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Let's work up a little bid for a slab. I could page through the
whole book to find what we’re looking for. But there's a
better way.
The Index -- #2 I'll use the index to find costs for sand fill under a slab base.
Use the Search tab to drill down to the category you need.
The Find tab looks for exactly the word you want.
How's that?
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Topic Dialog
Copy and Paste -- #4 Here's the line I want to copy to our estimate. I'll select it by
double-clicking.
I'll press tab and check the estimate. This column shows
estimates per unit, ... for each square foot.
The column over here has extended figures for all 100 square
feet.
Markup -- #5 Let's add some overhead and profit to this job. I'll click the
markup button.
Changing Markup -- #6 Let's check the estimate. I'll click the Estimate Window
button.
To change any cost, click on the line. Then click the Change
Cost button.
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Topic Dialog
Save Your Estimate -- #8 Just one more thing you're sure to need. Let's save that
estimate to disk. I'll click the Save button.
Here it is.
Getting Help -- #9 That's about all you have to know to get started. Of course,
there's lots more to learn. Just click the question mark
button.
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Topic Dialog
Copy and Insert - #10 Let’s keep working on the estimate for a slab. I’ll go back and
split the window.
Drag and Drop - #11 Here's another way to copy and paste. Let's put a membrane
under this slab. I'll select the 4 mil line by double clicking.
Then I'll click again and hold the mouse button down in the
selection.
I'll release the mouse button here, right in front of the sand
fill.
That's it.
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Topic Dialog
Changing Labor Rates - #12 Like most estimators, I prefer using my own wage rates when
writing estimates. Here’s how. First, I’ll click on the Estimate
Window button so the estimate fills the screen.
I'll right-click on the line and click to change this cost line.
Changing Cost Estimates - If you see some cost that doesn't look right, change it.
#13
For example, the man-hours here don’t seem right to me. I’m
going to allow an hour for fine grading. I’ll right-click on the
line.
That's good.
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Topic Dialog
OK. It’s gone. If you change your mind, click the undo button
and it’s back.
But I really don’t want this, so I’ll press the delete key and
type vapor barrier.
That makes more sense. You can type anything you want in
the estimate. Just click and start typing.
Adding Text (Descriptions) - Some of your jobs will include items that aren't in the
#15 costbook. But it's easy to add both descriptions and costs
anywhere in the estimate.
For practice, let's add costs for four reinforced corners to this
estimate. I'll right-click here and insert a text line.
Adding a Cost Estimate Line - Now let's add a cost for "Reinforced corners." We want to
#16 insert a cost line below the description. So I'll right-click here
and click on Insert a Cost Line.
I'll press tab twice to leave the Craft Code blank and Hourly
Wage at zero.
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Topic Dialog
Adding Lines to the Costbook You can add or change lines in the costbook the same way
--#17 you add or change lines in an estimate. I'll switch to the
Costbook window.
Square foot is OK for the measurement and I'll use the craft
code of BL for building laborer. Manhours are the same as for
6 mil poly.
It's in red to show that this is a line I added. You can put all
kinds of notes in the costbook -- price quotes, phone
numbers, anything.
It's gone!
Insert a Subtotal -- #18 I like to insert subtotals at the end of each section in my
estimate. Let’s put a subtotal in Estimate Two. I’ll click the
Estimate Window button to get back to Estimate Two.
I'll click on the subtotal button and type the subtotal name.
That's better.
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Topic Dialog
Changing a Subtotal -- #19 Let’s make a little change to the subtotal we just added.
That’s better.
Adding Tax -- #20 Let's put some sales tax in this estimate. Tax goes at the end.
Preview Your Estimate -- #21 You can display an estimate on screen just the way it will look
when printed on paper. I'll click on the Print Preview button.
Opening Other Costbooks -- Many construction cost estimating databases are available for
#22 the National Estimator program. If you own several Craftsman
costbooks and have installed the database that comes with
each, you can open several at the same time.
I’ve got all these costbooks installed and can have all open at
the same time.
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Topic Dialog
Select Your Default Costbook Your default costbook opens automatically every time you
#23 begin using National Estimator. The last costbook installed
becomes the default. For me that's the Construction
costbook.
I’ll click on Utilities and Options and the General Settings tab.
