From spec book to sent submittal, step by step

Chapter 1Before you start

Five minutes of reading here saves an hour later. SubPro has one job: turn the spec book into a submittal log you can trust, then carry each submittal through review and closeout.

What SubPro does

• Reads the spec book. You upload the PDF. SubPro finds every required submittal in every CSI division and lists them as rows, each linked to the page it came from.
• Builds the log. Rows carry the spec section, the submittal type, the specified manufacturers and products, and a confidence score.
• Assembles the submittal. For any row, SubPro prints a transmittal cover on your letterhead, merges your cut sheets and any manufacturer documents it found, and gives you one PDF.
• Sends and tracks. Email the PDF from inside SubPro, log the reviewer's response, and watch days out, resubmittals and closeout dates.

What you need

• A Windows 10 or 11 computer and the SubPro installer from your welcome email.
• Your SubPro API key. It starts with sk_live_ and is in the same email.
• The project's spec book as a PDF. Books of several hundred pages are normal.
• Your company's transmittal sheet or letterhead as a one page PDF. You set this up once.

Chapter 2Install and first run

The installer puts SubPro on your computer and runs a two step setup the first time you open it.

1. Run the installer and follow the three screens.

   The file is named SubPro-Setup-1.0.0-pilot.exe. Accept the default folder. If your computer is missing a Microsoft runtime, the installer adds it for you. Leave Run SubPro checked on the last screen.

2. Read the welcome screen and click Continue.

   

3. Paste your API key and click Continue.

   The button stays gray until the key has the right shape. Paste the whole key, including the sk_live_ start.

   

4. Wait for the connection test.

   SubPro checks the key against the SubPro service. A green check means you are in. If you see Could not connect, click Back to API key, paste the key again, and check that the computer is online.

   

Chapter 3Find your way around

Everything hangs off one top bar. Learn these seven controls and the six project tabs and you know the whole app.

The six project tabs

Once a project is open, the tabs sit next to the project name.

The project picker

Click the project name in the top bar to switch projects or reach the project menus.

Light or dark

SubPro follows your Windows theme. To choose for yourself, open Settings and pick Light, Dark or System. Every screen in this guide is shown in light mode.

Chapter 4All Projects, the home screen

SubPro opens here. Each row is a project and each column is a count of submittals in that state, so you see where the work is before you open anything.

Reading the counts

Archive a project

1. Click the three dots at the right end of the project's row.

   

2. Choose Archive.

   The project leaves the list and the totals. Turn on Show archived to see it again and bring it back. An undo message appears at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds.

Chapter 5Create a project

A project holds one spec book, its log, its parties and its dates. Create one before you upload anything.

1. Click + New Project on All Projects, or pick New Project in the project picker.
2. Fill in the name and number, then click Create project.

   The name and number are required. The number becomes the prefix of every submittal number, so keep it short. Everything else can be added later from the project record.

   

3. Add the people you send to: open the picker and choose Project parties.

   Parties fill the To line of every transmittal and the email form. Tick default recipient on the person who reviews your submittals, usually the architect.

   

4. Record the contract details: open the picker and choose Project record.

   

Chapter 6Upload a spec book

One upload builds the whole log. A 500 page book takes a few minutes. You can keep working while it runs.

1. Open the project and click Upload in the top bar.

   A file window opens. Pick the spec book PDF. SubPro accepts scanned books too and reads the scanned pages with OCR.

2. Watch the progress bar at the top of the log.

   The bar shows the upload first, then the reading. The job keeps running in the SubPro service even if you close the app. When you come back, the log fills in on its own.

3. Open the Specs tab to see the book on file.

   

Chapter 7The submittal log

This is where you spend most of your time. Every row is one required submittal, in CSI order, with its status at the right.

The columns

The quick filters

• All shows every row.
• Draft shows rows not yet sent.
• Needs check shows rows nobody has reviewed yet. Work this list down after an upload.
• Approved shows what is done.
• Informational shows record only rows.
• Our court shows rows waiting on you: drafts you owe, returns to resubmit.

How a row moves

Combine rows into one submittal

Spec books often list several lines that you would send as one package, for example product data and installation instructions for the same product. Combine them so the log matches what you actually send.

