Details:

 

The major components of estimate files are listed below:

 

Structure:

 

Area and System Folders - An estimate file is separated into Areas and Systems using a tree folder structure.

 

This enables the estimator to breakout the job into manageable sections with Areas such as Mechanical Room, East Wing, First Floor, Network, etc and into Systems such as AHU's, Boilers, Fan Coil Units, Access Doors, etc.

 

Material:

 

The commonly used fields of part number, price, description, and quantity are used. There are also several additional aspects to handling material lists:

 

Automatic pricing updates - Material databases are maintained and supplied by ICS to keep your pricing and other material attributes current.

 

PDF data sheets - Up to 4 separate PDF data sheets can be associated with each part in the database. Assists in the automation of submittal creation and allows for quick retrieval of item information.

 

Filters - Additional search descriptions are added to items to provide a consistent and simple process to find the parts you are looking for.

 

Points Data - I/O Point information can be added to parts to populate schedules, provide accurate point counts and reports and correctly select equipment (controllers, etc)

 

Labor:

 

There are up to 19 individual labor task categories available.

 

Labor can be applied at the System-level (EG: AHU), at the Item-level (EG: Duct Sensor) or by using a combination of both. Typically office labor can be estimated using a System-level approach, and field labor can be estimated using an Item-level approach.

 

Templates

 

Cost Templates - The software relies on underlying templates that contain the site information for office rates, field rates, subcontracting rates, expenses, overhead and miscellaneous costs.

 

These templates are maintained centrally by the Site Administrator and all operators of the software inherit these values automatically.

 

Data Entry:

 

There are several techniques to quickly and accurately build the Bill of Materials for the project:

 

Core Database - A short list of standard parts lets you quickly find what you need.

 

Libraries - Pre-Built standard Systems can be easily shared throughout the office. Standard Systems provide consistency, accuracy, estimating speed and reduced project costs.

 

Copy/Paste - Re-use previously created Areas and Systems from past jobs to reduce data entry time.

 

Kits/Assemblies - Similar to standard Systems, these pre-built assemblies provide consistency, accuracy and estimating speed.

 

Labor Adjustments:

 

No two jobs are exactly alike, so Enterprise© gives you the ability to quickly and accurately make adjustments to the values so that you can be fully confident in your final bid value.

 

Global -Used for adjustments that impact the entire estimate.

 

Area - Used for adjustments that impact a specific area only (Example: Mechanical Room).

 

System - Used for adjustments that impact a specific system only (Example: Air Handling Unit).

 

Repetition - A consistent and proven adjustment can be made to accommodate the need to estimate many typical systems of the same type. Intuitively, it is understood that performing the same task many times results in a decrease in labor required, this Learning Curve adjustment easily and accurately calculates this decrease. (Example: VAV Box - typical of 50)

 

Reports:

 

Whether you are reviewing your own estimate or reviewing a co-worker's work, accessing any of the 60+ reports will quickly allow you to understand exactly what's contained in the estimate and sometimes more importantly, what is NOT.

 

Summary - These are concise reports used to quickly understand the general contents of the estimate. (Sample: Report 100)

 

Detail - These are more information-rich reports used to understand the specific details of the various aspects of the estimate. (Sample: Report 230)

 

Custom - As an organization, you can create your own custom list of reports. This single, consistent approach is often useful for management when reviewing estimates from multiple estimators.

 

Exports:

 

With the estimate complete, there are many ways to leverage this information to assist with other aspects of the project and of your business.

 

Valve, Damper and Point Schedules - These schedules are automatically created in Excel based on the material that has been entered during the estimating process.

 

Financial Details - A customized financial export in Excel can be automatically populated. This can be used to synchronize your estimating software with your accounting software, to become part of your booking process, or for turnover to operations.

 

Email - Your estimate can be emailed directly out of the software to co-workers for review or editing.

 

Proposal - A customized Word document can be automatically populated directly from the estimate file to create a Proposal document that you can send to your clients.

 

Excel - A customized Excel file can be exported with the parts list details for the estimate. This can be done by system or for the entire project.

 

Booking - A comprehensive booking package can be completed and exported.

 

Customization:

 

This is your opportunity to design your own estimating solution. Reduce your learning time and increase the adoption rate by customizing the tool to the unique needs of your office(s).

 

Prior to a full rollout in your company, ICS will work with you to determine the exact setup that works best. Certain features and options may not be required, so you can disable and hide these aspects of the program, resulting in a tailored software solution.

 

Just some examples of what can be customized:

 

Terminology - Edit the labor categories, labor tasks, material category descriptions, industry jargon and a host of other descriptions so that the software screens, reports and exports all match the unique terminology that your company is accustomed to using.

 

Library Search - Modify the search descriptions to match your industry and/or how your company describes its standard systems.

 

Features - After 20+ years of progressive development, this software has practically every feature you could want, but you may not necessarily need them all. You can hide and remove any aspect of the program you've deemed unnecessary. This way only the relevant and useful elements, as determined by you, will be made available.