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Topic Dialog
Blind Pasting #25 Until you get comfortable copying and pasting, keep both the
costbook window and the estimate window open – like this.
But copying and pasting works just as well when you’re in the
full Costbook window – like this.
I’ll press the F8 key to both copy and paste. F8 is the same
as copy and paste.
Estimate Window #26 I'll click on the Estimate Window button so the estimate fills
the screen.
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Topic Dialog
Undo #27 Every estimator makes mistakes. And the undo button is an
easy way to reverse those errors.
The undo button can save lots of time. But don’t wait too
long. You have to undo mistakes right away.
Cut #28 Here's another way to remove lines from an estimate. I’ll
paste that concrete slab again.
Let’s cut these lines out of the estimate. I’ll select the lines I
want to delete.
But we want those lines, so I’ll click just before the subtotal
line.
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Topic Dialog
Turn to Costbook Page #29 When you know what page you need, it’s easy to get there. I
know the concrete finish I want is on page 95.
This is the one. I’ll click and type the page number, page 95,
I’ll select and drag that line down to where I want it.
Saving the First Time #30 I’m going to start a new estimate.
That’s a good place to keep all your estimates. I’ll type the
estimate name, “Just Testing”.
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Topic Dialog
Using the Slide Bar #31 I’m going to open a longer estimate completed several weeks
ago.
I’ll drag the box in the slide bar to move down this estimate.
I don’t see what I’m looking for. But there’s an easier way to
find anything in your estimates.
Searching in the Estimate #32 I can find anything in the estimate by typing a key word.
Here it is.
Pasting and Inserting #33 I need to add some starter strip to this roofing estimate. I’ll
open the Home Improvement Costbook.
It looks OK.
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Topic Dialog
Pasting Costs #34 Any time you copy costs, you have a chance to make changes
before pasting. I’ll show you the options this time before we
paste costs for starter strip.
Open Several Estimates #35 Most of the time you’ll have just one estimate on the screen.
When I click on the Estimate Window button, I see costs for
the Stillwel job.
And Construction.
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Topic Dialog
Copy from Estimate to We’re going to copy about fifty lines of framing costs from the
Estimate #36 Stillwel bid to Estimate Two. That saves lots of time. I’ll
arrange the screen so it’s split between the Stillwel job and
Estimate Two.
Holding the shift key down, I’ll press the down arrow key until
I’ve selected all the rough carpentry costs in the Stillwel job.
OK. I’ve got all rough carpentry selected. Now I’ll click on
copy.
I’ve just pasted about 50 lines from the Stillwel estimate into
Estimate Two.
That can save hours of estimating time. But there’s one more
step. Adjusting the quantities. The framing quantities on most
jobs will be different. And that’s our subject in the next
frame.
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Topic Dialog
Template Estimates #37 I've pasted rough framing costs from the Stillwel estimate to
my Estimate Two. But the quantities are different in the two
jobs. For example, Estimate Two requires 58 linear feet of
spruce fascia, not 72 feet.
Recycling old estimates saves lots of time. You can copy and
paste, like we've just done. Even better, create a template
estimate that includes all the work you do most often.
That way you never have to start from scratch. Open the
template, make a few changes, save under a new name and
print it again.
File Type for Estimates #38 Every time you save an estimate that’s already on disk,
National Estimator turns the prior version into a backup copy.
The best way to understand this is to see it for yourself. I'll
click on the Open button so you can see the file types.
Select the file type BAK and you'll see only backup files.
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Topic Dialog
Go to Estimate Page #39 When an estimate gets more than a few pages long, scrolling
from one end to the other can be a pain. The Stillwel
estimate is an example.
Print the Current Estimate I’m ready to print Estimate Two. Let’s select it.
#40
To print an estimate, click on the Print button.
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Topic Dialog
Printed Estimates #41 Printed estimates look about the same as estimates on the
screen. All the subtotals, markup, and totals on the screen
are also in the printed estimate.
Tax comes after the Estimate Total if you've set tax rates.
Double Space Lines #42 Printed estimates are easier to read when I put a blank line
below each line of costs. See if you don’t agree. I'll page up
so you can see more of the estimate.
The only thing wrong with double spacing is that it cuts down
on how much of the estimate you can see. I usually single
space until it’s time to print.
