Manually entered items and work items

Work Items that have been imported into an estimate from a cost database share the same details form as Manually Entered Items. These items can have a combination of pricing broken down by resource type: Material (M), Labor (L), Equipment (E), Sub (S), and Other (O). For material items, L/E/S/O resources are not be used.

Resource (M/L/E/S/O) conversion factors and rate fields

Conversion Factors and Unit of Measure:

Each resource has a conversion factor and unit of measure (eg. SF, FT, LF etc). The resource unit of measure may or may not be the same as the item unit of measure. When it is the same such as often for M/S/O resources, the conversion factor is set to one (1). However, L/E resources will typically have units in hours, days or weeks that is different from the item unit. When this occurs, the Labor and Equipment Productivity Calculator can be used to calculate the conversion factor and cost/sell rates for both resources.

Cost and Sell Rates:

For materials, sub and other resources, there is only one cost rate. However, for labor and equipment resources the cost rate is broken down into Base and Burden. Sell Price Rates or proposal rates are often equal to the cost rates. However, they can be higher using a percentage or dollar amount markup above the Cost Rate. The Sell Price Rate should never be lower than the Cost Rate.

Resource Quantity:

  • M Qty = M Conv. Factor * (1 + M Waste) * Estimate Item Qty
  • L/E/S/O Qty = L/E/S/O Conv. Factor * Estimate Item Qty

Rates and totals per the work item unit of measure

Total Cost Rate:

  • M Cost Rate Per WI Units = M Conv. Factor * (1 + M Waste %) * M Base Cost Rate
  • L/E Cost Rate Per WI Units = L/E Conv. Factor * (L/E Base Cost Rate + L/E Burden Cost Rate)
  • S/O Cost Rate Per WI Units = S/O Conv. Factor * S/O Base Cost Rate

Total Sell/Proposal Rate:

  • M Sell Rate Per WI Units = M Conv. Factor * (1 + M Waste) * M Sell Rate
  • L/E/S/O Sell Rate Per WI Units = L/E/S/O Conv. Factor * L/E/S/O Sell Rate

Total Cost and Sell:

  • M/L/E/S/O Cost Total = M/L/E/S/O Cost Rate Per Work Item Units * Estimate Item Qty
  • M/L/E/S/O Sell Total = M/L/E/S/O Sell Rate Per Item Units * Estimate Item Qty

Calculated Labor and Equipment Hours:

The estimate item labor and equipment hours are calculated based on the respective resource unit field. The units can be either hours, days, weeks, or months. The formula that Sage Construction Management use internally for conversion is as follows.

  • 1 Hour = 1 Hour
  • 1 Day = 8 Hours (work hours)
  • 1 Week = 5 Days (work days) * 8 Hours = 40 Hours
  • 1 Month = 22 Days (work days) * 8 Hours = 176 Hours

Note: If the labor unit is blank or does not match hours, days, weeks, or months then calculated labor hours is set to zero (0). Same logic applies to calculated equipment hours.

Edit work items on the estimate item details page

  1. Within the Estimate, click the Estimate Items tab at the top.
  2. Optional: Select the Cost Code to filter the listing.
  3. Click the Special Filter drop-down shown to the right of Cost Code and select Manually Entered Items or Work Items.
  4. Navigate to the Estimate Item that needs to be updated.
  5. Click the pencil icon to the left of the Item #.
  6. Review/Update the Item Description, Quanity and Unit.
    Optional: The quantity can be calculated using a Formula.
  7. Review/Update the conversion factor, waste percentage (i.e. 5 = 5%), unit of measure, and cost/sell rates for the five resources: M/L/E/S/O.
    Material Note: If the Item is just material, M onversion factor is typically set to one (1) and unit of measure would be the same as the item units. All other resources (L/E/S/O) would have a conversion factor and cost/sell rates set to zero(0). This technique could also apply to subcontracted items where the "S" resource is updated.
    Sell Rate Note: As mentioned above, Sell Rates appear on the Proposal and are usually the same as the Cost Rates. However, they can be higher using a percentage or dollar amount markup above the Cost Rate. The Sell Rate should never be lower than the Cost Rate.
  8. Optional: Click the Manufacturer Info tab and review/update the Manufacturer's Name, UPC, Catalog # etc.
  9. Optional: Click the Comments tab and review/update Request for Pricing (RFP), Customer Proposal and Internal Use Comment fields.
  10. Click the Save And Close to update the item.
  11. Optional: Click the Labor and Equipment Productivity Calculator button to calculate the Labor and Equipment conversion factors and rates. This should be done after other changes have been saved.

Option 2: Edit work items in the estimate grid

  1. Within the Estimate, click the Estimate Items tab at the top.
  2. Optional: Select the Cost Code to filter the listing.
  3. Click the Special Filter drop-down shown to the right of Cost Code and select Manually Entered Items or Work Items.
  4. Select the View: Total, Materials, Labor, Equipment, Sub and Other. This will determine which fields are shown in the grid and thus can be updated.
  5. Click the Edit button to the right of the Choose bulk action button.
  6. Review/Update the Item Description, Quantity and Unit.
  7. Depending on the selected View (see step 4), review/update the conversion factor, waste percentage (i.e. 5 = 5%), unit of measure, and cost/sell rates for the respective resource.
    Material Note: If the Item is just material, the conversion factor is typically set to one (1) and unit of measure would be the same as the item's units. All other resources (L/E/S/O) would have a conversion factor and cost/sell rates set to zero. This technique could also apply to subcontracted items where the "S" resource is updated.
    Sell Rate Note: As mentioned above, Sell Rates appear on the Proposal and are usually the same as the Cost Rates. However, they can be higher using a percentage or dollar amount markup above the Cost Rate. The Sell Rate should never be lower than the Cost Rate.
  8. Click the Save button.