About takeoffs and estimating

With Sage 100 Contractor 9-5 Takeoffs, estimating is fast, accurate, and fully integrated into scheduling, project management, and accounting. By combining the best features of databases and spreadsheets, we have developed one of the strongest assembly estimating systems available.

Global variables, formulas, and templates make your estimating process easier and more accurate. You can selectively factor in cost increases and lock in prices to prevent accidental edits and add notes for clarity. Microsoft Windows functionality, such as cut, copy, and paste, allows you to import blocks of information from other estimates with just a few mouse clicks. You can even copy and paste an estimating grid into a Microsoft Excel worksheet if that suits your business needs. In addition, you can export assembly estimating notes to change orders, purchase orders, RFPs, subcontracts, and work orders.

The phases and bid items features provide a way to divide jobs and estimates into smaller segments for greater efficiency in project management. Phases, for example, affect and follow through the entire job, including schedules, budgets, all document control, purchase orders, subcontracts, change orders, proposals, project management reports and analysis, job costs, change orders, payables, and billing. Phases can represent different sections of a job and can help you distinguish among different types of work such as change orders or site work. Because phases flow through the entire job, they do not restrict which billing methods you can use.

Bid items, in contrast, only affect estimates and some billing items and do not follow through the entire job. You use bid items to segment an estimate into smaller units and/or to satisfy external requirements for bidding and billing a job. Bid items affect Daily Field Reports, Proposal, and Unitary Billing.

At the time you create a takeoff, Sage 100 Contractor uses the prices for materials from the parts database. When you receive quotes from vendors, you can update the takeoff. In the Vendor Price Update window, you can select the vendor and Sage 100 Contractor displays all the parts contained in a takeoff for that vendor. You can then enter the quoted prices without searching the takeoff for each instance of a particular part. Some contractors receive pricing updates from vendors or part pricing services, which provide updated prices for parts through the parts database. After updating the parts database, you can update prices in a takeoff.

You can control the bid amount on takeoffs by entering a value in the Overridden Bid Totals line. This value overrides all other calculated amounts in the takeoff and locks the estimated amount. While it is locked, the overridden amount remains the same regardless of changes to amounts on the Takeoff Details grid.

About exporting takeoff information

After the takeoff is complete, you can export information to generate budgets, proposals, requests for proposals, purchase orders, service work orders, and more. You can examine and analyze the anticipated project costs through a variety of takeoff reports. In addition, you can even fax them directly to your subcontractors and suppliers without printing them out.

You can create export notes for a takeoff in the Export Notes column, and then you can export them to change orders, purchase orders, requests for proposals, subcontracts, and work orders. You can create the notes for each line item in your takeoff, and use them to communicate important job information to vendors, subcontractors, suppliers, and clients.

You can also export a takeoff as a template, which removes the association with a particular job. You can then activate and inactivate bid items as needed, and assign the takeoff template to other jobs.