Appendix B - ProEstimate

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Appendix B

*DEFINITIONS AND TERMS*
Average Price	The term “Average” can be defined in a number of different ways. The default average price that Bid Tabs Professional computes is a quantity weighted average. You can also configure the program to compute the straight average or the median price. Each of these terms is explained in more detail below.
Balancing Bid	(Sometimes called Un-Balancing) This is the process of moving overhead and/or profit from one pay item to another.
Categories	(Not to be confused with Material Category or Work Category) "Categories" are pay items grouped together by either the estimator or the bidding authority. Typical categories which some states use to group pay items are as follows: Grading Items, Bridge Items, Paving Items, and Utility Items.
Category Code	A "Category Code" is a two-digit numeric code which can be entered for each pay item telling the program which category to group each pay item in. See the "Categories" description above for more information.
Calculated Totals	The term "Calculated Totals" is used in the estimating portion of the program to indicate that the prices for a particular pay item were actually calculated by ProEstimate HEAVY. This is the opposite of "Entered Totals," which indicates that the bid prices were entered on the Balance screen by the estimator and were not calculated.
Cost Types	A cost type is one of eight different types of costs used throughout the program. The eight cost types are Labor, Equipment, Material, Supplies, Subcontractors, Indirects, Hauling, and Other Costs.
Database	A "Database" is a grouping of related data or information stored in a disk file. An example of what is contained in a database is the listing of equipment classifications and hourly rates for those equipment classes.
Default	The word "Default" is used throughout the program to refer to a pre-established value or setting that will be used unless the "default" is changed within the project settings screen.
Download	The term "Download" is used in the manual to refer to the procedure of copying a file or files from ProEstimate HEAVY to a disk or a spreadsheet file.
Entered Totals	The term "Entered Totals" is used in the estimating portion of the program to indicate that the prices entered for a particular pay item were entered on the Balance screen and were not calculated. This is the opposite of "Calculated Totals" which indicates that the numbers were actually calculated by the program.
Environment	The "Environment" for a particular job is all of the settings used to define how the job is to be bid. Examples of environment settings include: mark-up, sales tax, fuel prices, labor rates, DBE goals, etc.
Field	The term "Field" is used to describe a location where information is to be entered on the screen. Example: When the password is requested at the start of the program, the password is entered into the password field.
Freeze	This term is used to describe the effect of locking (freezing) a certain number of columns on the left side of the screen so they will always be visible. This option is used on spreadsheet-style screens. If the screen is scrolled to the right to allow more columns to be displayed, the "frozen" columns will remain visible.
Function Keys	The "Function Keys" are the special keys on the computer keyboard that are labeled F1 through F10. These keys are either across the top of the keyboard (above the number keys) or on the left side of the keyboard. These keys can be used throughout the program. In addition to pressing the function keys, some options are accessed by pressing (and holding down) the Shift key then pressing a function key (SHIFT-F1 will display the current system date and time).
Library	The term "Library" is sometimes used in referring to the Crew Database. A library is the same thing as a database.
Location Code	A "Location Code" is a three-character field used in the subcontractor database to enable subcontractors to mark which area or region the sub performs work.
Mark-Up	"Mark-up" is used to signify the three types of mark-ups used within the program: Overhead, Profit, and Other Mark-Up.
Mark-Up Set	A "Mark-up Set" is a series or group of mark-ups that can be linked to a specific pay item or group of pay items. There can be up to eight (8) mark-up sets defined for any one job (the Main or Default mark-up and seven (7) Alternate Mark-Ups). There are two types of mark-up sets: one only applies to Subcontractor costs; the other applies to all the other types of costs (labor, equipment, material, supplies, and other costs).
Median Price	The median price is simply the middle price in a series of numbers. For example, the median price in the sample series {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} is 3.
Minority	The term "Minority" is used throughout the program to refer to both DBE's and WBE's. Since the Federal Government no longer makes any distinction between the two, neither does ProEstimate HEAVY.
Non-Standard Items	Some states utilize non-standard pay items. The same pay item number may be used on a different project with a different description and unit of measure. They are unlike standard pay items, which are unique pay items that do not change from project to project.
Pay Items	A "Pay Item" is an item of work the owner will pay for. However, there can be numerous work activities (or tasks) that take place under one pay item. (See Tasks.)
Phases	Phases are similar to Categories in that they are pay items grouped together by the estimator. You can easily sub-total the project by categories, phases or both.
Plug Prices	"Plug Prices" are unit prices entered for a pay item that are not calculated from task information. Plug prices are made up of any or all of the the five different cost types (Labor, Equipment, Material, Subs, and Other Costs).
Sort Code	A "Sort Code" is a three-digit number that is entered for a pay item. The program can then use the sort code to sort the pay items based on the numeric sequence of sort codes.
Straight Average	The straight average is the arithmetic mean of the unit prices. No additional “weight” is given to any other value. The average is computed by adding up all the unit prices and dividing by the quantity in the sample.
Upload	The term "Upload" is used to refer to the procedure of copying a file or files (up) to ProEstimate HEAVY.
User	A "User" is a person who is using or authorized to use ProEstimate HEAVY.
Weighted Average	A weighted average price is an average of unit prices that have been “weighted” based on the quantity. This means that the items with a higher quantity have more impact on the average than those items with a smaller quantity. The weighted average is computed by adding up the extended prices (unit price times the quantity) and dividing by the total quantity.
Work Category	(Not to be confused with Pay Item Categories or Material Category) A "Work Category" is a class of work like paving, bridge, grading, etc. Work Categories are used in the subcontractor database to mark subs according to the type of work performed.