From spec book to sent submittal, step by step

Chapter 1Before you start

Take a few minutes and read this part first. SubPro turns the spec book into a submittal log you can check, and then carries 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. Every product the book names gets a row under the section it's named in, with the manufacturers the book lists for it. When a section names products but has no submittals article, SubPro still adds the rows and marks them Detailed review required so you confirm what's owed.
• 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 the first time you open it you'll go through a two step setup.

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're 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

Two things get you around the whole app: the slim bar across the top, and the left rail that lists the pages of the open project.

The left rail

Once a project is open, its pages sit in a rail down the left side, in three groups. The project name sits at the top of the rail, and the page you are on is highlighted. Upload, Export and Lead times live on the pages that use them, so the top bar stays short.

On a narrow window the rail folds to icons by itself. Click Hide labels to fold it yourself, and Show labels to open it again. Hold the pointer over an icon to see the page name.

The project menu

Click the project name at the top of the rail 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, except the two dark mode examples below.

Chapter 4All Projects, the home screen

This is where SubPro opens. Each row is a project and each column counts the submittals in that state, so you can 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. You'll need to create one before you upload anything.

1. Click + New Project on All Projects, or pick New Project in the project menu.
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 or Project setup.

   

3. Add the people you send to: open the project menu 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 project menu and choose Project record.

   

5. Check what is still missing: open the project menu and choose Project setup.

   Project setup is a checklist of what a submittal package needs: the spec book, the parties with a default recipient, your transmittal template and the project dates. Each line says what is on file, with a button that takes you where to fix it. Under When you need them sit the things only some projects use: the Procore link, a drawing set and the closeout milestones. When the four required lines are done, the top line reads Ready to send.

   

Chapter 6Upload a spec book

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

1. Open the project, go to the Spec book page in the rail, click Upload, and choose New spec book.

   Upload opens a menu with New spec book and Revised spec book (addendum). Choosing New spec book opens a file window. Pick the spec book PDF. SubPro accepts scanned books too and reads the scanned pages with OCR. On a new project the empty log offers Upload spec book as well.

   

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. Look at the Spec book page to see the books on file.

   

Chapter 7The submittal log

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

The columns

The page header

The header above the log names the page and holds the two things you do to the whole log: Add submittal for a row the spec book did not produce, and Export.

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'd send as one package, like 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 right there in the log. Everything you can do to one submittal is in this panel.

Edit a row

1. Click Edit in the panel.

   Change anything the extraction got wrong, choose the manufacturer you're actually submitting, and record drawing references or a deviation. The less used fields sit in folded groups (Drawings and references, Parties, Delivery, As built, Closeout due), and a group opens by itself when it already holds something. Only the fields you change get saved.

   

Mark a row as submitted

Use this when a submittal went out some other way, like 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, because the reason helps it do better on the next extraction. The row comes out of 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 somebody asks "where does the spec say that?", you're one click from the answer.

1. Open a row and click Open source PDF.

   The spec book the row came from opens to the page it cites. On a project with an addendum, a row from the original book opens the original book. The band at the top repeats the exact sentence the row came from, and the sentence is highlighted on the page.

   

Chapter 10Manufacturer documents

Each row needs one kind of manufacturer document: product data, a warranty, a safety data sheet, a shop drawing, a sustainability document and so on. For rows with a known manufacturer, SubPro looks in its manufacturer catalog for that document. That is the Documents for this submittal section of the panel.

1. Check the document kind.

   SubPro decides the kind from the row's own words and its type, so a warranty row asks for a warranty and a product data row asks for product data. A row that needs no manufacturer document, like a sample or a field report, says so. If SubPro picked the wrong kind, change it in Document kind in the panel or in Edit.

   

2. Pick the manufacturer, then the product or document, in the Documents for this submittal section.

   The manufacturer list comes from the spec book. The second picker lists only the manufacturer's documents of the row's kind, so a warranty row shows warranties. SubPro remembers your choices for the whole project.

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

Chapter 11Set up your transmittal

SubPro prints every transmittal on your company's own sheet. You only 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.

   The green boxes on the preview are the regions SubPro found. The list on the right shows which SubPro field fills each one. If a box got the wrong field, change its dropdown. Leave a box Unmapped to keep it blank.

   

Chapter 12Build and send a submittal

One submittal is one row. It's 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. Each attached cut sheet is listed above the preview with a cross to remove it. 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 so you get the replies and a copy. The mail goes out through your company's Microsoft 365 mailbox, so it shows up in your Sent folder too. The row moves to Submitted and the review clock starts.

