Edit Job Estimate form

Edit Job Estimate Form

To open the Edit Job Estimate form, click on Job in the shortcut menu, then click Edit Job Estimate. Or, click Estimate at the bottom of the Edit Job form.

A job estimate is defined by any number of job items. You use the Edit Job Estimate form to add or edit job items.

Important: Please read How Do I... Structure Job Items? for information on how to break down an estimate into job items.

The Edit Job Estimate form consists of the job item selection box on the left side of the screen, and a "tabbed" box with prompts for job item information on the right side of the screen.

The tabbed box has the following tabs.

Item Info tab,
Miscellaneous Information tab,
Product Images tab,
Copy From tab,
Total tab,
Attachments tab

The item selection box is discussed here.

Item Selection Box

The item selection box is on the left side of the Edit Job Estimate form. It allows you to...

Select an item to edit
Add a new item
Copy an item (from this, or another job)
Add a sub-item (under the current item)
Split the current item into a separate item for each Job Section
Delete an item

Right click in the item selection box to see a popup menu with these, and other options.

To use the item selection box:

Select An Item:

To select an item, click on the item in the list box on the left side of the form. You can also select job items by pressing the arrow keys to move the highlight to the desired item.

When an item in the item selection box is selected, it becomes highlighted, and information about that item appears in the prompts on the right side of the screen (see below).

To Add A New Item:

Click Add (or type Alt-A). Fill in the prompts on the right side of the screen. Then Click OK at the bottom of the screen. The new item will appear in the list directly below the previously selected item.

To Add A New Sub-Item:

Click Sub-Item (or type Alt-S). The program will create a copy of the current item, indented beneath it. Change or add to the prompts on the right side of the screen. Then Click OK.

To Copy an item from this job:

Select the item.
Press Ctrl-C to copy the item.
Position the highlight where you want to copy the item.
Press Ctrl-V to paste the item. You can paste an item anywhere, any number of times.

To Copy an item from another job:

Position the highlight where you want to copy the item.
Click on the Copy From tab.
Select a job, click on an item, then click Copy. The item will be inserted into the list at the position of the highlight. You can reposition the highlight and select other items to copy any number of times.

To "Split" An Item:

Highlight the item to be split and click Split (or type Alt-T). This will create multiple sub items under the current item. A separate sub item will be created for each "job section" that you have selected in the prompt for Job Sections: in the Edit Job form. See How Do I... Use Job Sections for more information.

Note: You cannot split an item if any of the following conditions are true:

The item (or any of its sub items) is on a change order.
The item (or any of its sub items) has been invoiced. An item has been invoiced if it appears in an invoice in the Invoice entry form.
The item (or any of its sub items) has been purchase ordered. An item has been purchase ordered if it appears in a purchase order in the Purchase Order entry form. Purchase Orders can be viewed in the Purchase Order Listing Report.
The item (or any of its sub items) has been purchased. An item has been purchased if it appears in a purchase transaction entered in the Purchase entry form. Purchases can be viewed in the Purchase Listing Report.

To Delete An Item:

Highlight the item to be deleted and click Delete.

Note: You cannot delete an item if any of the following conditions are true:

The item (or any of its sub items) is on a change order.
The item (or any of its sub items) has been invoiced. An item has been invoiced if it appears in an invoice in the Invoice entry form.
The item (or any of its sub items) has been purchase ordered. An item has been purchase ordered if it appears in a purchase order in the Purchase Order entry form. Purchase Orders can be viewed in the Purchase Order Listing Report.
The item (or any of its sub items) has been purchased. An item has been purchased if it appears in a purchase transaction entered in the Purchase entry form. Purchases can be viewed in the Purchase Listing Report.

To expand a group item:

To expand a group item (make all of the sub-items visible), you can:

click on the group item name, or
click on the "+" to the left of the item name, or
highlight the item and press the right arrow key.

To expand all items:

Click Expand (or Alt-E) to display all of the items in all of the groups in the list box. Click Shrink (or Alt-H) to hide all of the items in all of the groups in the list box.

Note: The expanded state of all items in the list will be restored the next time you enter the job Edit Job Estimate form. The same expanded state of the item list is also restored in the Job Progress entry form. The Job Progress entry form can re-arrange the expanded state of items in the list, but it is not saved, so it does not affect the expanded state stored by the Job Estimate Information entry form.

To move items:

You can arrange the items in the list box in any order, and in any grouping, as follows.

You can move items using the arrow buttons to the right of the list box:

To move an item up, click the up arrow button.
To move an item down, click the down arrow button.
To move an item in one level, click the right arrow button.
To move an item out one level, click the left arrow button.

