SammyHelp centre

Asking Sammy anywhere in the app

Sammy isn't just in your quotes any more. Tap the Sammy button in the corner of any page and ask him (typed or spoken) to find something, add a cost to a job or file a receipt, set up a new quote, write to a client, or explain how part of the app works. He works with your real jobs, quotes, clients and invoices, and he checks with you before anything important changes.

Open Sammy#

  1. Tap the round Sammy button in the bottom corner. On your phone it sits just above the tabs at the bottom of the screen, next to the New or Actions button.
  2. On a computer, Sammy opens in a panel down the right-hand side, and you can keep using the page next to him. On your phone he opens full screen.
  3. Type in Ask Sammy anything… and tap the arrow to send. On a computer you can press Enter instead (Shift+Enter starts a new line).
  4. To close Sammy, tap the X at the top. Your conversation is still there next time you open him, and so is anything you'd started typing.

Left-handed, or just prefer the other side? On your phone you can move the Sammy button. Touch and hold it until two outlines appear at the bottom of the screen, then drag it to the outline on the other side and let go. The New or Actions button moves the same way, on its own, so you can put both on the left or split them. Your phone remembers where you put them.

Not sure what to ask? When the chat is empty, Sammy shows a few suggestions, like What's my week look like? or How do I send a proposal? Tap one to ask it.

You can also open Sammy from Settings, then Support, then Chat with Sammy.

Keyboard shortcut#

On a computer, press ⌘J on a Mac or Ctrl+J on Windows to open Sammy from any page. Press it again, or press Esc while you're typing to him, to close him.

The shortcut doesn't do anything while you're typing in a box on the page, so it never gets in the way of a form. Hover over the Sammy button to see it.

The Sammy button doesn't show while you're working in the full-screen quote editor or doing a takeoff. Those have their own Sammy chat, the one that builds and edits your quote.

Your day at a glance#

When you open Sammy first thing in the day, he shows a Today card at the top of the chat. He says g'day and gives you up to three quick lines:

  • quotes still waiting on clients, and the one that's been waiting longest
  • invoices that are overdue, and the oldest one
  • how a job on the go is tracking against its budget (if you track costs on your jobs)

Each quote, invoice or job he mentions has a card under it. Tap one to open it. Tap the round arrow to check the numbers again. On a quiet day, Sammy just says there's nothing waiting on you.

You'll see the Today card the first time you open Sammy each day and whenever you start a new chat. Seen enough for one day? Tap Hide daily brief under it and it stays out of the way until tomorrow.

Sammy knows what you're looking at#

When you have a job, quote, client, invoice or project open, Sammy can see which one. A line above the message box tells you, like "Sammy can see the job you're on." So you can just say "this job" or "this quote".

Anywhere else, use the number (like EST-0012, JN-0045 or INV-0007) or a name. Sammy doesn't mind how you write it: "est 12" works too.

What Sammy can do#

Find things#

Ask the way you'd ask a mate in the office:

  • "Find the Jones kitchen quote."
  • "Which invoices are overdue?"
  • "What's open for Greenway?"

Sammy shows what he finds as cards with the number, the client, the status and the amount. Tap a card to open it. On a computer the chat stays open beside it. If more than one thing matches, Sammy lists them and asks which one you mean.

Ask "What's my week look like?" for a quick rundown: quotes waiting on clients, invoices owing and overdue, money paid lately, and jobs on the go. Sammy always says whether an amount includes GST.

Answer questions about Sammy#

Ask how to do something, where to find something, what a status means, or anything about your plan, billing or connecting Xero, Simpro, ServiceM8 or Ascora. Sammy answers from the help guides in a few short steps and shows the guide he used, so you can read the full thing.

He can also check your own settings, like "What's my labour markup?" or "How many days do my invoices give clients to pay?"

Sammy doesn't give trade advice here (prices, hours, materials or methods). For that, open the quote and use the chat inside it.

