The Submittals tab is where you track the product documentation you owe the company (such as the general contractor) for approval, organized the way you estimated the work. It gives you one place to see what still needs to be sent, what is waiting on approval, and what is signed off.
When a project enters the Work in Progress phase, Riffle automatically builds your submittal list from the latest version of your estimate, so you are not starting from a blank page.
How the List Is Built
The first time you open the Submittals tab, Riffle pulls the materials from the latest version of your estimate and lays them out for you:
Groups come from your estimate sections: Each section of your estimate becomes a submittal group, using the same name. If your estimate has no sections, Riffle starts you with one group to fill in.
Items come from your estimate materials: Each material line becomes a submittal item, and its vendor carries over from the estimate.
Submittals are grouped by estimate section to start, but you can rearrange them however you need. Everything on the tab is editable, and it all saves automatically.
Submittal Groups
Each group is a row in the Submittal List. Press a group to expand it and see the items inside. On each group you can track:
Section Name: The name of the group. It comes from your estimate section, and you can rename it.
Submittal ID: The packet identifier you share with the company, such as SUB-1001. You type this in yourself.
Due On-site: The date the packet's materials are due on site.
Press Add a submittal group to create a new group, and drag groups to reorder them.
Submittal Items
Expand a group to see its items. Each item is one material you need to submit.
Item Name: The material. Riffle fills this in from your estimate, and you can edit it.
Vendor: The vendor for the material, carried over from your estimate.
Lead Time (days): How many days the material takes to arrive. You enter this yourself.
Status: Where the submittal stands, explained below.
Status Date: The date of the current status. Riffle sets this to today whenever you change the status, and you can adjust it.
Press the add-item button below a group's list to add a material by hand, drag items to reorder them within a group, and press the notes icon on a row to add notes to an item.
Using the Catalog
The Submittals page will verify any line items against existing products in your catalog. If you linked materials & products to the catalog when building your estimate proposal, those linkages will be reflected here too.
If you add materials & products to this page by hand, Riffle will search the catalog for you to ensure you always have the accurate Vendor, Part/Model number, and Description.
You can always see whether a product is in your catalog by looking at the Catalog icon on the right side of the line item.
Submittal Statuses
Each item moves through a set of statuses as you work with the company:
Pending: You have not sent this submittal yet.
Sent: You have submitted it to the company for approval.
Approved: The company approved it. This is the only status that counts as finished, and approved items turn green. When every item in a group is approved, the whole group reads as complete.
Revise/Resubmit: The company wants changes before they will approve it.
Rejected: The company rejected the submittal.
Tips
The Submittals tab appears only after a project reaches the Work in Progress phase.
Vendors and item names are copied from your estimate when the list is first built. Later changes to your estimate do not flow back in, so update them here if they change.
Submittals are reminders to help you build and track your packages. They do not change your project's health or completion figures.
Related: How to Build an Estimate in Riffle