   

Chapter 13Mark up the pages

You can circle the product you're submitting, cloud a dimension or stamp the cover. The markup editor works on the finished 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. Your marks get burned into the saved PDF when you click Done, and Cancel throws them away.

Chapter 14Track reviews and responses

The Review page shows every submittal that's gone out, how many days it's been out and what came back. The count beside Review in the rail shows the rows waiting on somebody.

Log the reviewer's response

1. Find the row, click Respond, and choose the response that matches the reviewer's stamp.

   Every response sits in the one Respond menu at the end of the row. Rows still marked Submitted also offer Mark under review at the top of the menu, for when the reviewer confirms receipt. Sent and Days out follow the cycle the row is on, so a resubmittal counts from the day it went out again.

   

   

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

   Some moves need a reason, and the confirm button won't work until you give one. Attach the returned copy in the dialog, or afterward with the paperclip in the Returned column, so the stamped page stays with the row. The Response column shows the reviewer's date from the dialog.

   

Chapter 15Schedule and lead times

SubPro works backward from the construction start. It takes the date you need it on site, subtracts the lead time and the review time, and that gives you the date you have to submit by.

1. Open the Schedule page, 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. Once the dates are set they fold to one line; click Edit to change them.

   

2. Adjust lead times where you know better: edit a row's lead time, or click Lead times on the Schedule page to open the table.

   The table holds a default lead time for each product category, and SubPro starts it off with typical values. If you edit a category, every row in that category picks up the change on the next Auto-schedule. The table is shared by every project. Click Hide lead times to close it.

   

   

Chapter 16Closeout and warranties

Closeout items (O&M manuals, training, warranties, spare parts) are due against a milestone instead of the construction start. The Closeout page keeps them all in one place.

1. Open the Closeout page and set the four milestone dates.

   Once they are set, the milestones fold to one line. Click Edit to change them. The closeout log and the as built table both export from the one Export button.

   

2. Scroll down to Warranties. Click Seed from register to create one warranty for each row in the log that requires a warranty, 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 you what changed and lets you accept the changes one row at a time.

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 doesn't 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 on the Spec book page.

   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 tells you the page or the row the answer came from. You can 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 in the top bar. Results cover projects and submittals. Press Enter on a result to jump to it.

Export the log

Click Export on the Submittal log header 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 opens in Excel and anything that reads an Excel or CSV file. To put submittals into Procore, use the Procore integration in chapter 20.

Chapter 19Settings

Open Settings from the gear in the top bar. Your connections come first, then how the app looks, and Show advanced opens the rest.

Below branding sit the stamp line and default initials for the company stamp, and Show advanced.

Advanced

Chapter 20Procore

SubPro creates the submittals and Procore manages them. SubPro reads the spec book from your Procore project and writes items into the Submittals tool with the submittal package attached. It never edits or deletes anything in Procore, and it creates every item with Procore's email notices turned off.

Before you start

• A Procore admin installs the SubPro app on your Procore company once, from Company Tools, Admin, App Management. Until that is done, linking a project stops with the message Ask your Procore admin to install SubPro for your company name.
• You sign in with your own Procore account. SubPro sees only the companies, projects and tools your Procore permissions already let you see.
• SubPro sends the submittal package you build in SubPro (chapter 12). A row without one is held back until you build it.

Connect your Procore account

1. Open Settings, scroll to Connections, and click Connect Procore.

   Your browser opens on Procore's own sign in page. SubPro never sees your Procore password.

   

2. Sign in to Procore with your own account.

   The first time, Procore asks whether SubPro may use your account; allow it. Procore skips that question once you have allowed SubPro before. When the browser tab reads "SubPro is connected to Procore. You can close this tab.", close it and go back to SubPro.

   

3. Check the Procore card in Settings.

   It now shows the Procore login you signed in with and whether it is the sandbox or production. The sign in is kept in this computer's encrypted store, so you connect once per machine.

   

Start a new project from Procore

If the project is already in Procore, you don't have to type it in. SubPro fills in the project from Procore, links it and pulls the spec book in one go.

1. Click + New Project on All Projects, then click Import from Procore at the top of the form.

   The button only shows when this computer is connected to Procore. If you don't see it, connect from Settings first.

