Set up snow plowing contracts

Snow work doesn't fit a scheduled visit: the storm decides when you go, every customer on the list gets a stop, and what you bill depends on how the contract is written. MakeHay has a Snow section for exactly that.

Turn it on

Snow is off until the account owner turns it on. Go to Settings › Advanced features and switch on Snow plowing. Snow then appears in the main menu. Turning it off hides the section; your contracts and storm logs are kept.

Add a contract

1. 1Step 1: Open Snow from the main menu, then Contracts, then Add.
2. 2Step 2: Pick the customer and the property. A property needs an address so the route order can place it.
3. 3Step 3: Pick how the clearing is priced. Per push is one price every time you clear it. Per storm, by inches is a price for each snowfall range, 0 to 3 inches, 3 to 6, over 6; the ranges sort themselves by inches. Seasonal is one price for the winter split into monthly invoices. Hourly bills the time on site. De-icing only is for customers who get salt or sand and no clearing.
4. 4Step 4: List what the crew does there: plowing, snowblowing or shoveling on the parking lot, driveway, walks or steps. De-icing is its own line per area, priced per application or per pound put down; salt and sand cost the same. Priced by the pound, the crew enters the pounds at the stop.
5. 5Step 5: Set the trigger depth (how much snow before you go), the season dates, the route and a priority. Priority 1 goes first on the route; 100 is normal.
6. 6Step 6: Write the terms the customer agrees to. Your default terms from Settings › Quotes & invoices are filled in to start. The panel on the right shows what the customer pays for one visit in a 4-inch storm; Preview as the customer shows the page they'll get.
7. 7Step 7: Click Save draft to keep it without sending anything, or Save and send to customer to pick the email and send it right away.

Send it for approval

A draft isn't on the storm list yet. On the contract's page, click Send to customer: they get an email with the pricing, what's covered, the trigger depth, the season and your terms, and a link to approve by typing their name or decline with a reason. You're emailed their answer. One reminder goes out after 3 days if they haven't answered.

If the customer said yes on paper or in person, click Approved in person instead. Back to draft pulls a sent contract back so you can fix it and send again; the old link stops working.

The contracts list has a chip for each state: Active, Awaiting approval, Draft, Declined, Expired (the season ended) and Ended. Storms only pick up active contracts.

Tip: Hourly time rounds up to the nearest 15 minutes with a 1-hour minimum per stop, from the crew's first tap at the property to Done here.

Seasonal installments

A seasonal contract's total is split evenly across the number of installments you choose, the first due on the season's start date and one a month after. Each is invoiced and emailed on its day. Ending a contract drops the installments not yet invoiced.

Routes

Under Snow › Routes, make a route per truck, give it a start point (the shop, a driver's home) and an end point, and put contracts on it. Suggest an order proposes a shorter loop from the start to the end with priority 1 stops first; use it as is or move stops up and down yourself. Give a route a crew and its members see their own truck's stops first on the storm page.

Next season

Switch on Renews each season and, once the season ends, a draft for next season appears with the same pricing and dates a year on. You get one email about it. Check the prices, then send it to the customer like any other contract. Nothing goes out on its own.