Item Templates can be thought of as price lists that at the same time provide a structure for an estimate. In this tutorial we will create an Estimate template and then use it to prepare an estimate. Please note that Estimate Templates are different from the Job Templates.
Step 1. Click Estimate Templates in the Lookups section.
Step 2. Click New in the Template section of the ribbon to add a new Item Template.
Step 3. Enter the name for the template and press Save.
Step 4. Now we will need to add headings and items to the template. Click Insert > Heading in the ribbon to add a heading. Then enter the heading name.
Step 5. Add items under the heading.
Step 6. To create an item with a composite rate, add a new line by enter the name (or any other field) and then click '...'.
Step 7. In the opened window, fill in the rest of the fields as required and click Composite. That will show a table with the items that constitute the edited rate.
Step 8. Select an item to include in the rate from the drop-down list.
Step 9. The system will add the item name, unit of measure and rate to the table.
Step 10. Enter a quantity for the item.
Step 11. Add the rest of the items. The composite rate is displayed at the bottom. Click OK to save the item.
Step 12. The composite rate is displayed with the blue colour.
Step 13. Once completed the list, click Save.
Let's use the template we have just created to prepare the estimate for a new job.
Step 1. Start a new job, open the estimate, and click Add from Template
Step 2. Select the estimate template we have just defined from the dropdown list in the ribbon. This template will be associated with the job in the future.
Step 3. The template content will be loaded in the window.
Step 4. Tick the items that you would like to include in the estimate and click Add.
Step 5. The items will be placed in the estimate with all their headings to preserve the structure defined in the template.
Step 6. Click Add from Template again and pull some more items into the estimate.
Step 7. The new lines were placed in accordance with their position in the template.
Step 8. An item can be also added from the drop-down in the template column. Only the items that appear under the respective heading in the estimate template will appear in the dropdown. In this example, only the items that are under Equipment heading in the template will be listed.
Step 9. This is the item that was added using the drop-down.
After a template item has been modified, it is possible to update the estimate to reflect the changes.
Step 1. Change a rate.
Step 2. The dependent rate was recalculated.
Step 3. Save the changes. That will not change the existing estimates that use the modified template items.
Step 4. Tick the items that you want to update and click Update Rates.
Step 5. Confirm applying the changes. The rate, unit and resource type will be updated. The name and code will remain the same even if they have been changed in the template.
Step 6. The changes have been applied.
Step 7. Alternatively, you can update a single item by opening the drop-down in the Template column and clicking Update.