2. Pick the Company and the Procore project, then click Use this project.

   The name, number, description, location and start date fill in from Procore. You can still change any of them. A green chip reads From Procore: and the project name, and Pick another lets you choose a different project. Cancel import takes you back to a blank form.

3. Check the project number. It starts with P.

   SubPro puts a P in front of Procore's project number, so Procore's 1234 becomes P1234. When the Procore project has no number, SubPro uses P and Procore's project id. The P marks a project that came from Procore, so it never runs into a number you typed yourself. A number that already starts with P is left as it is.

4. Click Create and link to Procore.

   SubPro creates the project, links it to the Procore project, starts pulling the spec book and opens the Spec book page, where you can watch it read. If the link doesn't go through, the project is still created and SubPro tells you; link it from the Spec book page as shown below. If the pull doesn't start, SubPro says why, and you can click Pull spec book on the Spec book page.

Link a project

For a project you already have in SubPro, link it from the Spec book page.

1. Open the project, go to the Spec book page, and click Link to Procore.

   If the page reads "Connect Procore in Settings to link this project." instead, the Procore sign in is missing on this computer. Connect it from Settings first.

   

2. Pick the Company and the Procore project, then click Link.

   The lists hold only what your Procore account can open. When your login belongs to one company, SubPro fills in the company for you. One SubPro project links to one Procore project.

   

3. Check the linked panel.

   The green Procore chip and the Procore project name confirm the link. Four actions sit under it.

   

Pull the spec book

1. Click Pull spec book.

   SubPro reads every section in Procore's Specifications tool, downloads the current revision of each one, puts them together in division and section order as one spec book, and reads it the same way it reads an upload (chapter 6). The panel says how many sections it is pulling. The download runs quietly for about a minute before the progress bar appears; leave it running.

2. If the GC keeps the spec book as one PDF, click Pull from Documents and pick the file.

   The list shows every PDF in the project's Documents tool by its folder path. Click one and SubPro pulls that file and reads it.

3. When the reading finishes, the spec book appears in the list and the submittal log fills in.

   The list shows the page count and how many submittals SubPro found, as for any upload.

   

The coverage check

Once SubPro has compared a pulled book with Procore's own section list, the line under the actions becomes a coverage check. It starts "Coverage:" with the section count on each side, then reads either The spec book and Procore agree on every section. or lists the sections found on one side only, under "In the spec book but not in Procore:" and "In Procore but not in the spec book:". A section the book has and Procore lacks is worth a word with the GC. A section Procore lists that the book lacks means the pull is incomplete or the book is out of date. Until that comparison exists, the line reads "No section map on record yet".

When Procore's spec book changes

Click Pull again as revision. SubPro first shows what a new pull would change: sections new in Procore, sections no longer in Procore, and sections revised, or Nothing changed since the last pull. Click Create the revision to pull the current book as a revision of the one you have, or Cancel to leave it. The revision is compared with your log the same way as Upload revision (chapter 17).

Send submittals to Procore

1. On the Submittal log, tick the rows to send and click Send to Procore.

   The number on the button counts the ticked rows that are not in Procore yet. A linked project's log has a Procore column; rows not sent read "not sent".

   

2. Read the check SubPro runs before anything is sent.

   The dialog lists each submittal with its number, its responsible contractor, its submittal type and a verdict, ready or blocked. The contractor list is the project's own vendor list from Procore's Directory. Change the contractor on a row and SubPro checks that row again.

   

3. Clear anything that blocks a row.

   A blocked row says why, in these words:

   The row says	What to do
   Spec section ... is not in Procore's Specifications tool for this project.	SubPro never creates sections. Ask the GC to add it in Procore, or correct the row's section in SubPro.
   Number ... already exists in Procore.	Click the Use button with the number Procore offers. SubPro renumbers the row and its transmittal cover, then checks it again.
   Procore has no submittal type named ... for this company.	Change the row's type to one your Procore company uses.
   No responsible contractor: pick one from the project Directory list.	Pick the contractor on the row.
   No submittal package for this row yet: build the submittal package first.	Build the package (chapter 12), then send.
   This submittal is already in Procore. Use Send revision to send a new revision.	See Revise and resubmit below.
   Procore did not answer the number check; a duplicate would be rejected at send.	A warning, not a block. Tick the box on the row that reads Send, the number, and anyway, to send it as it is, or close and try again.

