantity is not affected.
7. Click Save and Finish.

Use add-on pricing

If any items added in the Parts & Labour tab have add-on pricing enabled, all items use regular pricing by default. Learn more in Create a pre-build and Enable add-on pricing.

To use add-on pricing:

1. In the Parts table, click Options > Use Add-on Price.
   • Alternatively, select the check boxes for multiple items, then click Use Add-on Price in the footer options.
2. A icon appears next to the item name, and the Markup and Sell Price columns update.
3. Click Save.

To change the item back to regular pricing, click Options > Use Regular Price. To update multiple items, select the check boxes and click Use Regular Price.

Create one off items to assign non-catalogue expenses that are not processed through simPRO, for example, parking, government charges, and custom-engineered tools.

To create a one off item in a service quote:

1. Access the quote, then go to Parts & Labour > Billable.
2. Click Add a Part.
3. Click One Off Item.
4. Select Billable to add the item to the customer invoice.
5. Select Inventory Item to order the item and track in the Stock tab of the converted job.
6. Enter a detailed item Description.
7. Enter the Estimated Cost and Markup % / Sell Price.
   • If the item has associated labour, enter an Estimated Time in minutes.
8. Enter the Quantity of items required.
9. Select a Sales Tax Code.
10. Click Save and Finish.
11. Click Billable.
12. Manage parts and labour in a service quote as normal.
13. Click Save and Finish.

A labour rate that has been marked as default in the customer card file is automatically selected in the Labour table when the quote is created. To add a labour rate, select as required from the Labour drop-down list, then click Add. You can then adjust the Markup, Sell Price and Time.

Click Options on a labour rate to remove it or change the tax code if required.

To add labour rates to a quote, you need to assign them in the customer card file. If the default labour type for the quote has been automatically selected and the check box is selected, any estimated time associated with catalogue items or pre-builds automatically adds to the billable hours.

In the Parts & Labour tab the labour type that is selected inherits all cost and price changes made to the rate on the customer card. The cost centre must be unlocked for the labour rate to inherit changes.

Go to Schedule in a created service quote to schedule technicians and teams to the quote.

To schedule a quote in the Schedule tab:

1. Access the quote, then go to Schedule.
2. Under Available Resources, click the icon next to the employee, or the contractor or team you wish to schedule.
   • Click an employee / contractor / team to view their available hours over the next five days.
3. In the top left of the schedule view, select the schedule rate.
4. Click the time block to add a schedule block.
   • Click and drag to move the schedule block to a different day or hour.
   • Use the white arrows to lengthen or shorten the schedule block.
5. When you have finished scheduling, click the icon in the top right.
6. Click Save.

Alternatively, click Help me decide to schedule a quote using Filter Options, including the duration of the quote, the Zone, and Travel Distance to the site.

The cost displayed on the Schedule tab represents the actual direct cost of the scheduled hours. If the Schedule Rate scheduled has Overheads Included turned on, this is the sum of the employee's Pay Rate and Employment Costs with any schedule rate multipliers applied. If the schedule rate has Overheads Included turned off, this only includes the employee’s Pay Rate with any multipliers applied. Learn more in How to Create Schedule Rates.

You can create service quotes with multiple cost centres if the converted job would require works performed by different areas in your business. This process depends on whether you have single cost centre quotes enabled in your system default settings in System > Setup > Defaults > System > General > Service Jobs and Quotes.

This is also useful for selling the customer a membership so they can have discount on all new quotes and jobs raised against them, as well as recurring job or invoice templates if applicable. Learn more in How to Sell Memberships.

You can also add optional cost centres to a quote to offer customers a choice of options or additional options as an upselling technique. Learn more in How to Manage Optional Quotes.

To create a service quote with multiple cost centres when you do not have single cost centre quotes enabled:

1. Create a service quote as normal.
2. Click Next.
3. In Cost Centre List > Primary, select the Cost Centres from the drop-down box, enter a new Cost Centre Name if required, then click Add. Learn more in Rename a cost centre in a quote, job, recurring job, or recurring invoice.
   • ​​Once you have built your quote you may wish to use the Stage, Budget Status and Name / ID filter options to narrow your selection.
4. Click Save and Finish.

Click Options on a cost centre to duplicate, copy, edit, delete, or mark it as optional / billable.

Navigate between cost centres

There are several buttons you can use to save a quote, as well as navigate between multiple cost centres added to a quote.

When you access and update an individual cost centre within a quote, you can click the following buttons to save and navigate between cost centres:

When you access and update a quote at the Cost Centre List level, you can click the following buttons to save and navigate:

If you make changes to an individual cost centre, click Continue to return to the Cost Centre List, and then click Cancel, your changes will not save at all.

Create tasks within service quotes to keep an interactive to-do list for the quote. Learn more in Create a task from within a quote, job, or customer card file. Then when a task is due or has been updated, the assigned technician(s) as well as any other nominated stakeholders, such as customers or employers, receive email notifications and simPRO alerts.

You can also add task templates created in your System > Setup > System Setup > Tasks > Task Templates to add sets of tasks frequently carried out for certain types of quotes.

The number of open tasks also appear as a notification in brackets in the Details > Tasks sub-tab. Learn more in View an open task count in a quote or job.

Retention is the percentage of payment held by the customer to ensure the job is completed to specific standards and to safeguard against defects in workmanship.

You may wish to Set up retention for a project for a service quote that you plan to merge into a project job. This is useful for calculating the amounts to be withheld to assist in invoicing.

US only: If you use simPRO in the United States, the term 'retainage' is used instead of 'retention'.