Lists will help you speed up the invitation step in your projects. Rather than inviting subbies one-by-one or filtering through every subcontractor or supplier to find who you are looking for, utilise lists.
Contact Lists vs. Company Lists
First it's important to distinguish between a Contact List and a Company List.
Contact Lists
- These are pre-defined groups of subcontractors, on a contact level, that you can use to simplify the process of inviting subcontractors to your tenders. Think of them like a 'distribution list'.
Company Lists
- These allow you to select specific companies to be part of the list. All contacts within a company will be included. Company lists can be used to filter the view of which subbies you're looking to view at the invite stage.
You will need to decide if this list is best suited for a Contact List or a Company List!
How to create a Contact List
- Navigate to your Address Book and select the 'Lists' tab
- From here, select ’New Contact List’
- You will be prompted with two options for creating a new list
1. Create a new blank list
- Start a list from scratch. If you want to create a blank list, just type a name in the List Name section, and click ‘Save’
- Then select the subbies you'd like to add.
2. Create a list based on a past tender.
Here you can pre-populate your Contact-Level List with subcontractors who were invited to a previous tender. You can search through tenders up to 24 months old.
- Select ’Based on a Past Tender’ and choose the Past Tender from the drop-down.
- Name the list and save it
When you are finished, click 'Save Contact List'.
How to create a Company List
- Navigate to your Address Book and select the 'Lists' tab
- From here, select ’New Company List’
- Add a name for your list and click ‘Save Company List’
Add your subbies/companies to your new list
Once you have saved using either method above, you will be brought to a screen where you can cycle through each of your trades by using the drop-down Trade menu (top left).
- Select individual contacts/companies from the list using the checkboxes
- When you're finished, just select 'Save Company/Contact List'
Once you have set your list up, you can use them in your project.
Using Contact-Level Lists
Why might you want to use a Contact-Level list?
- To create a selection of subcontractors for a specific project before you upload documentation and create packages - to save you time at the invites stage
- To create a list of subbies that you will repeatedly use for a particular type of project (subbies from previous tenders that are very similar to a current tender)
- To create a list of preferred subbies as a base for each project (and then adding additional subcontractors at the invitation step or even at a later time)
How do I use them?
At the invites stage of your project, you can use Contact-Level lists in a two ways:
1. Apply a Contact list
This will select all the subbies in the list so that you may issue invitations to them.
From the Dashboard, click either the Invites & Responses tab, or click Issue Tender Invitations icon.
If you clicked the Invites & Responses tab, click the ‘Quick Actions’ drop down, then choose ‘Invite Multiple’.
Now click 'Apply Contact List' and select the relevant list from the drop-down, then click ‘Apply List’
The number of subcontractors in the list will be noted when the list is applied, and you can add or remove subbies using the checkboxes as usual.
Once you’re happy with your selections, click ‘Issue Invitations’
2. Show Contact Lists this subbie is part of
You may wish to see which lists subbies are part of, but not apply this list
- Select the 'Hide/Show columns' button and select 'Contact List'
- Next to each subbie, it will show which lists they are part of
Using Company-Level Lists
Why might you want to use a Company-Level list?
- To group your subcontractors by a segment that work in, such as commercial, or residential
- To group your subcontractors by areas they work in, such as regional, or Wagga Wagga
- For subcontractors who meet a specified criteria, such as EBA or Code Compliance
You'll find Company-Level Lists useful for filtering at the invitation step segments or types of subcontractors, such as states and sectors, to create more strategic tender invitation lists.
How do I use them?
At the invites stage of your project, you can use these in two ways:
1. Use it as a filter
- Select the 'Filter' button and you will see a pop-up appear
- In the first drop-down, select 'Company (List)'
- Then select 'is all of'
- Then select the list you'd liketo filter by and select 'Apply filters'
- Your subbie list will now be filtered to only show subbies in this Company list.
2. Show Company Lists this subbie is part of
You may wish to see which Company Lists subbies are part of, but not actually filter by it
- Select the 'Hide/Show columns' button and select 'Company List'
- Next to each subbie, it will show which lists they are part of
Adding & removing subbies or companies from lists
We know that things change rapidly in the construction industry, so you may want to curate your lists over time.
To add or remove subbies or companies from lists:
- Navigate to your Address Book and select the 'Lists' tab
- Find the name of the list you'd like to edit
- Select the box next to your list and hit 'Edit'
- Cycle through the trades by using the drop-down Trade menu
- Add or remove subbies or companies by using the check boxes
- Select 'Save Company/Contact List'
Managing Your Lists
If you'd like to rename or delete a list, you can do so by using the relevant drop-down menu located under the Actions column. From here, you can also export your list to Excel or delete the list.
There is also an option to convert your Contact-Level List to a Company-Level List or vice versa. When converting a Company List to a Contact List you will notice the list will apply to all contacts, therefore if you were to apply the converted list during the invitation step all contacts from each of the companies would be invited to tender.