HomeTech ADVANTAGE Tip

USING THE "ASSEMBLY" FEATURE TO TRANSFER DATA INTO AN ESTIMATE

Did you know using the "Assembly" feature can save you valuable time when creating your estimates?

The “Assembly” feature is one of the most powerful time saving features in the HomeTech ADVANTAGE software. If you are trying to reduce the amount of time it takes to create an estimate, the “Assembly” feature can help you accomplish this sometimes cutting your estimating time in half! The “Assembly” feature saves you the time of having to locate each individual line item in the CostBooks. HomeTech ADVANTAGE software comes with pre-built Assemblies that are ready to use. You can modify or delete existing Assemblies as well as create your own (we’ll cover how to do this next time).

About Assemblies

• Assemblies are simply a collection of CostBook item numbers. When you transfer an Assembly into your estimate, the software “looks” at what line items are in that particular Assembly, finds those CostBook line items, and transfers those CostBook line items into your estimate.
• Simply put, an Assembly is merely a “template” for a specific job or task.
  Line items transferred into your estimate from an Assembly are transferred as they currently appear in the CostBooks.
• Assemblies are CostBook specific meaning that you will have different Assemblies in each of the 4 CostBooks (Remodeling & Renovation CostBook, Kitchen & Bath CostBook, Handyman CostBook, and HouseBuilders CostBook). Likewise, Assemblies can only contain line items from the CostBook in which they reside. As an example, an Assembly in the Remodeling & Renovation CostBook can only contain line items from the Remodeling & Renovation CostBook.
• Assemblies can be as small or large as necessary meaning that they can contain as many or as few CostBook line items as desired. You may find it useful to create a larger number of small Assemblies rather than having just a few large Assemblies. You may find that smaller Assemblies are more useful in a broader range of estimates, and that less modification/deletion to your estimate line items is required. This is strictly a matter of personal preference so do what is most comfortable to you. Again, we will discuss creating Assemblies in more detail next time.

Transfer an Assembly Into Your Estimate

Prior to transferring an Assembly, you must first either open an existing estimate or create a new estimate. The estimate you open or create must have at least one phase into which line items can be transferred. In the example below, a new estimate titled “Jones Remodel Feb 19 2007 No1” contains two phases named “Addition” and “Bedroom Master”. The screen captures below are of the Estimate Grid.

Step 1: SELECT/HIGHLIGHT THE PHASE you want to transfer an Assembly into.

Step 2: Choose TRANSFER ASSEMBLY from the “Horizontal Slider” menu. Alternately, choose the EDIT pull-down menu and then choose TRANSFER ASSEMBLY. Alternately, you can use a combination of the “Horizontal & Vertical Slider” menus to transfer an Assembly.

Step 3: Select/Highlight the ASSEMBLY CATEGORY in the “Assembly List” window.

Step 4: Select/Highlight the ASSEMBLY you want to transfer into your estimate from the “Assembly List” in the “Assembly List” window.

Step 5: Choose the TRANSFER TO PHASE button to transfer the selected Assembly into your selected estimate phase. Or choose EXIT to not transfer the Assembly and return to your estimate.

From the screen capture below you can see that with just a few mouse clicks, all of these CostBook line items are transferred into the estimate. This saves the time of having to locate all of these items in the CostBooks. Now, the estimate needs to be edited to reflect the project being estimated. Add, edit, or delete estimate line items as they apply to the project.

Tips for Using Assemblies

1. Use the “Assembly” feature to create all or part of your estimate. You should not be creating each estimate from scratch. You may find that many of the projects you estimate are very similar in content. This is where Assemblies can save you a lot of time.

2. Any time invested in creating or modifying Assemblies will save time in the future, and typically the time saved is much greater than the time initially invested.

3. Once Assemblies have been transferred into your estimate, you still need to edit your estimate to reflect the scope of work you are estimating. Using Assemblies saves a tremendous amount of time creating your estimate, but it does not remove the thought required to create an estimate. Make sure you account for any “judgment factors” or difficult areas of the project.

4. Enter “Phase Dimensions” to have phase quantities applied to your Assembly line items once the line items have been transferred into your estimate.