1. Tick the checkbox on two or more rows.

   

2. Click Combine into one submittal and choose the parent.

   Either one of the selected rows becomes the parent, or you write a new umbrella description. The other rows become children with dotted numbers such as 044.1. Rows already sent keep their history.

   

Chapter 8Work a single submittal

Click any row and it opens in place. Everything you can do to one submittal lives in this panel.

Edit a row

1. Click Edit in the panel.

   Change anything the extraction got wrong, choose the manufacturer you are actually submitting, and record drawing references or a deviation. Only the fields you change are saved.

   

Mark a row as submitted

Use this when a submittal went out some other way, for example by hand or from another system, and you want the log to show it.

1. Open a draft row and click Mark as submitted.

   

2. Set the date, add a note if you want, and confirm.

   

The More menu

1. To remove a row the extraction should not have made, choose Not a submittal.

   Tell SubPro why. The reason improves the next extraction. The row leaves the log, the exports and the chat.

   

Link two rows

1. Click + Link submittal at the bottom of the panel, choose the link type, and pick the other row.

   Related is a plain cross reference. Supersedes says this row replaces the other one. Depends on says the other row must be approved first.

   

Chapter 9Check the source page

When someone asks "where does the spec say that?", the answer is one click away.

1. Open a row and click Open source PDF.

   The spec book opens at the cited page. The band at the top repeats the exact sentence the row came from so you can find it on the page.

   

Chapter 10Manufacturer documents

For rows with a known manufacturer and product, SubPro looks up the documents the submittal needs in its manufacturer catalog. This is the Deliverables section of the panel.

1. Pick the manufacturer and product in the Deliverables section.

   The manufacturer list is filled from the spec book. If the name is not in the catalog yet, click This is… and pick the catalog entry it matches. SubPro remembers the match for the whole project.

2. Read the status chip and click Refresh deliverables if it is still searching.

Chapter 11Set up your transmittal

SubPro prints every transmittal onto your company's own sheet. You set the sheet up once per project, and it takes about two minutes.

1. Click Create Submittal on any row. The first time, SubPro asks for a template.

   

2. Click Choose File and pick your transmittal sheet.

   Use a one page PDF of your blank transmittal form or letterhead. The labels on the form (Project, Date, To, Description and so on) are what SubPro looks for.

   

3. Check the mapping SubPro suggests, fix any field that is wrong, and click Save template.

   Green boxes on the preview are regions SubPro found. The list on the right says which SubPro field fills each one. Change a dropdown if a box got the wrong field. Leave a box Unmapped to keep it blank.

   

Chapter 12Build and send a submittal

One submittal is one row: the transmittal cover, your cut sheets, and any manufacturer documents, merged into one PDF with continuous page numbers.

1. Open the row and click Create Submittal.

   

2. Attach your cut sheets, then click Save package.

   The transmittal appears in the preview with the project, date, section, recipient, description and manufacturer already filled from the row. The page count under the preview includes your attachments. The file is saved under Documents\SubPro\projects\<project>\submittals.

   

3. Click Email…, check the form, tick the box if there is a warning, and click Send.

   The To line is filled from the default recipient. Put your own address in Your email to get replies and a copy. The mail goes out through your company's Microsoft 365 mailbox, so it appears in your Sent folder too. The row moves to Submitted and the review clock starts.

   

Chapter 13Mark up the pages

Circle the product you are submitting, cloud a dimension, stamp the cover. The markup editor works on the rendered submittal before you send it.

1. Click Mark up under the preview.

   

2. Pick a tool, draw on the page, and click Done.

   Press V to go back to Select, Delete to remove a mark, Ctrl+Z to undo. Marks are burned into the saved PDF when you click Done. Cancel throws them away.

Chapter 14Track reviews and responses

The Review tab shows every submittal that has gone out, how many days it has been out, and what came back. The badge on the tab counts rows waiting on someone.

Log the reviewer's response

1. Find the row and click the action that matches the reviewer's stamp.

   Rows still marked Submitted also offer Mark under review for when the reviewer confirms receipt.