Add costs and hours to a job#

If you track costs on your jobs, you can add them by just telling Sammy. On the job's page, try:

  • "Add $550 of tiles from Beaumonts, inc GST."
  • "Log 8 hours for Dave today."

Sammy saves costs without GST, the same as the job page does, and tells you how the job is tracking against its budget. Your crew's time always goes in as hours, never as a dollar cost, so tell him the hours and who worked them. If he doesn't know what an hour of labour costs you, he asks. If you tell him a rate, it's saved on the job for next time, just like when you log hours yourself. A labour-hire bill is saved as a Subbie cost.

He can also add to a job's site notes, like "Add to the site notes: gate code is 4512."

To fix or remove a cost, do it on the job page. See Tracking what a job actually costs.

Send Sammy receipts and invoices#

Got a paper receipt, a supplier docket or a supplier's PDF invoice? Send it to Sammy from any page. He looks at it first, works out which job it's for, and checks with you before he files it.

  1. Open Sammy and tap the paperclip next to the message box.
    • On your phone, choose Take photo, Choose from library or Choose files (for PDFs).
    • On a computer, pick one or more files. You can also drag them onto the Sammy panel, or paste a screenshot straight into the message box.
  2. Each file shows above the message box while it uploads. Tap the X on one to take it off. If one didn't upload, tap the round arrow on it to try again.
  3. Send them. You can add a note, like "these are for the Smith job", or just send the files.
  4. Sammy tells you what each one is and which job it belongs to, and how he knows. For example, the job number printed on an invoice, or the delivery address on a receipt. If he can't tell which job it's for, he asks you.
  5. For each receipt or invoice he shows a Needs your OK card with what he read: the supplier, the date, the total, the GST, what was bought, and Matched on (why he picked that job).
  6. Check the figures. They came from the file, not from you, so make sure they're right.
  7. Tap Approve to save the cost to the job with the file attached, or Not now to leave it. If you sent a few, Sammy moves straight on to the next one.

If Sammy can't read a file, he tells you what he could see and asks you for the total.

Good to know:

  • Up to five files at a time. Photos (JPEG or PNG) and PDFs, up to 10 MB each. On an iPhone, photos are sent as JPEG automatically.
  • Nothing is saved to a job until you tap Approve.
  • If a receipt mentions a different job number, Sammy points it out before you save.
  • Sammy files costs for now. If you send something else, like a purchase order, a signed contract, plans or a site photo, he tells you what it is and where it goes in the app. You can still ask him questions about it, like "what's the total on this?"
  • Saving costs only works if you track costs on your jobs. If you don't, Sammy can still look at a file and answer questions about it.

Talk instead of typing#

Hands full, or just quicker to say it? Tap the microphone next to the message box and talk.

  1. Tap the microphone. The first time, your phone or browser asks if Sammy can use your microphone. Say yes.
  2. A Recording strip shows above the message box, with the time you've got left (up to two minutes).
  3. Speak naturally. Each time you pause, your words appear in the message box.
  4. Tap Done when you've finished. Check the words, fix anything he heard wrong, then tap the arrow to send.

Anything you'd already typed stays, and your words are added after it. You can't send while you're still recording, so tap Done first.

Set up a new quote#

Tell Sammy who it's for and what the job is:

  • "New quote for Tom Walsh, 0412 345 678. Replace six downlights in the kitchen at 14 Hope St."

Sammy adds Tom as a client (if Tom's already in Sammy, he asks before adding him twice) and starts a draft quote with the job description filled in. Tap the quote card to open it, add any photos or plans, check the description and tap Generate. Sammy doesn't price quotes from this chat. That always happens in the quote itself, where he can see your photos and plans.

A few more things he can do with quotes and clients:

  • Copy a quote. "Same as EST-0012 for the Smiths." Sammy copies it as a new Draft, lines and all.
  • Start a variation. "Start a variation on this job: two extra power points in the boardroom." Sammy files a draft variation on the job for you to price.
  • Tidy up. Rename a quote, change its client, create a project, move a quote into a project, update a client's details, or add an extra contact to a client.

