Below are some examples of how to use the ProSuite Prebuild Bulk Update Tool to update your standard price simPRO prebuilds in bulk.
1. Hide your labour, even while using default labour rate (A.K.A shopping list pricing)
If you want to make a prebuild which shows as a single line item with the labour included, then you must untick the checkbox saying Labour: Based on Defaults. SimPRO will then bundle the labour into the prebuild. This is great for the domestic market and service jobs, where the customer would like to see an itemised quote or invoice without the labour shown separately. But what happens when your labour rates change?
If you update your labour rates in Setup > Labour > Labour Rates, this will not flow through to any prebuilds that have the labour box unchecked. Without this tool, you would previously have to go into all the prebuilds and check the box to refresh the labour rates, then uncheck it again to make sure the labour was included. With the prebuild bulk update tool you can simply export your chosen prebuild, enter your new default labour rate, then import the processed file to update all prebuilds at once.
2. Sparx Prebuilds
If you have purchased a suite of Sparx electrical prebuilds, you may have noticed that these all display the labour separately, as they are built on the assumption that your labour rates are based on defaults. While this is often the best method for projects, it is not always suitable for service jobs or other business models.
The prebuild bulk update tool allows you to update or duplicate your existing prebuilds using custom labour rates, and with the labour defaults box unticked. If you duplicate them you can have one group for projects and another identical group for service work with the labour hidden.
3. use average labour rates
Many businesses will use either prebuilds or labour rates, depending on the circumstances: prebuilds for a standard scope of works, and labour hours plus materials for jobs that are outside the box.
In such cases, you may have your default labour rate set to "Tradesperson" or similar, so that you bill at tradesperson rates by default. But if you typically send a tradesperson and apprentice out together, you may want to set up your prebuilds using an average of the two labour rates. This will give you more accurate labour cost and sell price figures.
For example:
Labour Rate | Cost | Sell |
Tradesperson | $90 | $110 |
Apprentice | $40 | $50 |
Average | $65 | $80 |
The prebuild bulk update tool gives you the ability to retain "Tradesperson" as your default labour rate, while using your average labour rate for your prebuilds. As with the first scenario, simply use the tool to enter your average labour cost and sell rate, then import into SimPRO to update your existing prebuilds.
4. update different labour rates for different groups of prebuilds (e.g. contractor works)
You may have prebuild groups with different labour rates, such as day rates or piece rates. Maybe one contractor gets a different rate from another. Maybe a contractor has asked for a raise. With this tool you can now update or create new prebuild groups with new labour and/or material rates to reflect those changes.
To update your contractor piece rates, first set each contractor up with a consistent hourly rate for all their prebuilds. Then enter their piece rate into the Labour Cost field of the prebuild. Now, when you want to duplicate or update those rates, you can simply use the prebuild bulk update tool to increase the hourly cost and sell prices. This will be applied to all prebuilds you decide to process.
5. Customer Contracts
You may have a group of prebuilds for a certain customer contract, for example, for asset maintenance. But when you get a new customer contract, you may want to duplicate those prebuilds for the new customer, with different material or labour rates. If your rates are not based on defaults, they won't be responsive to any settings in the customer file or your labour or material defaults.
Simply export your chosen prebuilds, apply the customer-specific rates and select Duplicate to create an identical group of prebuilds with the new rates.
Ready to give it a shot? You can access the prebuild bulk update tool here.
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