General Navigation

This section explores the layout of InEight Estimate.

As a new user to the InEight, the First-time sign in dialog box opens when you first sign in, and presents questions about your working environment in the Project Suite environment. Preferences are set for language, date, and number formats and the User Agreement, which you must accept before you begin. The First-time sign in dialog boxes only show for the initial sign-in to any of the InEight products.

Step by Step — Estimate preferences setup

  1. Select your preferred language, and then click Next.

  2. Scroll to the bottom of the user agreement, and then select the check box for the terms and conditions and privacy policy. Click Next.

    Make sure you have scrolled to the end of the user agreement

  3. Select a date format and number format, and then click Next.

Estimate first time access

Platform’s primary function lets you connect and share data between all Eight applications involved in managing a project. This allows project management workflows to pass between jobsite, field office, and front office seamlessly in a consistent and standardized user interface.

Step by Step — Launch Estimate

  1. After selecting a project from the home page, you can access Estimate from the Main menu in Platform by selecting Estimate, or by clicking Launch on the Estimate tile.

  2. When you select Estimate from the home page for the first time, you must click Download to access the Estimate Launcher file.

    • The EstimateLauncher.msi file shows.

    • Opening the EstimateLauncher.msi file opens the InEight Estimate Launcher Setup window.

  3. Select Open, and then click Next to start the one-time Estimate Launcher download. Afterwards, you will be able to open Estimate from the Main menu or the home page.

  4. Click Finish to complete the Estimate Launcher Setup installation.

  5. Select Estimate again to start the Estimate Launcher, which extracts the required files to launch the Estimate application.

After setting up your Estimate preferences and installing the Estimate launcher, you can begin using Estimate.

Step by Step — Estimate subsequent use

  1. Launch Estimate by selecting Estimate from the Main menu.

  • Estimate in the cloud looks and functions much like the Estimate on-premise version. For example, opening a job from the landing page brings you to the Cost Breakdown Structure register, or the register designated as the start page in the application settings.

 

Backstage View

InEight Estimate opens to the Backstage view. You can also get to the Backstage view from other tabs, by selecting the File tab.

Section

Description

1

From the Start page you have the option to create, open or save a project, or close all jobs that are open.

2

You access the Library or open the Jobs page to go to the Job Register, Compare Jobs, delete a job, or do a Primavera Batch Sync.

3

  • Templates allows you to create Job templates.

  • You can create job snapshots or access previously created snapshots in the Snapshot Register.

  • You can also archive or back up and restore job folders.

4

Settings allows you to customize options such as General settings, Account Code settings, Timesheet Warehouse settings, Licenses and Currency settings.

5

From the Open a recent Job section of the Start page, you can open the Training job or click More to open your list of jobs.

6

You have the option of creating a new job from scratch, a template, from an existing job, or using the Bid Wizard.

Overview – Backstage View

Archive / Restore

From the Backstage View, you can back up and restore your jobs using the Archive/Restore feature.

Step by Step — Archive and Restore a Job

  1. Click File to open the Backstage View.

  2. Select Archive / Restore.

    • Several options appear for archiving and restoring your jobs and library

  3. Select Archive Job.

    • The Job Register appears

  4. Select the Training Job, then click OK.

  5. When prompted to include attachments, click Yes.

    • The Save As window appears

  6. Browse to where you want to save the job, then click Save.

  7. To restore the job, select Restore Job Archive from the Archive / Restore page of the Backstage View.

  8. Browse to the archived job and select it.

  9. Click Open.

    • If the job already exists, a prompt will appear asking if you want to overwrite it

      • To overwrite it, select Yes

      • If you select No, you will be prompted to save it under a new Job Code

Settings

From the Settings in the Backstage view, you can adjust some system settings:

  • General Settings

  • Default Job Start page

  • Decimal Precision

  • Language

Prompt to Save

An important setting to visit in the Tools menu is Prompt to Save. InEight Estimate does not automatically save your work. Instead, it will prompt you to save as often as you specify in the general settings.

