A subconsultant is an individual or firm the contractor engages to provide services related to the project.  In SQUAVA, subconsultant expenses are added as separate items to projects to differentiate them from labor expenses.  Before we are able to enter subconsutant expenses, we first need to add subconsutants in our system.  For more information on creating or adding subconsultants, see our help article Adding Subconsultants.

This help article will give you a better understanding of the process of entering subconsultant expenses.  Check out the outlined steps below to get started.
 

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Add a sub-consultant to the project

   
   
   To add a sub-consultant to a project, select the project and go to its project budget page. In the budget tab, there is an expenses section located below the labor section. You can insert expense items that could be charged to the project.
    

   Note: If the project already has a contracted budget, you need to click on "modify budget" to add additional hours and/or expenses to the project budget.

   
   
    

   Click the sub checkbox and select a subconsultant; could be a subconsultant or a vendor.  There are two checkboxes beside the subconsultant: bill and budget.

   a. Bill checkbox - The bill checkbox allows the task to be placed on the invoice but you cannot unselect the bill checkbox because all expense items are billed to the project.

   b. Budget checkbox - The budget checkbox allows the task to be included in the budget summary on the invoice.  Unchecking the budget checkbox will still show up the expense on invoices if they have been billed, but they will not draw from the budget and will appear below the project totals.
    

   
   
   Once you have added your subconsultants to the project budget, click the save button and contract the budget.  Now you can charge expenses on the accounts payable page.
    

   Note: There is not a way to remove a subconsultant once it has been contracted in the budget, without uncontracting the budget.  You can remove any amounts from the sub by entering a negative amount in the mod.  For more information about uncontracting a budget, check out the help article: Contracting/Uncontracting a Budget.

    

2. Enter bill in accounts payable page

   
   
   To enter a subconsultant expense to the project, go to the accounts payable page then click the new button then select new bill.  A new pop-up window save bill should appear where you can enter the required information and associate the project.
   
   
   
   In the Vendor field, click the dropdown arrow and select the applicable sub-consultant. Then enter the bill date and due date.

   In the Expenses section, enter the expense date and description, then select the project associated with the expense from the Job dropdown menu. The system will automatically select the Bill checkbox and populate the Account field for you. If needed, you can change the account by selecting a different option from the Account dropdown menu.

   Finally, enter the quantity and amount for the expense. Repeat these steps for additional sub-consultant expenses as needed.

   Once you have finished entering the information, you can either:

   Click Save to save the expense and approve it later, or

   Click Approve to save and approve the expense immediately.

   If you choose to save the expense for later approval, locate the bill in the Accounts Payable list when you are ready. Then click the Ready to Pay button located on the far-right side of the expense entry. This will reopen the bill window, where you can click the green Approve button to finalize the expense.
    

3. Check the expense in the draft invoice

   
   
   
   
   You will now see these charges on the project's draft invoice.  Access the draft invoice through the projects page, and scroll down to the direct expenses section.
    

SUCCESS!!! 

• We’ve learned about project stage widgets and their metrics.
• Check out the Help Articles: Contracting/Uncontracting a Budget and Adding Subconsultants