Spreadsheet View - ProEstimate

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Spreadsheet View

After you have created a new project and have loaded pay items into the project, you will be able to start building the estimate. Most of the actual estimating will be accomplished on one of two screens: the MAIN ESTIMATE SCREEN (previous chapter) or the SPREADSHEET SCREEN (Figure 1, below). In this section we discuss the layout and options available on this screen. From this screen you can perform all actions related to building and completing an estimate.

Figure 1

Figure 1 shows a portion of the Main Spreadsheet Screen. To access this screen, press the SPREADSHEET button on the Main Estimate Screen. NOTE: If you have entered categories for the pay items AND you have the project set up to sort based on the categories, then the spreadsheet window will be sorted and subtotaled based on the categories as show in Figure 1.

Some of the Options available on this screen are listed below:

Pay Item Note

To enter or edit a pay item note, right click on the desired pay item and select “Pay Item Note” from the menu. The pay item number will be in BLUE if the pay item has a note. Also, if you move your mouse over the pay item number, a tooltip will be displayed informing you that there is a pay item note.

Tasks

Any pay items that have tasks will be shown with a gray background. You cannot enter prices for these items; you can only change the task prices. To display a list of tasks for a pay item, double click the pay item number or description.

Take-Off Quantity

Any pay item that has a take-off quantity entered will be shown in RED text if the take-off quantity is less than the pay quantity and in GREEN text if the take-off quantity is more than the pay quantity. Also, if you move your mouse over the quantity, a tooltip will be displayed informing you that there is a take-off quantity.

Pricing Sheet

If a pay item has a pricing sheet attached, it will be listed with a GREEN background. To edit the pricing sheet, click the Right Mouse Button and select “Pricing Sheet.”

** RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON **
On most spreadsheet screens in ProEstimate Heavy you can press the right mouse button to display a list of available menu options. On the Main Spreadsheet Screen, the right mouse button is used extensively. Note also that the options on the Right Mouse Menu will change depending on the column in which the cursor is located (for example, the Sales Tax option will only be available if the cursor is located in either the Material or Supply column).

NOTE: If alternates are set up for the current job, the pay item and description for any alternates will be displayed in a different color. This is used to notify the user which items are alternates. Note that if an alternate is not selected, unit prices CAN still be entered on this screen, BUT those unit prices will NOT be included in any job totals, unless and until the Alternate is selected. (See the section titled "Using Alternates" in the Advanced Options chapter for more information on setting up and selecting alternates.)