Send a message to a client#

Sammy can write an email to a client for you and send it from your Message Centre, in your name. You tell him what to say, he writes it, and nothing goes until you've read it and tapped Approve.

The quickest way in is from Messages. Tap New, then Write with Sammy. Sammy opens already knowing you want to write to someone. With a conversation open, he names the client: "Want me to write to John? Tell me what to say, or pick one." Under that are a few things you might want, like Tell John I'm running late or Chase John up on the quote, and when the last message was from the client, Reply to what John said. Tap one and he gets going, or just type what you want to say. From the inbox, with nothing open, he asks who it's for first. If Sammy was closed when you tapped it, this starts a fresh chat; your earlier chat is still there under History. If he was already open, he carries on in the chat you were having.

You can do the same from a client's page. Tap Actions (on a computer it's in the bottom-right corner), then New message, then Write with Sammy.

You can also just ask Sammy from anywhere:

  1. Ask in your own words, like "Send Sarah Chen a message saying the deck quote still stands and we can start Monday", or "Reply to the Joneses about the tiles."
  2. Sammy reads your conversation with that client first, so he knows what's already been said and what to call them.
  3. He writes the email the way you'd write it: "Hi Sarah," to start, your first name at the end, short and plain. He won't make up prices, dates or work you haven't told him about.
  4. He shows it on a Needs your OK card. The card shows the whole email: who it's to, what it's about, the subject, anyone it's copied to, which conversation it goes into, and every word of the message.
  5. Want something changed? Just type it, like "make it shorter" or "add that the meter box needs to be unlocked". The message box stays open while an email card is waiting. Sammy writes a new version on a new card, and the old card says Replaced by what you said next.
  6. Happy with it? Tap Approve and Sammy sends it. He shows a card saying it's sent, with the conversation under it. Tap that to open it in Messages.
  7. Rather finish it yourself? Tap Edit in Messages. The email opens in Messages with everything filled in, so you can change it and send it from there. The card in the chat then says Opened in Messages to finish by hand. and can't be sent from the chat any more, so the email never goes twice.
  8. Changed your mind? Tap Not now and nothing is sent.

Good to know:

  • Nothing is sent until you tap Approve on the card that shows it.
  • Once it's sent, there's no undo. An email can't be taken back, so read the card before you approve.
  • The email goes to your client's email address, or to one of the extra contacts saved on their client page. If they don't have an email address, Sammy tells you to add one first.
  • Say which quote, invoice or job it's about, like "about EST-0042", and the email goes into that job's conversation with a matching subject.
  • Sometimes Sammy adds a note on the card, like "Check the figures" when an amount doesn't match the quote, or "No sign-off" when your name isn't at the end. Check those before you approve.
  • The email shows up in Messages, in your conversation with that client, just like one you sent yourself. When your client replies, it lands there too.
  • Sammy can also catch you up on your messages. Try "Who haven't I heard back from?" or "Anything unread from clients?"

Write your payment schedule#

If payment schedules are on for your account, Sammy can write the stages for you, right where you set them up.

  1. Open the quote, go to the Proposal tab and tap Payment schedule.
  2. Tap Sammy written. Sammy opens next to the schedule (on your phone, he takes the screen) and asks if there's anything he should know.
  3. Tap one of his suggestions, like Write it from the quote or The client's paying from a construction loan, or just type it, like "the timber has to be ordered two weeks before we start".
  4. Sammy reads the quote and writes the stages straight into the schedule, with a short reason under each one and his note underneath. He says what he did in a line or two, then steps out of the way so you can see the stages.
  5. Change anything you like in the schedule. To have Sammy change it, tap Ask Sammy for changes under the table and tell him, like "fewer stages" or "a smaller deposit". He picks up the same conversation and rewrites the stages you've got, including anything you changed by hand.
  6. When you're happy, tap Add to quote.

