Edit manually entered estimate items and work items

Work items imported into an estimate from a cost database and manually entered items share much of the same detail form. These items can have a combination of pricing broken down by resource type: Material (M), Labor (L), Equipment (E), Subcontractor (S), and Other (O). For material items, L/E/S/O resources are not used.

Conversion factors and unit of measure

Each resource has a conversion factor and unit of measure, such as SF, FT, LF, and so on. If the item's unit of measure is the same as the resource's, the conversion factor is set to one (1). This is typical for M/S/O resources. If the item's unit differs from the resource's, the conversion factor adjusts cost and sell accordingly. For example, L/E resources will typically have units in hours, days, or weeks, which is different from the item's unit. You can use the labor and equipment productivity calculator to calculate the conversion factor and cost/sell rates for both resources.

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

Cost and sell rates

For materials, subcontractor, and other resources, there's only one cost rate. However, for labor and equipment resources the cost rate is broken down into Base Cost and Burden. Sell rate might originate from the cost rate and be modified according to the selected markup option.

The sell rate must never be lower than the cost rate.

Markup option Description Example
Lumpsum A fixed markup amount is added to the cost rate.

If the cost rate is $100 and the lump sum markup is $20, then the sell rate is $120.
Manual You enter the sell rate directly. If the cost rate is $100, you manually enter $130 in the sell rate field.
Margin Percentage

Sets the sell price so that a specified profit margin is achieved. The margin is calculated as follows:

margin = (sell rate - cost rate) / sell rate

If the cost rate is $100 and the margin is 20%, then the sell rate is calculated as follows:

sell rate = cost rate / (1 - margin) = $100 / (1 - 20/100) = $125

Percentage A percentage over the cost rate. For example, cost rate x (1 + % markup).

If the cost rate is $100 and the markup is 15%, then the sell rate is calculated as follows:

sell rate = $100 x 1.15 = $115

Same as Cost The sell rate is equal to the cost rate. If the cost rate is $100, then the sell rate is also $100.

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

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. Sage Construction Management uses internally the following formula for conversion:

  • 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
If the labor unit is blank or does not match hours, days, weeks, or months, then the calculated labor hours are set to zero (0). The same logic applies to calculated equipment hours.

Open the estimate item details page

  1. Go to Leads or Projects and select the lead or project in the Quick Select section.
  2. On the Lead or Project Home page, select Estimates in the Preconstruction section.
  3. Select the estimate number or title from the list.
  4. Select View Estimate.
  5. Within the estimate, select the Items tab.

Edit individual work items

  1. Optionally, select the cost code in the Group Filter dropdown to narrow the results.
  2. Select Manually Entered Items or Work Items in the Special Filter dropdown.
  3. Select the edit icon next to the estimate item that needs to be updated.
  4. Review or update the Cost Code, Description, Quantity, and Unit.
    Optionally, the quantity can be calculated using a formula.

  5. Review or update the conversion factor, waste percentage, unit of measure, cost rates, and sell rates for the five resources (M, L, E, S, and O).

    If the item is strictly material, the material (M) conversion factor is typically set to one (1), and the unit of measure must match the item's unit. All other resources (L, E, S, and O) have their conversion factor and cost and sell rates set to zero (0). The same approach can apply to subcontracted items, where only the subcontractor (S) resource is updated.

    Sell rates display on the proposal and are usually the same as the cost rates. However, they might be higher if you apply a percentage or dollar amount markup above the cost rate. The sell rate must never be lower than the cost rate.

  6. Optionally, select the Manufacturer Info tab and review or update the manufacturer related information, such as the Manufacturer, Manufacturer Catalog #, UPC, and so on.
  7. Optionally, select the Comments tab and review or update RFP Package, Proposal, and Internal Comment fields.
  8. Select Save & Close to update the item.

Next step: Optionally, after saving your updates, use the labor and equipment productivity calculator to set the corresponding conversion factors and rates.

Edit multiple items

  1. Optionally, select the cost code in the Group Filter dropdown to narrow the results.
  2. Select Manually Entered Items or Work Items in the Special Filter dropdown.
  3. To determine which fields will display in the table and thus can be updated, select one of the following views in the dropdown:
    • Total
    • Cost Rates
    • Materials
    • Labor
    • Equipment
    • Sub
    • Other
    • Formula
    • Assembly
    • Comments
  4. Select Edit.
  5. Review or update the Description, Quantity, and Unit.
  6. Depending on the selected view, review or update available fields such as conversion factor, waste percentage, unit of measure, and cost and sell rates for the relevant resource.

    If the item is strictly material, the material (M) conversion factor is typically set to one (1), and the unit of measure must match the item's unit. All other resources (L, E, S, and O) have their conversion factor and cost and sell rates set to zero (0). The same approach can apply to subcontracted items, where only the subcontractor (S) resource is updated.

    Sell rates display on the proposal and are usually the same as the cost rates. However, they might be higher if you apply a percentage or dollar amount markup above the cost rate. The sell rate must never be lower than the cost rate.

  7. Select Save.

Posted January 23, 2026 © 2025 The Sage Group plc or its affiliates ("Sage") or its licensors. All trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Use of non-Sage trademarks is not an endorsement of any person or product.