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Topic Dialog
Percent Change #43 Sometimes you’ll want to revise an entire estimate column up
or down by a few percent.
Show Unit Costs #44 On an insurance job, you’ll probably want to show both the
cost per unit and the extended cost. The Per Unit button lets
you show both.
The top line is the Per Unit cost. The bottom line is the
extended cost for the same item.
I’ve toggled off and the Per Unit button isn’t highlighted. I'll
also turn off double spacing.
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Topic Dialog
Save As #45 Sometimes you’ll want to submit alternate bids. For example,
an alternate bid for a job could include upgrades to hardware
and fixtures. To create an alternate bid, just save the
estimate with a different name. To create an alternate bid for
this job, I'll click on File.
There it is.
But the original Estimate Two isn’t open any more. What’s
open is Estimate Three. Until I start making changes, it’s just
a copy of Estimate Two.
In the next frame, I’ll show how “Save As” can make a copy
of an estimate on a different disk drive.
Save To a Different Disk #46 It’s easy to copy an estimate to another disk, such as a
removable disk or a network drive. The first step is to click on
File.
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Topic Dialog
For word processing, click on Text file. For Excel, click on Tab
Separated.
It’s done. I’ll open the exported estimate in the next frame.
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Topic Dialog
Export to a Spreadsheet #49 I saved Estimate Three as a TAB file in the My Documents
folder. Now let’s pick it up in Excel. Excel is already running.
All I have to do is hold the Alt key down and press Tab to
switch to Excel.
In the File Name box, I’ll type star dot TAB and press Enter.
Here it is.
Export to Word Processing You can export an estimate to any word processing program
#50 that will read a text file. But there’s a better way if you use
Microsoft Word.
I’ve got Word running on this computer. I’ll click Edit and
select all of Estimate Three.
I’ll jump into Word by holding down the Alt key while I press
Tab.
I’m done here. So I’ll go back to Estimate Three and open the
Construction costbook.
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Topic Dialog
New User Costbook #51 If you handle several types of jobs, you may want to create
custom versions of a costbook -- such as one for change
orders, one for insurance work, another for government jobs.
These are called User Costbooks. All begin as exact copies of
the original costbook.
Select the folder where you want to keep this costbook. The
My Documents folder is a good choice.
I’ll call this costbook Room Additions because we’ll use it for
pricing room additions.
Switch User Costbooks #52 In the last frame I created a new user costbook, Room
Additions.
Here it is.
I didn't create this costbook. It's the default that came with
the disk.
Area Modification Factors #53 Many costbooks from Craftsman include area modifications
factors – figures you can use to adjust all estimates to a
particular job site. I’ll show you.
On the Area Modifications tab, I’ll enter the zip code for the
job, 33054.
Now all figures in the Costbook have been modified for Opa
Locka.
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Topic Dialog
Updates #54 Most National Estimator costbooks are revised monthly and
made available at no charge on the Internet. If you’re
connected to the Web, click on Help and Costbook Update to
get the latest costs.
Options #55 If you want double spacing or percent changes or unit costs
in every estimate, there’s an easy way to set these as
defaults. First, I’ll click on Utilities and Options and the
General Settings tab.
Tax Rates, Utilities #56 If you have to include sales tax in nearly every estimate,
there’s a way to include tax automatically. I’ll click on Utilities.
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Topic Dialog
Search for Help on #57 The help files in National Estimator are only a couple of
mouse clicks away. Click on the question mark when you get
stuck.
Delete an Estimate #58 We’re finished with the estimate Just Testing. So let’s remove
it permanently from the disk. I’ll click on File and Open.
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Topic Dialog
Deleting Other File Types #59 Deleting an estimate doesn’t automatically delete the backup
estimate. Remember that saving an existing file always
creates a backup of the old file. So your hard drive probably
has a backup of every estimate you’ve ever made.
I’ll click on the down arrow at the right side of the Files of
Type box to find backups.
Turn Estimates into Invoices When an estimate is done, I turn it into a bid or invoice with
#60 Job Cost Wizard. Let's dump the Stillwel Estimate into Job
Cost Wizard.
I could print this estimate and send it to Bill just the way it is.
But your customers don’t need to know the cost of every nut
and bolt in the job.