Or, you can move items using the arrow keys on the keyboard:

To move an item up, hold the Ctrl key and press the up arrow key.
To move an item down, hold the Ctrl key and press the down arrow key.
To move an item in one level, hold the Ctrl key and press the right arrow key.
To move an item out one level, hold the Ctrl key and press the left arrow key.

To An Copy Item To A Template:

Click the "hand drawn" arrow button in the center of the screen to copy the currently selected item to the template selected in the Copy tab.

Notes:

- The program will only copy (or update) from the selected item if the job selected in the Copy tab is a "template " job. To designate a job as a template, check the Template Job box in the Estimate Setup tab of the Edit Job form.

- If the template item selected in the Copy tab is named the same as the job item selected on the left side of the screen, the program will update the template item in the Copy tab from the information in the job item selected.

- If the template item selected in the Copy tab is not named the same as the job item selected on the left side of the screen, the program will add a new item in the template with the same name and information as the job item selected.

To save changes:

Click OK, or select another item. Changes are automatically saved when you select another item.

To cancel changes:

Click Cancel.

To print a job listing:

Click Print. This will display a popup menu to allow you to print the job three ways:

by Job Phase
by Job Section
by Item Structure
by CSI Division
or as the Estimate Grid

To exit the form:

Click Cancel (if any changes were made), then click Exit to close the job estimate form.

To view Estimate Grid form:

Click Estimate Grid to go to the Job Estimate Grid entry form.

To go back to Job Information:

Click Back to go back to the Edit Job form.

Item Info Tab

The job Item Info tab has the following prompts:

Item Name:

Enter the name of the item. This will appear in the list of items to the left, as well as in all reports that list job items.

Job Phase:

Select an Job Phase from the drop-down list.

You can select from the pre-defined list of Job Phases, or you can create your own Job Phase by typing it and pressing the [Enter] key, or by clicking Add.

Click Edit to edit the Job Phase.

Click "=" to set sub-items to the same Job Phase.

The Job Phase is used for a number of purposes:

The Job Phase is used to group items in the Schedule Model so that job items can be automatically scheduled.
The Job Phase is used to group items in a number of reports, including:
- the Allowance Schedule
- the job listing report
- the job cost analysis report

Vendor/Sub:

Vendor where the item will be purchased, or the name of the subcontractor if the item will be subcontracted. Select a Vendor/Subcontractor from the list, or type a new one and press [Enter], or click Add to create a new Vendor/Subcontractor.

Click Edit to edit the Vendor/Subcontractor.

Click "=" to set sub-items to the same Vendor/Subcontractor.

The Vendor/Sub prompt associates a vendor or subcontractor with an item so that Smart Contractor can automatically create Purchase Orders, and enter Purchases.

Note: The Vendor/Sub prompt will be disabled if the current item has been purchase ordered or purchased. To change the Vendor/Sub, remove the item from the purchase order in the Purchase Order entry form, and/or the purchase transaction in the Purchase entry form.

Product:

This is the name of the specific product to be purchased.

Select from the list, or type the name and press [Enter] to create a new Product. The product name should be detailed enough to identify the product for purchasing, including the make, model, and dimensions.

Note: To avoid the need to enter the same product multiple times when the product is available in different versions that do not affect the price, enter enough in the product name to identify the product for purchasing, and then enter the rest of the product description (e.g. color) in the prompt for Description below.

You enter products in the Enter Product form.

The Product prompt assigns a product to the estimate item. The product prices entered in the Enter Product form will be retrieved when you select the product for a new item. Or you can click the "$" button to the right to retrieve product prices from the product database.

When the program retrieves the product price, it first checks for inventory of the product in any of your warehouses. If any inventory is found, the program will select the warehouse as the vendor (in the prompt for Vendor above), and set the price of the product to the cost per unit set in the product inventory. You enter inventory for a product in the Enter Product form. For more information about tracking inventory, see How Do I... Track Inventory?

You can click the Search Products (binoculars) button to search for products. This will display a form that will allow you to search for products by product group.

Select a product group to display all products in that group.

To select a product from the list, double click on it, double click on it, or click on it and then click Select. This will insert the product in the prompt for Product.

Note: The Product prompt will be disabled if the current item has been purchase ordered. To change the Product, remove the item from the purchase order in the Purchase Order Entry form.

Note: The prompt for Count Unit (below) will be disabled when a product is selected. For quote requesting and other purposes, the estimate must use the same unit as what is set in the product information.

Description:

Enter descriptive information about the product being purchased for this particular job item, such as size, color, etc.

For example, if you are purchasing two different colors of ceramic tile that are otherwise the same, you can create a single product for the tile, and assign that product to two different job items, but just entere the different color in the Product Description field of each job item.

The product description is printed with products in purchase orders.

