Help Center

What prebuilds are for

Prebuilds are reusable order presets. They help sales and operations start from a familiar package without turning that package into physical inventory. A podcast setup, small conference package, basic lighting control package, or interview camera package may include categories, specific types, labor, consumables, notes, and pricing assumptions.

Use a prebuild when the user repeatedly builds the same kind of estimate or order and wants the starting lines filled in quickly. A prebuild is not a scannable kit, not a loadout, and not proof that availability has been reserved. Once it is inserted into an order, its lines behave like normal order lines.

Prebuilds live under Orders because they are order-building tools. A prebuild can include inventory type lines, category placeholder lines, and note lines. Type lines use the same bundle and charge behavior the type would normally use if it were added by hand, so the prebuild does not need its own separate “inherit bundle” or “charge by default” switches.

The goal is speed without pretending uncertainty is resolved. If the customer asks for “a lighting console and an audio console,” the prebuild can add the right category placeholders and supporting lines so the estimate is useful immediately. Later, before reservation, those placeholders should be resolved to specific types so availability can be trusted. The user experience should make that transition obvious: early planning is allowed to be broad, but commitment needs concrete inventory.

Pricing and availability expectations

Prebuilds can help estimate pricing, but they should not overpromise availability. Category placeholders can use a representative price, such as the most expensive eligible rentable type in the category, so the customer sees a conservative ballpark number. That is useful for quoting, but it does not mean Pluck has reserved a specific console, kit, or case.

Availability should become strict when the order resolves broad placeholders into real types, serialized assets, bulk quantities, kits, containers, or cross-rental choices. If a prebuild adds a type that normally has bundle companions, those companions should follow the type’s existing bundle rules. If a user changes the quantity after insertion, the order should preserve the edited quantity and recalculate pricing instead of snapping back to the template.

This is the practical difference from a kit. A kit can be unavailable because that specific physical kit is rented, damaged, in maintenance, or missing a component. A prebuild is not unavailable by itself; its underlying choices become available or unavailable once the order resolves them. That lets sales quote a known package quickly while still forcing operations to make real fulfillment decisions before reservation and picking.

Good user workflow

Start broad when the customer is broad. Add a prebuild from the order quick-add modal, or add categories, common packages, and bundled starting points that describe the job. Use notes when the customer language matters. Review the estimate total, then send or discuss the quote. When the job becomes real, replace broad lines with exact types or assets, check availability, and only then move into reservation and picking.

This workflow keeps early quotes fast while protecting operations later. Sales does not have to know the exact asset on day one, and the warehouse does not get surprised by a vague promise on pick day. The Help language should be clear about that handoff because it is one of the most important mental models in Pluck: plan broadly, reserve specifically, pick physically, and return carefully.