Decimal Precision

The Decimal Precision setting is also helpful. This is where you can specify the way your numbers display in the system. For example, you may want your costs to display to the hundredth decimal place (2), and your quantities to display as whole numbers with nothing to the right of the decimal (0).

Changing decimal precision does not affect the way your numbers are calculated.

Open a Job Folder

From the Backstage view, you can open a job folder by selecting Start. This opens the Start page, where if you see your job, simply click on it to open it. If it’s not showing, click on More… and select the job from the Job Register. The Job Register is the form that lists all of your existing job folders so you can select the one you need.

Step by Step — Open a Job Folder

  1. From the Backstage view, under the Open a recent Job section, double click on your job.

  2. The job folder opens by default to the Cost Breakdown Structure Register.

    You can change the default form that opens when you start up a job. From the Backstage view, click on Settings to change the Job Startup > Start Page settings.

Common Navigation

Access the common navigation slide-out panel by selecting the main menu located on the top left side of the Estimate page. This feature provides a common navigation user experience that is shared amongst all InEight products. The primary intent of this navigation menu is to provide a consistent InEight product experience, with similar Project Suite graphical interfaces, while working within multiple InEight products.

Estimate's on-premise software is authenticated by your Windows login credentials, which is shown below the main menu.

Help Bubbles

Help bubbles appear at various times in InEight Estimate, including the first time you open InEight Estimate. These messages contain important information to clarify key functions in the system.

You can dismiss the message until the next time by closing it with the X in the corner or dismiss it permanently by clicking the Never offer this help again link.

Data Map

Found in the Price tab, the Data Map is a great way to view a high level summary of your estimate and can be accessed at any time during the estimating process. You can see totals of direct costs, indirect costs, profit, and overall bid price.

InEight Estimate Layout

The layout of InEight Estimate is workflow based. You will move from left to right on the tabs as you enter your data for the project and work on developing your estimate.

Overview - Setup Tab

Section

Description

1

Initialize

From the initialize section, you can access the following registers. Job Properties is where you enter the basic project details. Foundation Setup Data is where you populate all account codes and validated fields. The Pay item & Proposal Register provides an alternate structure to distribute estimated values. Bid Wizard helps automate the process of setting up estimates by copying information that already exists in other jobs.

2

Resources

In the Resources section, Resource Rates opens the Resource Rate Register, where detail costs for labor, equipment and material is stored. The Resource Assemblies opens the Resource Assembly Register, where you create a combination of resources as an assembly and reuse it as needed in multiple cost items.

3

Assemblies

You can create a Cost Item Assembly to automatically estimate different scopes of work based on input values. Standard tables – allow you to create tables of reference data that can be accessed in any cost item assembly.

4

Reports

The Reports section is available from any tab. Depending on the tab you access it from will bring you to reports specific to that tabs data. Here you will find reports on resources such as Resources Changes, Resource Utilization, and Resource Cost Details.

Overview – Estimate Tab

Section

Description

1

Breakdown Structures

From the Breakdown Structures section in the Estimate tab you can access the Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) Register, Account Code Utilization Register, and Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) Register.

2

Resources

Resource Rate Register is where you create or modify the rate charged for labor, material and equipment resources. Different views of the Resource Rate register such as Resource Utilization and Resource Cost Details are available from the Resources section.

3

Excel Workbook

InEight Estimate's integration with Microsoft Excel is a two-way integration that allows you to update register fields in Estimate with data contained in an Excel workbook, and update Excel cells with data contained in a register field in Estimate. This is where you open the embed excel workbook which is maintained as part of the estimate job folder and where you preform the sync functions to send values back and forth.

4

Schedule

From the Schedule icon, you can access bi-directional integration with Microsoft Project and Oracle Primavera. The Cash Flow graph displays the projected cash flow of your project, along with the job financing expense, individual cost category costs and resource utilization.

5

Indirect Cost Items

Indirect Cost Items filters the CBS register to display cost items that contain overhead costs that are not directly associated with any particular deliverable items. Clicking on % Price Add on or Prime Bond opens up these individual records.

6

Overhead and Profit

Price Breakdown Structure (PBS) Register is a visual run-down of the costs and profit that make up your Target Price. You can access the Direct and Indirect Markup records or see totals of direct costs, indirect costs, profit and overall bid price summarized in a Data Map.

7

Alternates

Alternates are used to define alternate scenarios in order to assess the impact of those scenarios.

8

Reports

From the Reports section, you can run reports on CBS Summary, CBS Details, CBS Outline, CBS Estimate Summary, CBS Currency Comparison.

Overview – Quote Tab

Section

Description

1

Setup

Quotes are organized using Address book, Quote Group Tags, Minority Setup and attachments in the Setup section. Address book stores and maintains all information pertaining to subcontractors, vendors, architects/engineers, etc. that you work with regularly. The Minority Setup tab within Job Properties stores information about the agency that authorizes the status of Minority Enterprises along with their different types. You can use Quote Group Tags to group together multiple resources or cost items that will be sent in a single request for quote package to solicited contractors or vendors..

2

Quote Management

Quote Management allows you to access the Requests for Quote (RFQs) register and Quotes. Request for Quotes (RFQs) are invitations to sellers, requesting that they submit pricing to provide services, equipment or material based on the line items and resources included in your estimate. The Quote Register stores all of the quote responses you receive for that job.

3

Quote Comparison & Award

The Quote Comparison & Award section allows you to perform comparative analysis across all the quotes you’ve received. You can view a comparison of submitted pricing by resources or cost items.

4

Reports

From the Reports section in Quotes you can run reports on Quote Summary, Quote Record, Compare & Award, and Minority Participation.

Overview – Price Tab

Section

Description

1

Pay Items

From the Pay Items section you can lock Cost items to Pay items and access the Pay item & Proposal register. Under Pricing in Job Properties, you can set up how the tool calculates profit and spreads pricing to your pay items. In the Competitors section, you can keep track of companies that have submitted bids as well as record and track competitor bid prices.

2

Overhead and Profit

The Price Breakdown Structure (PBS) Register is a visual run-down of the costs and profit that make up your Target Price. You can access the Direct and Indirect Markup records or see totals of direct costs, indirect costs, profit and overall bid price summarized in a Data Map.

3

Audit Log

You can access the PBS Changes register (which logs any changes that effect the Target Price) and turn on/off logging PBS changes..

4

Alternates

Alternates are used to define alternate scenarios in order to assess the impact of those scenarios on the total estimate value.

5

Reports

From the Reports section in the Price tab, you can generate reports for Standard Proposal, DOT Proposal, Pay Item Summary, Pay Item Currency Comparison, Pay Item Price Breakdown.

Overview - System Tab

Section

Description

1

Custom

You can customize the titles and colors for different fields. You can export and import saved Views, Titles, Colors and Output Settings. You can customize reports generated by Estimate using External reports. External References allows you to open external programs with Estimate.

2

Help

You can access a comprehensive help system from the Help menu. You can get information about the Estimate Version and all new updates about the different versions.

Overview - Integrations Tab

Section

Description

1

Publish Estimate to a New Project

Sends job data to InEight Platform Integration. You can continue using Estimate during the publish and will be notified after the data has been sent successfully.

2

Publish Cost Items to Active Project

Sends cost items to the active project.

3 App Logs Shows a list of InEight Project Suite application logs that you can export to Excel.

Library

Click on the Library icon and the Library opens in its own window.

Users with sufficient security can access master information available in the Library.

The Library is covered in greater detail in "Library Overview"

Open Forms

The following steps assume you already opened the Training Job.

Step by Step — Open Forms

  1. Click on the Setup tab.

  2. In the Initialize section of the Setup tab, click on the drop-down menu for Job Properties.

  3. Select Overview to open the Job Properties form.
  • Notice that each form opens in its own tab within the active job folder

  • You can tab between these forms as you are working in InEight Estimate

  • Once you are in a register, the Actions and More Actions tabs are available to you. The options available are contextual to that register