Lead Time:

Enter the item Order Lead Time in Days. This is the number of days that an item must be ordered in advance of when it will be delivered.

Item Status Message

If an item has been Purchase Ordered, Purchased, or Invoiced, or if it has been cancelled, or if it is an alternative or optional item, a message indicating this will appear to the right of the prompt for lead time days.

View Button

If an item has been Purchase Ordered, Purchased, or Invoiced the View button will appear to the right of the item status message. Click the View button to display the associated transaction. A popup menu will appear with options to view the associated transactions. Select the transaction to view.

Item Count:

Enter the estimated item count.

Note: Use the Job Progress entry form to update this item with the actual count used.

Calc (Count Calculator)

The Count Calculator button (Calc) appears to the right of the prompt for Item Count. Click the Count Calculator button to display the Count Calculator form. The Count Calculator is used to calculate the count of products to be purchased for a job item. See the Count Calculator topic for information.

Count Unit:

Select the item count unit. You can select from the pre-defined list of count units, or you can create a new count unit by typing it and pressing the [Enter] key.

Note: The prompt for Count Unit will be disabled when a product is selected in the prompt for Product (above). For quote requesting and other purposes, the estimate must use the same unit as what is set in the product information.

Percent Waste:

Enter a percentage of waste to be added to the estimated count of materials. The program will automatically calculate the total materials to purchase based on the estimated count (Item Count), and the percent waste.

Materials/Unit:

Enter the item material cost per unit. This is the contractor's cost - before adding the item markup.

The Materials cost per unit prompt is followed by a display of the total cost of materials based on the Item Count and the Materials cost per unit entered.

Note: Use the Job Progress entry form, or the Purchase entry form to enter actual material costs.

See How Do I... Track Job Costs for information on how to enter estimated and actual item costs.

Subcontract:

Enter the item subcontract cost per unit. This is the contractor's cost - before adding the item markup.

The Subcontract cost per unit prompt prompt is followed by a display of the total subcontract cost based on the Item Count and the Subcontract cost per unit entered.

Note: Use the Job Progress entry form, or the Purchase entry form to enter actual subcontract costs.

See How Do I... Track Job Costs for information on how to enter estimated and actual item costs.

Equipment:

Enter the estimated total equipment cost for this item.

See How Do I... Track Job Costs for information on when and why to enter equipment costs separately.

Other:

Enter the estimated total other cost for this item.

Note: You can change the name of the other cost.

See How Do I... Track Job Costs for information on when and why to enter "other" costs separately.

Total Cost:

Displays the total cost for the current item, calculated as sum of (Materials /Unit x Item Count) + Equipment + Subcontract + Other + Total Labor.

Customer Price:

Displays the total customer price for the current item, calculated as Total Cost plus markups and sales tax (if applicable). You can set an item as taxable by checking the Taxable boxes in the Miscellaneous tab.

Hours Per Unit or Dollars Per Unit

Enter the estimated labor hours per item count unit.

For example: if the item is "Siding", with an item count = 2000, and count unit = "Square Feet", then if you enter 0.10 Labor Hours /SqFt, the program will automatically calculate a total of 200 hours labor for the 2000 square feet of siding. See additional notes about Labor Costing below.

"hr/u" or "$/u" Button

This button switches the previous Hours Per Unit / Dollars Per Unit prompt back and forth between entering labor costs in Hours Per Unit, or Dollars Per Unit.

The prompt indicates whether costs are entered as hours or dollars:

If the labor cost per unit prompt says Hours Per Unit, enter labor costs as hours per unit, or click this button to change to Dollars Per Unit.

If the labor cost per unit prompt says Dollars Per Unit, enter labor costs as dollars per unit, or click this button to change to Hours Per Unit.

When you enter labor costs in Dollars Per Unit, Total Labor is calculated as Dollars Per Unit x Item Count, and Total Hrs is calculated as 1 / (Labor Rate / Total Labor).

When you enter labor costs in Hours Per Unit, Total Hrs is calculated as Hours Per Unit x Item Count, and Total Labor is calculated as (Total Hrs / Labor Rate).

Note: When you enter labor costs as Dollars Per Unit, if you do not enter the labor rate (or select any employee recources from the Resources prompt), the program will set the labor rate to the total labor cost, and set the hours to 1. When you enter a labor rate (or select (an) employee recource(s) from the Resources prompt), the program will calculate the hours.

Use the Employee entry form to set the labor rates for employee resources so that these will be automatically used when you select the employee from the Resources prompt.

The Schedule Item box below must be checked in order to select employees from the Resources prompt.

Labor Rate: /Hour

Enter the estimated labor cost per hour.