Job Cost Wizard lets me show and hide what I want and
prints a nice looking bid or invoice. So I'll click on File and
Send Estimate to JCW.
Here's the Stillwel estimate in Job Cost Wizard. I'll push the
page up so you can see more.
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Topic Dialog
Zoom, Scroll and Turn Pages If the estimate in Job Cost Wizard doesn't fit your screen, set
#61 the percentage of zoom. For 800 x 600 resolution, 90% in the
zoom window is about right.
Enter Job Information #62 I've filled in the customer name and mailing address already.
Enter or change the name and address by clicking on the
man's face.
Change the Title #63 To change the title of this form, click Transaction Type on the
tool bar.
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Topic Dialog
Details: Show All #64 On some jobs you may want the invoice to show every cost
rather than just subtotals. Job Cost Wizard can do that. Here
we're showing only subtotals.
Can you see the difference? All the costs are right there for
everyone to see.
That's better.
Details: Omit Entirely #65 On some jobs your customer may furnish the materials. In
that case, you'll want to strip all material costs out of the
estimate.
You could make material cost estimates all zeros. But there's
a better way.
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Topic Dialog
Mark Up Every Cost Item #66 Markup has to be in your estimate, but it doesn't have to
show up on your bid or invoice. Job Cost Wizard lets you
distribute markup proportionately among all costs so
customers never see markup as a separate item.
“At End of Estimate” puts overhead and profit lines just above
the total in your estimate.
Account Names #67 QuickBooks lets you use nearly any account name. Job Cost
Wizard does the same. You select account names in the
QuickBooks Options dialog box.
We’re using the default account names. These are fine for us.
But you can enter any account name. If you want account
names used in Contractors' Guide to QuickBooks Pro, click the
big button.
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Topic Dialog
Exporting to QuickBooks #68 Job Cost Wizard turns estimates into invoices. That's handy.
But it's just the beginning if you use QuickBooks. I’ll switch to
QuickBooks using the Alt and Tab keys.
Notice that this is our estimate number 547. Let's save this
estimate to QuickBooks Pro. I'll click on the Send to
QuickBooks button.
Opening Import Files in I sent estimate number 547, the Stillwel estimate, to
QuickBooks #69 QuickBooks. Now jump back into QuickBooks and open that
estimate.
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Topic Dialog
Your Estimate in QuickBooks Choices we made in Job Cost Wizard affect how the estimate
#70 looks in QuickBooks.
You’ll pay bills by category in the item list. A shorter item list
makes it easier to find what you’re looking for when writing
checks.
Progress Billing in QuickBooks One advantage of QuickBooks Pro is progress billing. That's
#71 important on larger jobs.
You'll want to send invoices that cover just the work done to
date.
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Topic Dialog
Creating an Invoice #72 To turn a QuickBooks estimate into an invoice, click on the
Create Invoice button at the top of the QuickBooks estimate
screen.
We're done except for one thing. This should be invoice 176.
Your Jobs in QuickBooks #73 We've sent out the first invoice in the Stillwel job. Let's see
how QuickBooks is keeping track of expenses and income. I'll
click on Reports, Jobs, Time & Mileage, Job Estimates vs.
Actuals Detail and Bill Stillwel.
Actual costs are zero because we haven't paid any bills yet on
this job.
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Topic Dialog
Don't Worry About Making a QuickBooks is very forgiving. Practice all you want.
Mistake #74 Experiment any way you want. Then delete any estimate or
invoice to remove every trace from QuickBooks. Here's how I
would delete the Stillwel invoice.
With 176 on the screen, I would click Edit and Delete Invoice.
Paying Bills by Cost Category When you pay vendors and subcontractors, the amount paid
#75 is charged to the job and deducted from your bank balance.
Select the correct cost category from the Item list. In this
case, it's the foundations materials.
Click in the amount column and enter the amount paid for
concrete on the Stillwel job.
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Topic Dialog
Creating Payroll by Cost When you write payroll checks, the amount paid is charged to
Category #76 the job and deducted from your bank balance.
Click on Employees.
Under Service Item, select a Lab cost category from the list.
These are labor subtotal costs from your estimate.
Any timesheet can cover work done on several jobs and many
service items. When finished recording time for an employee,
click Save & New.
Click on Employees.
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