In simPRO, pre-builds are kits of parts and labour you use regularly. Think of them as recipes for common jobs. You have two main ways to price these kits: Standard and Flat-Rate. The choice you make has a big impact on your quoting and job profitability.

In simPRO, this means the pre-build's sell price is dynamic. It's calculated from the current costs of all the individual materials and labour times listed in your catalogue. If a supplier increases the cost of a cable from $1.50 to $1.75 per metre, any Standard pre-build containing that cable will automatically update its price to reflect the change. This protects your margins, ensuring you're always quoting based on the latest costs.

This is ideal for high-volume, repetitive service tasks or competitive maintenance contracts. For example, you might offer a 'Standard Smoke Alarm Service' for a fixed $99. This price won't change even if the cost of the alarm unit or the technician's labour rate fluctuates slightly. It gives your customers price certainty and simplifies your quoting process for common jobs.

When you create a new pre-build, the first critical decision is selecting the 'Pricing Type'. This choice is permanent for that pre-build once it's been used on a quote or job, so it's important to get it right from the start.

Making the wrong choice can lead to quoting errors. If you set up a complex installation as a Flat-Rate pre-build and material costs spike, you could lose money. Conversely, using a Standard pre-build for a simple, advertised service might create price inconsistencies if component costs change frequently.

Let's walk through the initial creation process. First, navigate to Materials > Pre-Builds.

To keep your pre-builds organised, it's best practice to use Groups and Subgroups. Think of these as folders and subfolders. For example, you might create a 'Lighting' group with subgroups for 'Downlights', 'Sensors', and 'Emergency Lighting'.

You can create these by clicking Create Group. Once you have a group structure, click Create Pre-Build.

The first screen you'll see is 'Create a Pre-Build'. Here, you define the core details:

1. Pricing Type: This is where you choose either Standard or Flat Rate Price. Remember, this can't be changed later if the pre-build is in use.
2. Name: Give it a clear, descriptive name that your team will understand, like 'Single Power Point Install - Surface Mount'.
3. Part No.: Assign a unique part number. This helps with searching and keeps your catalogue tidy. You might use a system like 'P-SPP-SM-01'.
4. Group / Subgroup: Assign the pre-build to the correct organisational folders you created earlier.

After filling in these initial details, you click 'Next' to proceed to adding the specific materials and labour components to the pre-build, which we'll cover later.

This initial setup is the foundation for an efficient quoting system. By choosing the right pricing type and keeping your list organised, you make it easier for your team to build accurate and consistent quotes.