4. Click Send 1 ready, then Done.

   The number on the button counts the ready rows, and only those go. Each one becomes an item in Procore's Submittals tool with its submittal package attached, its verdict changes to Sent as and the Procore number, and its status in SubPro moves to Submitted. One failed row never stops the others; it shows Procore's reason and can be sent again. If a send comes back with "Procore cannot take this yet:", the reasons below it are in the same words as the table above.

   

What lands in Procore

In Procore, the Submittals tool lists the new item under its spec section with SubPro's number, the submittal type, the responsible contractor and the status Open. Open the item and the submittal package is in its attachments: the transmittal and the product documents behind it. Review happens in Procore's own workflow from there.

Back in SubPro, the Procore column on a sent row shows Procore's status and response, and below them the ball in court and the date SubPro last checked. Hold the pointer over the cell to see the Procore number and revision. The cell turns red on a row Procore returned for revision.

Keep status current

SubPro reads submittal status from Procore when you open a linked project, every five minutes while it stays open, and when you come back to the SubPro window after working in Procore. To read it now, click Refresh on the Submittal log or Refresh status on the Spec book page. A manual refresh reports how many submittals it checked, how many need revision and how many moved in review. An automatic one stays quiet unless it moved a row, then says so. Reading status writes nothing to Procore.

When the reviewer answers in Procore, SubPro moves the row the way you would on the Review page (chapter 14), and the history names Procore as the one who moved it. A submitted row moves to Under review while Procore holds it, then to the verdict: Approved, Approved as noted, Revise & resubmit, Rejected, Receipt acknowledged or Not reviewed, dated with the response date Procore gives. SubPro never moves a row backwards. If a row already holds a verdict, it keeps it, and the Procore column shows what Procore says now.

Revise and resubmit

1. Find the rows Procore sent back.

   When a row comes back Revise and Resubmit or Rejected, a Needs revision filter appears beside the other filters on the Submittal log, with its count. Click it to see those rows alone.

2. Fix the row, save its submittal package again (chapter 12), and click Send revision on the row.

   Every row already in Procore carries Send revision beside Create Submittal. The dialog creates a new Procore submittal revision linked to the original, with the current submittal package attached. Click Send revision in the dialog. The new revision lands on the same Procore submittal, and the earlier revision stays as it was.

Unlink and disconnect

Questions about Procore

Chapter 21Drawings

The drawings carry what the spec book leaves open: which fan, which door, which carpet, which card reader. Upload the drawing set and SubPro reads every schedule on it, in every division, and lists the rows under Drawings so you can approve them into the log. This page shows only when your account has it turned on.

1. Open Drawings under Sources and upload the drawing set as one PDF.

   SubPro indexes every sheet, finds the schedule sheets and reads the tables on them. A set of fifty sheets takes a few minutes. The sheet list shows what it found, and the divisions appear on the left as the schedules are read.

2. Pick a division on the left.

   Each division lists its schedules with a row count and the number of rows still to review. The tables on the right are one per schedule type: fans under HVAC, doors under Openings, finishes under Finishes, cameras under Safety and security. A division appears only when the set carries one of its schedules.

3. Read the rows the way the drawings read.

   Equipment rows carry the tag, the make and the model as drawn, and the capacities the schedule gives. Doors, finishes and secured doors are listed by door and by room, the way a superintendent looks them up. The arrow beside a tag opens the detail.

4. Approve a row to write it to the submittal log.

   An approved row lands on the log line that names its manufacturer in its spec section, with the tag added to the line and the quantity counted from the drawings. When no line names the make, the row lands on the section's own line and the discrepancy note says so, since that is a possible RFI. When two lines fit, SubPro asks you to pick. When the spec book has no line at all, SubPro adds one marked as coming from the drawings. Reject takes a row back off its line and never deletes the line.

5. Check Skipped and unread under the tables.

   Every table on a schedule sheet is listed as read, skipped or unread with the reason, so nothing disappears quietly. Partition types, feeder schedules and pipe schedules are skipped by name because they carry no product. A table SubPro could not read is listed as unread with its header so you can see what it was.

6. Click Export CSV for the approved rows.

   The export carries the division, schedule type, tag, make, model, the log line each row landed on and its quantity. It is the hand off a facilities partner takes for make and model recovery.

What each row is

The divisions SubPro reads

Chapter 22Keyboard shortcuts

Chapter 23Troubleshooting

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

Chapter 24Questions people ask

Chapter 25Glossary

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 book reads and modification diffs your plan includes per month.