Snow Contract Approaches

There are several approaches to consider for setting up snow management contracts with customers. The approach a company uses will depend on the business. Contracts established using these approaches can be scheduled using the two scheduling methods described above. The four approaches are summarized here and described in further detail in the topics that follow.

1. Seasonal Snow Contracts – Snow contracts with fixed payments for the whole snow season. The estimate is comprised of the services that might be required during the season. A single occurrence is established for each service, and time is allocated to the single work ticket for each service as required throughout the snow season. In this manner, revenue is earned as work is performed.
2. Range Billing Per Occurrence Contracts – Snow contract with payments billed at a fixed rate for each occurrence of the service (per service). Allows the customer price of each occurrence to be calculated based on snow depth. The estimate is comprised of the services that might be required during the season, with multiple services by snow depth for each type (i.e. plowing, shoveling, etc. at various depths). Services are setup As Needed so that work tickets are created only when work needs to be performed.
3. Simple Per Occurrence Snow Contracts – This setup is like Range Billing Per Occurrence Contracts but with only one service estimated for each type of service that might be performed (i.e. plowing, shoveling, deicing, etc.) Services are setup As Needed so that work tickets are only created when work needs to be performed.
4. T&M Billing Contracts – Time and Materials (T&M) snow contracts are commonly established when a company utilizes snow subcontractors to perform work and the snow subcontractor will only perform work on a T&M basis. Also, some markets may drive the use of T&M pricing. Services are setup As Needed so that work tickets are created only when work needs to be performed.

Setup for each of these approaches will be described in sections that follow.

Automatic Expense – When setting up snow contracts based on billing type of Per Service or T&M (does not apply to Seasonal Snow Contracts), in situations where the company may use subcontractors to perform the services, they should consider setting up Automatic Expenses. This feature allows Aspire to automatically generate appropriate expenses depending on which vendor performed the services and which material items were required for them to perform the service. The article, Automatic Expenses, explains how to use this feature.

Seasonal Snow contracts are fixed payment contracts that are billed periodically through the snow season based on the payment schedule established in the estimate. The estimate is comprised of the services that might be required during the season. A number of occurrences are established for each service, and time is allocated to the single work ticket for each service as required throughout the snow season. An example is shown here:

Regarding the estimate shown above, note the following:

1. The invoice type for the contract is Fixed Payment (not shown above).
2. Occurrences are specified for each service. Note that services for seasonal snow contracts will not be marked As Needed because all time will be allocated throughout the season to the single work ticket that Aspire creates for each service when the opportunity is won.

3. Item quantities are specified based on expected weather events for a typical season and contribute toward the estimated price of the agreement. Companies can acquire snowfall estimates from the Internet. When you establish kits for snow maintenance in the Item Catalog, they must ensure that the unit type and factor for converting to cost units are properly specified.
4. The areas to be cleared can be established as takeoffs for the property so Aspire will automatically fill their values into the estimate for cost and price calculations.

Range Billing Per Occurrence contracts have payments billed at a fixed rate for each occurrence of the service. This billing approach allows the customer price of each occurrence on the estimate to be calculated based on snow depth. The estimate is comprised of the services that might be required during the season, with multiple services by snow depth for each type (i.e. plowing, shoveling, etc. at various depths). Services are setup As Needed so that work tickets are not created unless work is performed.

Regarding the estimated service shown above note the following:

1. The invoice type for each service is Per Service.
2. Services are defined for each type of service that may be performed and a range of snow depths.
3. One occurrence is specified for each service. Note that services for Range Billing snow contracts are marked As Needed because work tickets will be created on-the-fly during the season as required to service snow events.
4. If appropriate for the payroll requirements, select the appropriate default pay code for the service.
5. Item quantities are specified with a value of 1, indicating the estimated price per service provided during the season. When you establish kits for snow maintenance in the Item Catalog, they must ensure that the unit type and factor for converting to cost units are properly specified.
6. The areas to be cleared can be established as takeoffs for the property so Aspire will automatically fill their values into the estimate for cost and price calculations.
7. For range billing, if a work ticket is created and time is allocated for a snow depth range and later becomes clear that the snow volume was higher than expected, Aspire will allow you to swap the service associated with the work ticket. 

The setup for Simple Per Occurrence Snow Contracts is like that for Range Billing Per Occurrence Contracts but with only one service estimated for each type of service that the company might perform (i.e. plowing, shoveling, deicing, etc.) Services are set up As Needed so that work tickets are not created unless work is performed.
Note the parallels between the estimate for the Simple Per Occurrence Snow Contract below and the Range Billing Per Occurrence Contract in the prior section.

Regarding the estimate shown above, note the following:

1. The invoice type for each service is Per Service.
2. Services are defined for each type of service that may be performed, but not broken out by the range of snow depth (compare to Range Billing Per Occurrence Contracts). Heavier snows may be handled by scheduling more visits and thus creating new billable work tickets.
3. One occurrence is specified for each service. Note that services for Simple Per Occurrence Billing snow contracts are marked As Needed because work tickets will be created on-the-fly during the season as required to service snow events.
4. If appropriate for the payroll requirements, select the appropriate default pay code for the service.
5. Item quantities are specified with a value of 1, indicating the estimated price per service provided during the season. When you establish kits for snow maintenance in the Item Catalog, they must ensure that the unit type and factor for converting to cost units are properly specified.
6. The areas to be cleared can be established as takeoffs for the property so Aspire will automatically fill their values into the estimate for cost and price calculations.

Time and Materials (T&M) snow contracts are commonly established when a company utilizes snow subcontractors to perform work and the snow subcontractor will only perform work on a T&M basis. Also, some markets may drive the use of T&M pricing. When setting up the estimate for a T&M contract, you will commonly incorporate all the different services that might be utilized during a snow season.

Regarding the estimated service item shown above, notice the following:

1. The invoice type for the service is T&M.
2. Services are defined for each type of service that may be performed. 
3. One occurrence is specified for each service. Note that services for T&M Billing snow contracts are marked As Needed because work tickets will be created on-the-fly during the season as required to service snow events.
4. Because the services are T&M, you must specify the T&M Labor Price and the T&M Material Markup percent value.
5. If appropriate for the payroll requirements, select the appropriate default pay code for the service.
6. Item quantities are specified with a value representing the item quantity required for each delivery of the service.