Create Estimate Items
When you create a new Job, and click the Create Estimate button, the "Create Estimate Items" form appears.
This form allows you to create job estimate items by copying them from other jobs, or from the job template that comes with Smart Contractor.
To copy estimate items into the new estimate:
| 1) Select A Database To Copy From |
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Click an option for which source of estimate data you want to copy from. Click "RS Means Cost Data" to copy from the RS Means cost data. This will load the various RS Means cost databases which you can select from in the prompt for "2) Select RS Means data to copy from:" below. Or, click "Other Smart Contractor Data" to select a Smart Contractor database to copy an estimate from. Then click Browse to browse for the folder in which the Smart Contractor database is located. |
| 2) Select RS Means data to copy from |
| Select an RS Means cost database to copy from. This will display the RS Means cost items in the box below. |
| 2) Select A Job To Copy From |
| Select a job in the Select Job To Copy From: prompt. This will display the estimate items in the box below. |
| 3) Check Items To Add To Estimate |
| The item list box displays the items in the job or RS Means data selected. Check the items that you want to copy into the new job. If you check a group item (with a "+" next to it), this will copy all items contained in the group item. To see all of the items contained in the group, click on the "+" next to the item name. |
| Copy Estimated Or Actual Costs |
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If you have selected a job to copy from in the Select Job To Copy From: prompt (instead of the (Job Templates) option), the prompt Copy: Estimated Costs or Actual Costs to the right of the item list box will be activated. Click Estimated Costs to copy the estimated costs from the old job into the estimated costs of the new job. Click Actual Costs to copy the actual costs from the old job into the estimated costs of the new job. |
| Use Template or Default Margins |
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When you copy from another job or job template, you can use the margins set in that job (template), or you can have those overridden by the default margins that you have set in the job you are copying into. Click on "Template Margins" to use the margins that are set in the job you are copying from. Click on "Default Margins" to use the default margins of the job you are copying into. |
| 4) Click "Create Estimate". |
| This will copy the checked items into the new estimate, and take you to the Edit Estimate form where you can edit the job items you have just created. |
| Markups Of Copied Estimate Items |
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When you copy items from other jobs to make a new estimate, the program will set the markups of the copied items depending on whether the job you copy from is a "template" job or not. To make a job a "template" job, check "Template Job" in the Estimate Setup tab in the Edit Job form.
The thinking is that if you copy items from a job template, you will want the markups to be the same as what you set in each item the template, but if you are copying from another real job, you may not want the same markups that were set in individual items in that job. So in that case it uses the job defaults. |
| To Enter An Estimate From "Scratch": |
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If you want to enter estimate items from "scratch" (without copying them from other jobs or the template), do not check any job items in the list box. Just click "Create Estimate". This will take you to the Edit Estimate form to with some sample items in it. You can change the description and costs of the sample items to keep them, or select them and click the Delete button to remove them. |
| Select All Button |
| Click Select All to check all items in the item list box. |
| Clear All Button |
| Click Clear All to un-check all items in the item list box. |
| To Exit: |
| Click Exit to return to the Edit Job form. |
When you click "Create Estimate", the program will take you to the Edit Estimate form where you can edit the items you just created.