HomeTech ADVANTAGE Tip

Creating and Editing Assemblies, Part Two

Did you know you can create a new Assembly from an existing estimate?

The “Assembly” feature is one of the most powerful timesaving features in the HomeTech ADVANTAGE software. In addition to creating Assemblies using the “Tag & Transfer” method in the Cost Books, you can also create new Assemblies from all or part of an existing estimate. Creating an Assembly from an existing estimate can be very useful when the line items used in the estimate are used in many of the projects you estimate.

This newsletter tip is a continuation of last month's tip “ASSEMBLY – Creating and Editing Assemblies”.

Here are some key points to review from last month about assemblies:

• Assemblies are simply a collection of Cost Book item numbers. This concept becomes increasingly important as we create Assemblies from existing estimates.
• Simply put, an Assembly is merely a “template” for a specific job or task.
• Assemblies are Cost Book specific.
  
  

STEP 1: Select Estimate Line Items

First, you will need to either OPEN an existing estimate, or create a NEW estimate. The estimate will need to have at least one line item in the estimate but can have as many line items as desired. Again, you can create an Assembly using some or all of the estimate line items.

In the example above, we create an “Electrical” Assembly using only the selected electrical items from the estimate. This will save time for each “Addition” estimate, since basically the same electrical items are used time and time again.

1. Select the estimate line items you want to add into the new Assembly.

NOTE: To select multiple items, press and hold the CONTROL (CTRL) button while making your selections. To select a range of items, press and hold the SHIFT key (select the first and last item in the range and all items in between will be highlighted).

STEP 2: Create the New Assembly with the Selected Items

• RIGHT-CLICK on the selected item(s) to display the “Right-Click” menu.
• Choose CREATE ASSEMBLY from the “Right-Click” menu. This will display the “Create New Assembly from Estimate” window.

STEP 3: Name and Create The New Assembly

1. Select the Assembly Category from the “Category Description” box. This will be the category the new Assembly will be added into.
2. Enter an “Assembly Name” in the box provided. Use only alphabetical or numerical characters. Do not use punctuation or alphanumeric characters in your Assembly names.
3. Choose CREATE to create the new Assembly with your selected estimate line items.

4. Choose OK in the “New Assembly Created” window.

STEP 4: Verify the Content and Edit the Assembly as Necessary

Use the “Assembly Maintenance” window to verify Assembly content, add items to the Assembly, or delete items from the Assembly.

To access the “Assembly Maintenance” window from the Cost Book Grid:

• First, choose the ASSEMBLIES pull-down menu from the Cost Book Grid window.
• Next, choose ADD & EDIT ASSEMBLIES to display the “Assembly Maintenance” window.

Now, do the following:

• Select/Highlight the ASSEMBLY CATEGORY in which the Assembly was created.
• Select/Highlight the Assembly Name you want to view the contents of.
• Verify the Assembly contents for accuracy. At this point, you can add or delete items in the Assembly. In this example, you can see that the “ELECTRIC Addition” Assembly contains all the selected electrical items from the estimate.
• Choose HELP for additional help on creating and editing Assemblies if needed.

Important Considerations when Creating Assemblies from an Existing Estimate

Using Modified Estimate Items to Create Your Assembly
Remember that an Assembly is merely a collection of Cost Book item numbers. This concept becomes apparent when you create an Assembly using line items that have been modified in the estimate. This applies to both default HomeTech line items as well as user-created items in the Cost Books. Review the following example to gain an understanding of this concept.

EXAMPLE

1. I transfer an electrical line item (16.100 Duplex Outlet) from the CostBooks into my estimate.
2. I then modify/edit line item “16.100 Duplex Outlet” in my estimate. The changes could be in the line item unit costs, specifications, or both. Remember that changes made to estimate line items apply only to the estimate line item, and do not alter the Cost Book line item.
3. I then use the modified “16.100 Duplex Outlet” estimate line item to create an Assembly. At this point, recall that an Assembly is simply a collection of Cost Book Item numbers.
4. The next time I transfer this Assembly into an estimate it will transfer the “16.100 Duplex Outlet” line item as that item currently resides in the Cost Books, and will not have the changes that were made to that item in the estimate.
5. If I would need the Assembly to contain a line item with those changes, I would first need to create a custom user item in the Cost Books, and then add my custom user item to the Assembly.