Frequently asked questions

The product version displays on the information bar at the bottom of the Estimate screen. You can find more detailed version information by selecting System > About Estimate, then clicking on the Version tab.

Often your CBS register looks different due to the CBS Tree being open on your instance when it is closed on someone else's or visa versa. If you prefer not to use the CBS Tree, you can close it by selecting the X on the CBS Tree title bar. To open the CBS Tree, select Actions > CBS Tree Filter. Your CBS may also look different due to using a different Saved View.

To restore the system Help Bubbles, select File > Settings, then click on the Restore Defaults button. Check the Never ask/show me again dialogs, then click OK.

We don’t have one, because in a multi-user environment, users may see unexpected behavior.  User A changes a quantity on a resource from 15 to 20.  User B replaces the resource with another resource on the cost item, and changes the quantity to 10.  What is the expectation of User A when performing an UNDO operation at this time?   We can’t limit it to “just the changes User A recently made” since that data may not even be in the estimate anymore.  Instead, we encourage users to become familiar with the PBS Changes Log, where any changes that affect the Target Price will be captured.

Because the tabs on your Cost Item Record (known as Data Blocks) can be "undocked" and moved around your screen, they sometimes inadvertantly get closed. To get them back, select Actions > Default Data Blocks from the Cost Item Record.

Yes, in an Unlocked status between cost items and pay items, the cost items in the CBS can be moved or rearranged in any order. You can also use the Work Breakdown Structure View Register to have an alternative view of your estimate organized by WBS.

Yes, you can use the Split Cost Item feature to break up cost items that already have details and then move split cost items to the appropriate phases. To split a cost item, select the cost item to split, then select Actions > Split.

Yes, create any number of standard WBS’s, then assign them to the CBS.  Simply grouping by WBS will summarize dollars as desired.

Some clients prefer to track profit within the CBS Register instead of using the Price Breakdown Structure form. You can do this by adding a dependent cost item in the CBS, then adding a percentage against any of the cost within the dependent cost item to capture profit.

Yes, in an Unlocked status between cost and pay items, the CBS can be arranged, showing direct costs first, then the Dependent Cost Items in the order of the calculations to arrive at the total dollar amount in the CBS.

You can detail out the large-scope cost item, then split it into pieces using the Split command from the Actions menu.

Tags on cost items can be used to filter items in the CBS for multi-editing, or can be used on Dependent Cost Items.

You can pre-build Cost Item Assemblies that include question prompts for estimators to turn on or off certain sections based on their responses. You set up Cost Item Assemblies by selecting Setup > Cost Item Assemblies.You add cost item assemblies to the CBS from the Actions menu of the CBS Register.

Once you create a job, because it is part of a database, it cannot be renamed. Instead, you can make a copy of the original job, giving the copy a new name, and then deleting the original job.

You can detail out inclusions and exclusions using Quote Group Tags.

From the Foundation Setup Data Register, right click on the quote group the inclusions and exclusion pertain to and select Open. You can then list out scope items, indicate whether they are included by default, and enter a default amount for each