If the work will be performed by more than one employee, you can enter the total cost per hour for all employees, or you can let the program calculate that automatically. To do that, you must:

enter employees in the Employee entry form,
assign labor cost rates to each employee,
check the Schedule Item prompt below, and then
assign employees to the job in the prompt for Resource below.

When you do, the prompt for Labor Rate will display the total estimated labor cost (per hour) for all of the employees that you select in the prompt for Resource below.

Total Hrs:

Displays the total labor hours calculated as the Labor Hours /Unit times the item Count Unit.

Note: If Labor Hours/Unit is zero, you can enter the total hours and the program will calculate the Labor Hours/Unit (hours per count unit) as Total Hrs divided by Item Count.

Total Labor:

Displays the total labor cost calculated as Labor Rate * Total Hours.

Allowance:

Check if the item is an allowance item. Allowance Items appear in the Allowance Schedule.

Customer Sel. Item:

Check if the item is a Customer Selection Item. Customer Selection Items appear in the Customer Selection Listing report.

Punch List Item:

Check if the item is a punch list item. Punch list items appear in the Punch List report.

Memo Item:

Check if the item is a memo item. A memo item will appear in job listings in customer documents (proposals, contracts) regardless of whether it has a cost. Non-memo items will not appear in job listings if they do not have a cost.

Schedule Item:

Check the Schedule Item box to add the item to the job schedule.

See How Do I... Schedule A Job? for more information.

Days (Duration):

The estimated number of days to schedule work for this item.

Days Duration defaults to the duration defined in the schedule model for the job if you do not enter estimated labor hours.

If you enter estimated labor hours, then Days Duration is automatically calculated as Total Hours (displayed above) divided by the number of employees selected in the Resource prompt (below) times Schedule Work Hours Per Day (entered in the Job Options form).

Schedule Phase:

Enter the job phase (number) that this item belongs to.

For example, if you indicate in the prompt for Job Phases in the Edit Job form, that the job will have 2 phases, enter 1 for phase 1, or 2 for phase 2.

Note: If the item is a group item (has sub items), all sub items will be assigned to the same phase.

See How Do I... Schedule A Job In Phases? topic for more information.

Resource:

When you click on the Resource prompt, a box will open containing the list of Resource(s) that can be scheduled to work on the job item. Check the box next to a resource in the list to assign them to the job item. You can assign any number of resources to a job item.

Resource Notes:

The Respource prompt will be disabled (greyed out) until you check the Schedule Item check box.

As you click on resources to assign them to the job item, you will notice that the number in the prompt for Labor Rate above will be updated (unless you have selected an entry in the prompt for Labor Cost Rate - see below). That number is the sum of the hourly Labor Cost Rates that have been assigned to the resources in the Resource entry form.

For example: say you assign two employees to a job item, Joe and Marty. Joe has been set up (in the Resource entry form) with Labor Cost Rate = "Skilled Labor", and Marty as been set up with Labor Cost Rate = "Foreman". If "Skilled Labor" is defined (in the Cost Rate entry form) with a Cost Rate of $20.00, and "Foreman" is defined with a Cost Rate of $40.00, then the Labor Rate for the job item will be $60.00 after you assign both Joe and Marty to the job item.

Also, as you click on resources to assign them to the job item, you will notice that the number in Days Duration will be updated. Days Duration is calculated as Total Hours (displayed above) divided by the number of employees selected in the Resource prompt times Schedule Work Hours Per Day (entered in the Job Options form).

The Resource prompt will be disabled if the Schedule Item check box (above) is not checked. You have to schedule an item in order to assign resources to it.

Click the Add button to the right, or use the Resource entry form, to add to the list of Resources.

Don't worry about accidentally assigning a resource to more than one job on the same day. The job schedule will display a "C" (for Conflict) on days on which a resource has been scheduled for more than one job. Right click on that schedule day to view information about the schedule conflict and to change the resource(s) assigned to that item.

Item Note:

Enter any notes pertaining to this item to be printed on the customer's job listing and invoice. The prompt for these notes appear here, and in the Edit Job Estimate form. The prompt for this note appears here, and in the Job Progress entry form.

Spell Check Button

Click the "abc check" button to spell check the Item Notes.

Miscellaneous Tab

The Miscellaneous tab contains the following prompts:

Materials Costs:

Enter the markup percent of item material costs. You can set the material markup separately for each item in a job.

If you change the markup of a group item, the markups of sub-items in that group will be updated if their markup is the same as the job markup (which you set in the Estimate tab of the Edit Job form).

Note: Use the prompt for Markup Calculation Method in the Job Options setup form to determine whether the markup is calculated as a percent of the job cost ("markup"), or as a percent of the job price ("margin").

Materials Taxable: