Estimate Screen

The Estimate screen is available from the Opportunity screen and allows you to create and edit the cost estimate associated with any contract or work order opportunity.

The screen provides a 3-level hierarchical representation of the price for the opportunity.  The three levels of the hierarchy are:

1. Service Group Level – The service group level is a free-form field that allows you to logically group the services that the company will provide to the customer in support of the opportunity. New groups can be added and removed at will. Groups can be displayed on the printed proposals if desired to provide clarity for the customers. System administrators can work with the AspireCare team to define the proposal layouts and determine whether they should display groups. For contracts, a special group called Optional Services is provided as the last group in the estimate.
2. Service – The service level specifies the services that you propose providing to the customer for the work order or contract.
3. Items – The items level identifies the individual cost components for providing the service.  For example, to provide a certain service, the company might require certain hours of labor, various materials, and perhaps a piece of equipment to support the work.  Each item is listed under the service for which it is required. Kit items may be created in the item catalog that combines multiple items into a single item that you can add to an estimate – thus adding all related items simultaneously.

When you initially enter the Estimate screen for a contract or work order that you initiated without selecting an opportunity template, the hierarchy is empty as shown in the following:

Totals Area

A Totals area is displayed at the bottom of the Estimate screen. The Totals area can be set to display only Gross Margin by selecting the Show Only Gross Margin on Estimating Screen option on the Application tab of the Application Configuration screen.  The values in the Totals area update as services and items are added to the estimate or associated values are modified. The Totals area can either float so that it is always visible while scrolling through the estimate, or it can be fixed at the bottom of the estimate so that it can be scrolled off the screen. This behavior is determined by the setting of the Show Floating Totals Window on the Estimate Screen checkbox on the Customizations tab of the User screen which can be set by the individual user who is logged in. The Gross Margin value displayed in this area typically displays gross margin based on the following formula:

Net Gross Margin (%) = (Total Rev - (Labor Cost + Material Cost + Equipment Cost + Other Cost + Sub Cost)) / (Total Rev)

For some companies, it may be desirable to exclude subcontractor costs from the total revenue in the denominator. A Show Gross Margin Less Sub on Estimating Screen option is available to represent gross margin using the following formula:

Net Gross Margin (%) = (Total Rev - (Labor Cost + Material Cost + Equipment Cost + Other Cost + Sub Cost)) / (Total Rev – Sub Cost)

Estimated sales tax can be displayed in the Totals area for completed estimates by enabling the system parameter, Display Tax on Estimate.

Basic Screen Function

In the diagram above, only the group level can be seen because no services have been added yet.  

The diagram below shows that after you type a group name and hit Enter, Aspire adds a row into which you can introduce a service. At this point, we can see two levels of the hierarchy – Routine Maintenance represents a group as does the special group, Optional Services. There is a second level allowing you to add a service. You can only add services that have been defined in the service catalog. Following the label for the group, Aspire displays the Group Notesicon. Clicking this icon displays a dialog allowing you to enter a description for that group. This description may be included in proposal layouts.

If you put the cursor in the Add a Service field and begin typing, Aspire will show the available services whose names contain the text you have typed so far. You can select one of the items in the list by clicking it or using the down arrow to select an option and pressing the Enter key.

Once a service is added, Aspire provides a place for you to add an item as shown in the diagram below: 

Unlike a service that must be defined in the service catalog before it can be added to an estimate, a catalog item can optionally be created on the fly. In the diagram above, we have typed weed into the Item field. Aspire displays a list of matching items from the item catalog from which you may simply select an item from the drop-down list. Additionally, it provides an option at the top titled New One Time Item. Selecting this option displays a window that guides you through adding a one-time item that is not stored in the item catalog.

When you are selecting an item to add to the estimate, Aspire provides a Search icon that displays the Catalog Item Search screen giving access to more advanced item filtering and selection capabilities. 

The Catalog Item Search screen assists you in selecting multiple items that will be added to the estimate. Currently, you can filter equipment, labor, material, kits, sub, and items categorized as Other. You can select or deselect items by clicking the checkbox next to each item.

Filtering – The top row of the grid provides a search that can be used to narrow the displayed items making identification and selection of items easier. As you select items and change the filter, all selections are maintained and the selection counter continues to increment even when some previously selected items are no longer visible in the selection area. If you place the cursor into one of the filter fields and begin typing, you will see the drop-down list of available options being filtered as you type. To narrow down the displayed items, you may either type a few characters and select an item from the drop-down list, enter a few characters and press the TAB or ENTER keys, or click the Filter icon to narrow the list based on items that contain the specified string. If a filter is specified, the Clear icon appears next to the filter value. Clicking the Clear icon clears the filter.

When you are done selecting items to add to the estimate, clicking Save re-displays the Estimate screen with the new items added. 

Generally, it is best practice to fully define the item catalog and avoid creating one-time items. This will help to ensure that different estimators in the company are consistent because standard information is included with the items in the item catalog. One-time items are typically used for uncommon plant material that the company does not want in the item catalog.

Additional information on estimating practices is provided in the topics under Estimating.

The Estimate screen has subtle differences depending on whether the opportunity is a contract or a work order. We will look first at the Estimate screen for a work order, and then note the differences for a contract.