A Subcontractor's Quote Should Not Reprice Your Rate Card
When a supplier quote is awarded, the item's cost is updated and, for goods, its selling price follows. For a service you resell, that would let a subcontractor set your price. So for services, the cost moves and the price stays where you put it.
Many businesses resell services they do not deliver themselves. A facilities company subcontracts the deep clean. An IT firm subcontracts the cabling. An events company hires in the sound engineer. Each has a price it charges clients, and a cost it pays someone else.
Those two numbers are set by different people for different reasons. The cost is set by the subcontractor's quote. The price is set by you: your market, your rate card, the contract you signed with your client last year.
What awarding a quote does to goods
For a stock item, awarding a supplier quote does two things. It records the quoted price as the item's cost, and it sets the selling price to that cost plus the item's markup. That is a sensible default for goods: when your supplier's price rises, your shelf price follows, and margin holds.
Why that default is wrong for a service
Apply the same rule to a resold service and the subcontractor is now setting your client's price. A cabling contractor quotes a little high on one job, the quote is awarded because it was the only one, and your rate card for cabling rises for every client from that day on. Nobody decided that. It happened as a side effect of a procurement step.
A subcontractor's quote is a cost. It is not a decision about what you charge.
What awarding a quote does to a service
Awarding a cabling quote
A stock item in the same position would now sell at 700 plus its markup.
The cost moves, so margin reports show the truth: you are now making 300 a point rather than 400. The price does not move, so nothing changes for your clients until you decide it should. The markup figure on the service is recalculated from the two, so it stays honest rather than describing a price you no longer charge.
Where the margin then shows up is in sales by item, covered in revenue by what you sell. The pricing principles behind it are in five things a price has to be, and the price came back from the browser covers where an awarded price is allowed to come from.
What AWRA OpsHub does today
- Award updates a service's cost only, leaving its selling price as you set it.
- Markup recalculated from the new cost and the unchanged price.
- Goods unchanged: award still sets cost and moves the selling price by the markup.
More we can add to your workspace
- A margin floor warning on award, flagging a quote that would take a service below the margin you set.
- A price review prompt, listing services whose cost moved so you can decide whether to reprice.
Where we point you to a specialist
- We will not reprice a service automatically from a supplier's quote. Your client price is a commercial decision and stays with you.
A margin floor and a price review list can each be scoped for your workspace.
Keeping an eye on resale margin
The price no longer moves by accident. These help you move it on purpose.
Margin floor on award
Warn the buyer when a quote would leave a service below your minimum margin.
Services to reprice
A list of services whose cost moved since their price was last set.
How it works: you describe the requirement, we return a written scope, timeline and cost, and once agreed it is built into your workspace and maintained with the product.
Talk to us about pricingNotice
For a service, awarding a supplier quote changes what it costs you and nothing about what you charge. The markup is recalculated so it stays true, and repricing remains your decision.
Three questions before you award a subcontractor quote
What is the service's current selling price?
What to check
Your rate card figure.
Why
It will still be that after award.
What margin does the quote leave?
What to check
Selling price minus the quote.
Why
The award does not protect it; you have to look.
Does any client contract tie the price to cost?
What to check
Rarely.
Why
If it does, reprice by hand after award.
Award a quote on a service
Then open the service and check the price. The feature page has the rest.
See how service items workFrequently asked questions
Does awarding a supplier quote change a service selling price?
No. For a service, award updates the cost only. The selling price stays as you set it and the markup is recalculated.
What happens for a stock item?
Award records the quoted cost and sets the selling price to that cost plus the item markup.
Why treat services differently?
A resold service has a client price you set commercially. A subcontractor quote is a cost and should not reprice your rate card.
