A sublet is work performed by a third party — such as custom painting or machine shop work completed outside the dealership. The dealership then bills that third-party work to the customer on a Customer Order. This article explains what sublets are, how to set them up on a Vendor Record, and how to add them to a Customer Order.
What Is a Sublet
A sublet is any work that the dealership sends to an outside party to complete — for example, custom paint jobs or machine shop work. Once the third party completes the work, the dealership bills the cost to the customer through a Customer Order. Sublets must always be attached to a Customer Order before a Vendor Order can be processed for them.
Before You Start
Before setting up a sublet, you must configure the relevant Vendor Record to be available for Sublet Purchases. This is done by setting up the Vendor with Products and Services. See Vendor Products and Services for instructions.
How to Set Up a Sublet on a Vendor Record
Setting up a sublet begins on the Vendor Record, where you create a new product of type Sublet.
1. Navigate to the Vendor Record, open the Product tab, and click Add Product.
2. The New Product window opens. Complete the following fields:
Type — Select Sublet from the dropdown.
Code — Enter a short code for the sublet (for example, Paint or Custom).
Description — Enter a descriptive name (for example, Custom Paint Job).
Cost Method — Select Fixed Cost from the dropdown.
Cost Rate — Enter the cost to the dealership for this work.
Price — Enter the amount the dealership will charge the customer for this sublet.
Category — Select a category for this sublet.
Taxable — Check this box if the sublet is taxable. When checked, an Applicable Tax field appears — select the appropriate tax to apply.
3. Once all fields are complete, click Save.
Tip: Generic Sublets — A dealership can create generic sublets for a vendor and reuse them across multiple jobs. When creating a generic sublet, leave the Cost Rate and Price fields at zero. When the sublet is added to a Customer Order, enter the price to the customer at that time. The cost will appear for profitability purposes on the Customer Order once the Vendor Receiving for the sublet has been processed with a cost amount.
How to Add a Sublet to a Customer Order
Sublets can only be added to Customer Order Service Jobs or Unit Deals. A Vendor Order for a sublet cannot be processed unless the sublet is first attached to a Customer Order. The steps below use a Service Job as the example.
1. In the Service Job, go to the Labour, Parts & Job Item section and click into the Scan or search to add field. Type Sublet to filter the search to sublets only, then continue typing to find the specific sublet you need.
2. Click the sublet in the search results to select it. The sublet is added to the Service Job. Adjust the Qty or Price at this step if needed.
3. Note that the status of the sublet line item is set to REQUIRED.
4. The REQUIRED status means a Special Order is now active. Complete all relevant steps for the Special Order, in the following sequence:
Process a Vendor Order (VO) to the third party doing the work. The sublet will appear under the vendor, waiting to be added to a Vendor Order. See How to Create A Vendor Order for a Customer Special Order (Parts and Sublets) (no longer available) for instructions.
Process a Vendor Receiving (VR) once the work is returned from the third party. After the VR is processed, the sublet line item status on the Customer Order will update to Received, allowing you to finalise the Customer Order. See How to Receipt / Receive Parts into your Inventory (including Sublets) (no longer available) for instructions.
Process a Vendor Invoice (VI) once the tax invoice is received from the third party. The dollar figures on the tax invoice from the third party must match the figures on the VI in Blackpurl. See How to Create a Vendor Invoice - Reconcile Parts Invoice (Parts and Sublets) (no longer available) for instructions.
To track all active service sublets in the system, see Reporting - Active Service Sublet (no longer available).