July 2007

Create reports or printouts for subcontractors, tradesman and suppliers that include specific estimate items.

With the HomeTech ADVANTAGE software, you can print selected items from your estimate to create reports or printouts that include only the chosen estimate items.

Use reports or printouts to:

I.  Obtain “hardened” quotes from subcontractors for estimating

II. Create project responsibilities lists for specific subcontractors or suppliers

Both of these primary uses are illustrated below.

I. Obtain “hardened” quotes from subcontractors for estimating

The following example is an estimate for an addition. To create a report for the electrical subcontractor working on the project, you can create a report that includes only the electrical items in the estimate that apply to the electrical subcontractor.

Step 1: Select / Highlight the estimate items you want to include.

In this example, only the electrical items in the estimate have been selected. The selected items can be from different phases and/or different divisions from within the open estimate.

NOTE:

• To select multiple items in any order, press and hold CONTROL (CTRL) on your keyboard while making the selections.

• To select a range of items, select the first item in the list, press and hold SHIFT on your keyboard and then select the last item in the list. All items in between will be selected including the first and last items.
  

Step 2: Select the Report Format

• First, RIGHT-CLICK on the selected/highlighted area to display the “Right-Click” menu.

• Select the report type from the “Right-Click” menu (“Price”, “Cost”, or “Custom” reports). At this point, the “Horizontal” menu above the Estimate Grid will display the available report formats based on the type of report chosen (“Price”, “Cost”, or “Custom” reports). In this example PRINT COST REPORTS has been selected.

• Select the report format from the “Horizontal” menu above the Estimate Grid. In this example, the ITEM COST AND QUANTITY report from the “Horizontal” menu has been selected.

Step 3: Preview and Finalize the Report
From the toolbar at the top of the "Preview" window (not shown in the screen capture left), you can do one or more of the following options for this report:

• PRINT the report to create a hardcopy of the report for your records, or for fax.

• SAVE the report as a Rich Text file (RTF). Saving an estimate/report as an RTF file will allow you to (a) open the RTF file in a word processor of your choice for greater editing capabilities, or (b) to attach the RTF file to an email.

• SAVE the report as a spreadsheet (Excel) file. This is the same principle as the RTF format except the created file can be opened with the spreadsheet of your choice.

II. Create project responsibilities lists for specific subcontractors or suppliers

The “Spec., Qty. No Price” report can be a very useful report to send to your subcontractors. This report can be used to get hardened quotes from your subcontractors for specific line items in your estimate. In the example below, the same estimate items as used in the previous example have been selected.

• The “Spec., Qty. No Price” report lists the selected estimate line items, and the quantity for these items as these items appear in the estimate.

• This report can be faxed or emailed to the appropriate subcontractors requesting they list how much they will charge you (the contractor) to complete the listed scope of work.

• Request the subcontractor return the completed form to you by fax or email. You now have a hardened quote from your subcontractor for the requested scope of work.
  

NOTE: At this time in the HomeTech ADVANTAGE 4.2 program the “Spec., Qty. No Price” report does not appear in the “Right-Click” menu as a print option.

• You will need to create a custom report using the “Spec., Qty. No Price” report format.

• From the “Report Selections” window (accessed from the Estimate Grid window thru the BUILD….OR CUSTOMIZE REPORTS feature) you can create the “Spec., Qty. No Price” report.

• By creating a custom report from the “Spec., Qty. No Price” report, you will be able to access this report from the “Right-Click” menu by choosing the PRINT CUSTOM REPORTS option.

• Your custom reports will be displayed in the “Horizontal” menu above the Estimate Grid.

For future note, the “Spec., Qty. No Price” report will appear in the “Right-Click” menu as a print option in the ADVANTAGE 5.0 program when released.