Search "Eliminating the Guesswork in Connection Design" by William Thornton.
Definitely consult with the fabricator on format. If the software works out, it will be easier bookkeeping to swap the model. But you may also take on additional liability because your model needs to be correct and, also, solved correctly.
I think part of a designer's job is to forecast how their choices will affect the downstream activities. So if you are just providing the model to cut down time, I think there may be a missing step or one that may be overlooked. For example, are there pass through forces. I'm not sure a model will tell you this unless you do some digging.
I'm a fan of reactions specified at the end of beams or in tables to envelope the design of certain sizes. That makes the shop drawing review straightforward.
I'm not a huge fan of 1/2 UDL or 50% shear specifications.