   

2. Set the response date, add the reviewer's notes, and confirm.

   Some moves need a reason and the confirm button waits for it. Attach the returned copy afterward with Attach returned copy so the stamped page stays with the row.

   

Chapter 15Schedule and lead times

SubPro works backward from the construction start: need on site, minus lead time, minus review time, gives the date you must submit by.

1. Open the Schedule tab, check the two dates, and click Auto-schedule.

   Every row gets three dates: submit by, approval by and need on site. Rows that are already late or at risk are flagged, and Risk first sorts them to the top.

   

2. Adjust lead times where you know better: click the pencil on a row, or open the lead times table from the top bar.

   The table holds a default lead time per product category. SubPro seeds it with typical values. Edit a category and every row in that category picks up the change on the next Auto-schedule.

   

Chapter 16Closeout and warranties

Closeout items (O&M manuals, training, warranties, spare parts) are due against a milestone rather than the construction start. The Closeout tab keeps them together.

1. Open the Closeout tab, set the four milestone dates, and click Save milestones.

   

2. Scroll down to Warranties. Click Seed from register to create one warranty per manufacturer, or Add warranty for one at a time.

   

Chapter 17Modifications and revisions

When the design team issues an ASI, addendum or bulletin, record it here. SubPro reads the reissued section, shows what changed, and lets you accept the changes row by row.

1. Click Add modification and fill in what the design team sent.

   

2. Expand the modification and decide each touched row.

   Mark a row No impact if the change does not affect that submittal. Rows with a real change need a decision after the diff runs.

   

3. With the PDF attached, click Run section diff, then review the changes in the Specs tab.

   SubPro reads the reissued section and lists rows added, modified and removed. Accept or reject each change, then click Apply. Nothing is saved until you apply. Rows already approved are never changed silently, and a row that replaces an old one records a Supersedes link.

Chapter 18Chat, search and export

Ask the chat

The chat answers questions about the open project in plain language and cites the page or the row it drew from. Switch the scope between the spec book and the submittal log.

Questions that work well: "Which sections require samples?", "What is still unapproved in Division 8?", "Where does the book name Sherwin Williams?".

Search everything

Press Ctrl+K anywhere, or click the magnifier. Results cover projects and submittals. Press Enter on a result to jump to it.

Export the log

Click the download icon in the top bar and choose CSV or Excel. The file is sorted by division and section and carries status, source page, manufacturer and product columns, flags and review states. It drops straight into Procore, Bluebeam, SharePoint or plain Excel.

Chapter 19Settings

Open Settings from the gear in the top bar. The top half is what most people touch. Show advanced opens the rest.

Advanced

Chapter 20Keyboard shortcuts

Chapter 21Troubleshooting

Still stuck? Write to support@sub-pro-ai.com with the project name and a screenshot.

Chapter 22Questions people ask

Chapter 23Glossary

Spec book

The project manual. The PDF of specifications you upload.

CSI section

The six digit MasterFormat number for a section, such as 03 30 00 Cast in Place Concrete. Divisions are the first two digits.

Submittal

One item the spec book requires you to submit for review: product data, shop drawings, samples, certificates, reports, manuals, warranties.

Submittal log

The full list of required submittals for a project, with status. Also called the register.

Transmittal

The cover sheet that goes on top of a submittal. SubPro prints it on your template.

Submittal package

The transmittal plus the cut sheets and manufacturer documents, merged into one PDF. One package is one submittal.

Cut sheet

A manufacturer's product data sheet.

Basis of design

The manufacturer and product the spec book names as the standard. Substitutions are measured against it.

Deviation

A submitted product that differs from the spec book. Must be described on the transmittal.

Ball in court

Who the row is waiting on: you, the reviewer, or closed.

Cycle

One send and return. A resubmittal starts cycle 2.

Days out

Days since the submittal was sent, while it is waiting on the reviewer.

Lead time

Weeks from approval to material on site, by product category.

Deliverables

The manufacturer documents a submittal needs. SubPro finds them in its catalog.

Modification

An ASI, addendum, bulletin or change order that alters the spec book after award.

Closeout

The documents due at the end of the job: O&M manuals, warranties, training, spare parts, as builts.

Allowance

The number of spec books your plan reads per month.