The PreconSuite Support Team would be happy to setup your first form for you.  In addition, you can embed a sign-up form into your company website for new subcontractors, who will automatically be added to your PreconSuite database upon your review and approval. Email your form to support@preconsuite.com and we’ll do the work for you. We will also walk you through sending out your form, managing responses, and also help you integrate your form into your company website if desired.

1.   Overview
    a. Responses submitted within the past day.

2. Responses
     a.    Inbox. (Pending Submissions)
This is where incoming forms are stored waiting for review and approval. (Note: there is a setting that allows you to bypass the approval process if you like, described in the Create New Form section below).

     b.    In Review
Forms that are in the review process, not ready to Approve or Decline yet.

     c.    Approved
This is a list of all Approved forms.

     d.    Declined
This is a list of all Declined forms.

     e.   Sent Back
This is a list of all forms that have been Sent Back to the submitter (ie., because something was missing). When the company resubmits their form, they drop off this list and show in the inbox.

     b.    Archived: Forms no longer in use.

     c.    Create New Form: Allows you to create a new form.

4.    Form Questions
    a.    Active: List of your Active form questions to manage in one place. NOTE: If you edit a question, the edit will apply to all forms where the question exists.

    b.  Create a New Question: Allows you to create a new question.

Creating a New Form

1.    Go to Create New Form.

2.    Select a Form Name (This is your internal name, not the form Title your subcontractors will see).

3.    Select a Template (copy a prior form, or "Basic", or no template to start from scratch).

Notice that all the questions with a pin icon are items/fields in your contact database.  The ones on the right are the ones that will show up on the form “New Form Questions”, and the ones on the left are “Available Questions”. If you don’t want to use one of the questions on the right, click the trash can icon to remove it from this form. Click and drag any desired question from the left to the right, and move it to the order you wish.

4.    Questions with bullet icons:

     a.    Trades Performed. Click on the bullet to the right of the question/bar and it will launch your list of trades. You will likely want to check all, and then uncheck any individual trades that you don’t want your subs to be able to select from (for example, if you have internal trades you don’t want them to assign themselves to).

     b.    Union Affiliation.  Click the bullet to the right and it will launch your entire list of Groups. Find your labor Groups (if applicable) such as Union, Non-Union, etc. If you don’t have them created but want to, go to your PreconSuite screen and go to Settings> Manage Groups and create them.

     c.    Geographic Areas Willing to Work. This works the same as Union Affiliation. It will launch all your Groups, and you can select any Area Groups you want your subs to assign themselves to.

     d.    Certifications.  This also works like Union Affiliation.

     e.    Job Types. This also works like Union Affiliation, and is meant for types of projects like “Schools”, “Hospitals”, “Residential”, etc.

Advanced Tip! 

If you would like to add some additional information in small font under any of the above question types, you can do so by using “Create New Question”, and for the Question Type, use “Trade Multi-Select" for Trades Performed, and “Group Multi-Select" for the questions tied to Groups (Union Affiliation, Geographic Areas Willing to Work, Certifications, Job Types, and you can rename these two whatever you like). Create the question, then you will see the bullet icon to click and assign the Groups you want to show in the question’s check-boxes.

5.    Configure existing or create new questions.

     a.    Move questions into your desired order. 

     b.    Create New Question:
          i.   Question: The main question or heading of the question.
     
          ii.  Question Note: This is meant for more description about the question and appears in slightly smaller font size under the Question.

          iii.   Question Type: 

     c.    Custom/Editable Questions
You will notice that custom/editable questions on the right will all have a pencil icon to the right of them. This allows you to edit  the question by clicking on the pencil. NOTE: If you are using the question in multiple forms and you edit the question, the edits will apply to ALL forms. If you want to edit the question on only one form, then you should create a new question.

     d.    Check-box any “Required” questions.

     f.   Upload File: If you would like your subcontractor to upload files, drag and drop as many of the Upload File items to the desired location on the form, then click Edit (the pencil icon) to enter a title for the desired upload, along with any smaller font description. 

     g.   When finished, click either "Details" at the top of the screen, or "Next" in the lower right to proceed to the next step. If you click "Save", you will be taken to a summary screen, where you can click "Edit" to continue editing.