Nothing goes on the quote until you tap Add to quote, so you can cancel at any time. Sammy never asks for more up front than the law allows where the job is. For more on payment schedules, see Payment schedules and progress claims.

Things that need your OK#

Some changes matter more, so Sammy always checks with you first:

  • changing a quote's status (like Sent, Accepted or Declined)
  • moving a job to its next step
  • creating a draft invoice from a quote
  • marking an invoice as paid in full
  • saving a cost Sammy read from a receipt or invoice
  • sending an email to a client
  • passing your question to the Sammy team

For these, Sammy shows a card headed Needs your OK that says exactly what will happen, like "Mark EST-0005 as Declined", with the client and the amount. Nothing changes until you tap Approve. Tap Not now to leave it.

  • While a card is waiting, answer it before you send anything else. The message box is greyed out until you do. The one exception is an email card: you can type what you'd like changed straight away.
  • The card expires after 15 minutes. If it does, nothing is changed. Just ask again.

Good to know:

  • An invoice Sammy creates is always a Draft. Nothing goes to your client. Open it, check it and send it yourself.
  • Marking as paid is for payments in full. For a part payment, record it on the invoice.
  • Marking a quote Sent only records it as sent. It doesn't email your client.
  • Accepting a quote also sets up the job, the same as when you do it yourself.

Undo#

After Sammy changes something, you see a card with a tick, what changed, and a link to it. When he changes something that already existed, like a quote's name or status, a client's details or a job's site notes, the card has an Undo button for a day.

  • Tap Undo and Sammy puts it back straight away. You don't need to approve it again, even if the change needed your OK the first time.
  • The button then says Undone, and the page behind the chat updates.
  • After a day, Undo goes away. Open the record and change it back yourself.
  • If you changed the same thing yourself after Sammy did, Undo puts back what it was before Sammy's change.

New things Sammy creates (clients, quotes, projects, variations, costs, hours and invoices), payments he records, jobs he moves to their next step and emails he sends don't have Undo. Change or remove those on their own page.

What Sammy never does#

  • Delete anything.
  • Send your clients a quote, an invoice, a receipt or a text message.
  • Email a client without your OK. An email only ever goes when you tap Approve on the card that shows it.
  • Push anything to Xero, Simpro, ServiceM8 or Ascora.
  • Change the lines or prices in a quote. For that, open the quote and use the chat there.

If you ask for one of these, Sammy tells you where to do it.

Sammy can only see and change what you can see and change in the app. If you're in a team, that includes your team's jobs and quotes, and anything Sammy changes is recorded as changed by you. Your chats with Sammy are your own. Your team can't read them.

Talk to a person#

You can ask for a real person any time. Say something like "Can I talk to someone?", or just tell Sammy something isn't working.

  1. If something isn't working, send Sammy a screenshot of it first. On a computer, paste it into the message box. On your phone, tap the paperclip and pick it from your photos.
  2. Sammy writes up what's going on and shows a card: Send this to the Sammy team? It shows what he'll send, any photos or PDFs going with it, and how the team will reach you.
  3. Tap Approve.
  4. A real person from the Sammy team gets your message, along with your recent chat and any screenshots you sent, so you don't have to explain it all again. They'll get back to you.

If it's urgent, call us on +61 468 029 097 during business hours.

Tell us how Sammy did#

Under each of Sammy's replies there's a thumbs up and a thumbs down. If he got something wrong, tap the thumbs down, pick what went wrong (like Wrong answer or Did the wrong thing) and add a note if you like. The team reads these to make Sammy better.

Start a new chat, or go back to an old one#

Sammy keeps your conversation, even after you close the app or switch devices. To start fresh, tap New at the top of the chat (on your phone, it's the pencil icon). Your old chats aren't deleted: tap History (the clock icon on your phone) to see your earlier chats and open one again.

More in How-to guides

Still stuck?

Ask Sammy about it.

Sammy has read every article here. Log in and he can look at your quotes, jobs and invoices too. If he can't sort it out, he'll pass you to a real person on the team.

support@withsammy.ai