Snow Subcontractor Setup

If the company will be using subcontractors to provide or supplement the snow services, they should set up the subcontractors in advance or as they are contracted. Here are the key items to set up for subcontractors which are further described in the sections that follow:

• Establish contacts and user accounts
• Establish routes for each subcontractor crew
• Set up subcontractor auto expenses to automate some aspects of vendor payment

Companies can set up contacts and associated user accounts in Aspire so that the subcontractors can utilize the Crew Mobile App to clock in and out, and allocate time to work tickets to reduce the workload for the employees. Additionally, the proper setup of the subcontractor contact supports the automatic subcontractor expense capability if the company chooses to utilize it.
Below is a sample setup of snow subcontractor contacts followed by annotations providing guidance in setup.

1. When specifying the contact names for subcontractors, the company may choose to use either generic names or actual names of individuals. A suggested nomenclature when using generic names is to specify the crew member function in the first name, and the name of the subcontractor business for the last name. Companies can develop any nomenclature that suits business practice.
2. Always choose the contact type of Sub. If on the Application Configuration screen the system administrator enables the Allow Contact Type ‘Sub’ to login option, contacts whose contact type is Sub can log into the Crew Mobile App (they cannot log into the main Aspire app).
3. To differentiate snow subcontractors from other subcontractors in Aspire, the company may choose to create a contact tag (i.e. “Snow Subcontractor”) and assign it to each snow subcontractor contact. This will allow you to filter the Contacts Search List screen. You can define new tags on the Tags Search List screen.
4. For some subcontractor crews, the company may wish to allow them to simultaneously clock in multiple team members without setting up accounts for each crew member allowing Aspire to properly track time spent on jobs. To enable this for a crew leader, enable the Prompt for Sub Crew Size in MTIME checkbox.
5. Create and assign a pay schedule that differentiates the subcontractors from employees. This will assist in excluding subcontractors from the payroll export.
6. You can specify a PIN allowing the subcontractor to log into the Crew Mobile App.
7. You can complete any additional contact fields that may be beneficial to the business practice.
   A user account must also be established that is associated with the contact by clicking the Create User in the menu at the top of the Contact screen to display the User screen.

Subcontractor Route Setup

Routes for subcontractors can be established in the same manner as internal routes, using the Manage Routes section of the Scheduling module, as described in the sections, Establishing Routes for Routes Method and Establishing Routes for Events Method. This section provides a few guidelines specific to setting up routes for subcontractors.

1. Consider using a naming convention for route names that allow you to identify the subcontractor routes^a.
2. The Crew Leader^b specified for the route should be a contact associated with the subcontractor’s company.
3. For snow subcontractors, make sure to choose the Snow division^c.

Subcontractor Automatic Expenses

Aspire can be set up to automatically generate subcontractor expenses for a work ticket. This feature is especially useful for snow service management where you do not know in advance which subcontractor will perform the service, or what items will be required for a subcontractor to perform an instance of the service. The article on the Subcontractor Automatic Expenses, explains how to use this feature.
Auto-expenses can only be set up on opportunity services whose invoice type is T&M, Per Service or Fixed Price on Completion; or opportunity services for which the associated service is marked as Multi-Visit. Subcontractor auto expenses can be established from the following locations in Aspire:

1. Estimate Screen – From the Add Subcontractor Auto Expense option on the Service Detail screen accessed by drilling into an opportunity service on an estimate.
2. Report Screen – From the Auto Expenses Report is available from the Reports screen allowing you to summarize or edit existing auto-expenses or to mass-add new auto-expenses to existing opportunity services. View the article on the Auto Expense Report.
3. Company Screen – The Company screen provides the Auto Expense tab where you can view all auto expenses established for the subcontractor represented by the company. From this tab, you can also access an Auto Expense Wizard that allows them to mass-create auto expenses for the subcontractor