6.   Form Details (a.k.a. settings)

     b.    Form Title. This is the Title of the form that your subs see.

     c.    Instructions. These will show below the Form Title on the form.

     d.    Question used for Submission Title. This should be “Company Name” if you want to see which company submitted the form.

     e.    Send email alert upon form completion. (If you would like one of your company users to get an email alert upon each form submitted, toggle this ON and select which user. NOTE: This is normally used only when you intend to open up each form, review, and approve it.) 
         Note: "Email Subject" is what your selected user at your company will see in their email to alert them to go to your Prequal inbox.

     f.      Assign subs that are marked “Approved” to the following Group. (This allows the system to automatically assign your Approved subs to a Group. For example “Approved 2024”.  If you would like to resend the form to those that did not respond, you will be able to Send to all EXCEPT those in this group. More on this sending option later).
         Note: To create a new Group instantly, click the “+” button.

     g.    Assign subs that are marked “Unapproved” to the following Group. (similar to above, assigned rejected forms to a separate Group).

     h.    Bypass Approval Requirement. (If checked, forms will automatically be approved and your subs’ data will automatically be entered/edited upon their submission. If you would like to review and approve them first, leave this unchecked. Tip: If you are sending out a mass “Update Your Info” form and do not need to review their updates, it is best to use this “Bypass Approval Requirement” check-box so that you don’t have to manually open and Approve hundreds of entries!)

     i.      Click “Next” or "Optional Workflow if you want to create a Work Flow for multiple approvers. Otherwise, click "Save".

     j.    Creating a Work Flow.
           1.  Label the Work Flow step (ie. "Safety")
           2.  Send Email Alert to Process this Workflow Step (Recommended). Toggle on, and select the Approver that will receive an email alert upon the subcontractor submitting the form, along with a custom email subject to that Approver (such as "Prequal submitted, Check Prequal inbox"). NOTE: In the Form Details screen there is also an option to select an email recipient. This allows you to send an alert to two if your users if you like.
           3. Click the "+ ADD" button to save the Work Flow step, and create as many as desired.

7.    Form Summary Buttons

    EDIT
    Editing will show and allow editing until a subcontractor submits a form.

    PREVIEW
    Opens up a new window showing a preview of your form.

    ARCHIVE
    Archive forms that are no longer in use. Note: You can "Unarchive" a form via Forms > Archived, "Restore".

    EMBED
    Embed the form on your company website, simply copy the entire script and give it to your website person to embed into a web page. This will allow you to direct new subs to your website to sign up and get added to your database upon your approval – assuming you do not have the Bypass Approval checked on your Form Details screen.

    VIEW LOG
    Shows an email log of who you sent to, similar to the Communication Logs for Bid Invitations and Notices in your RFQ module. NOTE: Viewable only after a form has been emailed.

     SEND
     Allows you to send to recipients, Edit the email verbiage, Upload Attachments(s) to the email, View Fax (if applicable), and Copy/Paste a URL of a blank form.

     Recipient(s):

      a.    Myself (Allows you to send a sample to yourself. Realize that your fields will be blank, but if you are sending to an existing sub in your database, their current data will show and they will be allowed to edit. 

      b.    Individuals (Type at least three letters in their company name and select. Continue selecting as many individuals as you like).

      c.   All Companies (Sends to the Primary Contacts of all companies in your database).

      d.    Division (Allows you to send to one or more Divisions).

      e.    Trade (Allows you to send to one or more Trades).

      f.    Group  (Allows you to send to one or more Groups, or "All Except Group", which allows you to send to everyone in your database EXCEPT ones that are in the Group(s) selected. This might be used to Resend to subs that you sent a form but didn’t respond…the “Approved” subs can be assigned to a Group, then you can send to All Except that group).

      Email:

9.  Other Tips

         a.    Tracking Dates
               A good example is Insurance Expiration. One method of tracking important dates is to create a separate Custom Field in your Company database.

             1.    Create a custom field (go to Settings> System Preferences> Custom Fields and label your field “Insurance Expiration” for example.) Select the data type as “Date”.

             2.    Enter their insurance expiration date into your Subcontractor’s custom field after you have verified it on their Uploaded insurance certificate, or if you prefer, let your Subcontractor enter the date themselves by using your Custom Field as a question and sending them a form.