• Think of the ESTIMATE as the creation of your workflow that will ultimately be manipulated to send out as a job estimate to your clients.

Table of Contents

Click on any of the titles below to navigate directly to related information or scroll down to view the entire page. 

Find Estimate

List Estimate

View Estimate

Add Estimate

Estimate Status

Estimate Updates and Revisions

Printing an Estimate

Copy an Estimate

Find Estimate

List Estimates

The list view displays multiple rows of records from the module selected.

• Selecting, Sorting, and Printing are the primary actions taken from a list view.
• The number of rows in the found set is displayed just below the header.
  • The system default is usually set to show only 25 rows which can be changed in the admin section.
  • If a search of the module results in more than 25 records, a double arrow button with page numbers will be show above the column headings. This allows paging through the records.

You have the ability to sort through the list to present the information in a more meaningful fashion.

• Always remove the previous sort order by clicking on the eraser icon to avoid confusion.
• Click on the column header you want to sort by and you will see a ascending or descending arrow.
  • To change the direction of the sort, click on the column header.
  • To sort by multiple columns click on each column you would like to search by.
    • For example, you can sort by company type, then alphabetize within the company type by clicking on the company name column.

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View Estimate

• Each View permits the user to see related information.
  • Selection of the Contact icon will display all of the employees for the contact's company.
  • Selection of the Notes icon will display all notes that have been made for the individual within the system.
    

• Try selecting a contact. Then select the company name on the contact details page to navigate back to the company detail page. This is an example of navigation using internal related links.

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Add Estimate

You can add a company to your system from a number of different areas. 

• Click on Add Estimate from the estimate module dropdown.
• Click on Add Job from the job module dropdown and it will also take you to the estimate add page.
• Click on the Add Estimate icon on either the contact or company detail page.
• Click on Add Job or Add Estimate on the project detail page.

The add estimate page is used to enter information relevant to the estimate and job.

• Add the estimate/job name.
• The estimate/job number will be assigned by the system.
• Select the contact at the client company that is the contact for the estimate and job.
• The description field should provide an overview of the estimate and will be used on the estimate print out, docket bag print out, and ultimately on the invoice.
• A good description will not need to be re-written for any of these uses.
• Select the estimate type from the drop down menu.
• If the desired type is not available it can be added it to the job type list from the list maintenance section in Admin.
• The estimate status must be set topreliminary or active to create a job.
• Select the Client Service Representative (CSR) at your company who is responsible for this job.
• Create the phases for the estimate/job and hit submit.

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There are two components within the system that are often referred to as estimate status.

• Estimate status refers to the active status of the specific estimate.
• Prospect is the status of an estimate created for a prospect who is not yet an active client.
• Active is the status of an estimate that has been created for a client.
• The status of an estimate will always remain active even once a job is invoiced and/or completed.
• Historical is the status of an estimate that has had a revision created to it.
• The active revision will have the revision number following the estimate name (i.e. r2)
• The historical estimate is save to refer back to but cannot be reactivated.

• The estimate approval status is viewed on the estimate detail page for tracking approval.
• In review means that the estimate is still being created or is under internal review.
• Submitted means that the estimate has been submitted to the client.
• Approved means the estimate has been approved by the client and work can begin.
• Declined means that the estimate was declined and the job did not move forward.
• Using the approval status' is not manditory and does not affect the system in any way other than providing a tracking system that is searchable.

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Estimate Updates and Revisions

To navigate to the Update Estimate page just go to the appropriate estimate detail page and click on the update estimate icon -- mid screen on the right hand side.

• The update estimate page is used to control the estimate and its values. 
• Add and delete phases and services.
• Input hours and dollars for the estimate services.
• Enter phase descriptions for use on all printouts.
• Change the rates charged.
• Add and delete phases and services.
• Input hours and dollars for the estimated services.
• Changing the estimate name or description will update the job name/description to match.
• Edit Phase Descriptions.
• For each of the phases, add a description that properly defines the actions taken during the phase of the docket.
• Select submit when complete.
• Adjust the services available in a phase by adding or deleting service items. 
• Adding Phases.
• Select the add phase icon.
• The Phase List will appear on the screen.
• Select the phase to be added.
• Click submit in the top right.
• The phase will now be added to the estimate and will be visible on the update estimate page.
• Adding Services to a Phase.
• Select the phase that requires the additional service.
• This is done by selecting the radio button in the orange bar that represents the phase.
• The Service Find page will be presented
• Select the type of service desired (internal service, internal expense, external expense)
• Click on the Find icon and the Service List will come up.
• Using the check box icon on the right hand side, select the services desired
• Click the submit button in the upper right and the service will be added to the estimate under the previously selected phase.
• Deleting a Phase.
• Click the delete button in the orange panel that represents the phase.
• If there are no related time or expense entries the phase will be deleted.
• Deleting a Service.
• There are two ways to delete a service. One at a time or by selecting multiple items and deleting them at once.
• One at a time:
• Click on the round x icon adjacent to the service on the right hand side. If there are no related time or expense entries the service will be deleted.
• Or, Click on the checkbox of the service you want to delete and when you hit submit for the estimate any service checked off will be deleted.
• Delete multiple items at once:
• Select the items to be deleted using the check box icon adjacent to the service and hit submit for the estimate.
• Or, click on the word delete to automatically select all services with no values to delete.
• The top level delete will select all zero value services in the entire estimate.
• The phase level delete will select all services within the phase with zero values to delete.
• The section level delete will select all zero value services within that section only to delete.
• Please note that only services or expenses that don't have related data will be able to be deleted.
• If a service has related data (i.e. a timesheet or expense) you will need to delete these before proceeding.
• Assigning Values to an Estimate.
• To adjust the values present on an estimate, fill in the estimated number of hours, quantity or dollar value associated with the services.
• The rate applied to the estimate can also be changed. Select the submit button and the extended calculation will show under the total column.
• Click on the $ with people icon to select specific individuals (and their rates) for the estimate.
• These values can be turned into tasks by creating a timeline to the estimate from the brief section of the system.
• Using Override Values on Estimates.
• An override column exists on the Update Estimate page.
• This field can be used to adjust the calculated amounts typically assigned.
• Enter the desired dollar value and select the submit icon.
• If you want to save historical versions of the same estimate, remember to create a revision for the estimate rather than updating.
• Creating a revision will save the existing one as historical and update it with a current revision number.
• You cannot go backwards on revisions - once a revision has been created you will need to either update or create another revision to make any forward or backward changes.

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Printing an Estimate  

• You can print a client facing estimate by clicking on the first printer icon on the estimate detail page.
• Go to the estimate detail page.
• Click on the print estimate icon.
• A PDF will open and the estimate will be presented.
• Save or print as desired.
• An internal estimate can be printed by clicking on the second printer icon.
• This estimate is not intended to be client facing, but has more information for use internally.

Copy an Estimate

• Any estimate in the system can be used as a template for a new estimate by going to the estimate detail page and clicking on the copy estimate icon.
• This is a great tool that can be used to save time creating common job types.
• If your company has some specific job types that you want to copy frequently, we suggest creating a template estimate to be used.
• Just create the estimate with your company as the client with the word Template in the name.
• You can then just search for template in the estimate search page when creating a new job.
• Copy the estimate you want.
• Change the client name to the applicable client and estimate name to an appropriate name.
• Hit submit and you've got your new job.
  

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