Service Estimate Tab of the Estimate Settings Form

Use the Service Estimate tab to enable service estimates in the Projects hub, and to specify the default service estimate settings. These settings can be either system-wide or company-specific, depending on your configuration.

Service estimates provide an overview of the estimated services and materials that are required for a project you are pursuing.

Service Estimate Settings

Field	Description
Enable Service Estimate	Select this option to enable service estimates for projects. When you do, the following occurs: The Estimates form becomes available in the Projects hub. The Project Service Estimate report becomes available in Reporting. The Estimates feature becomes available in Proposals. The Available for Project Estimates checkbox becomes available on the Unit Tables form in Settings > Accounting > Units.

Estimate Grids

Use these options to select the grids that you want to display on the Estimates form in the Projects hub and in Proposal Estimates. The Labor grid always displays, but you can also enable grids for unit, expense, and consultant service estimates.

Field	Description
Enable Units Grid	Select this option to provide a grid to estimate unit quantities and cost and/or billing amounts for projects.
Enable Expenses Grid	Select this option to provide a grid to estimate cost and/or billing expense amounts for projects.
Enable Consultants Grid	Select this option to provide a grid to estimate cost and/or billing consultant amounts for projects.

Decimal Digits

Field	Description
Hours	Select the number of decimal digits that you want for hours entry and display in service estimates. The default value is No Decimal.
Quantity	Select the number of decimal digits that you want for quantity entry and display in service estimates. The default value is No Decimal.
Amounts	Select the number of decimal digits that you want for entry and display of monetary amounts in service estimates. If you select Currency, amounts display in the currency format that your system administrator has set up. The default value is Currency.

Estimate Type

This option determines which columns display in the enabled grids.

Field

Description

Estimate Type

Select the type or types of estimate columns that you want: cost, billing, or both: Cost: Only cost columns, such as Cost Rate and Planned Cost. The Analysis grid on the Summary tab displays only Total Cost. Billing: Only billing columns, such as Billing Rate and Planned Bill. The Analysis grid on the Summary tab displays only Total Bill. Cost and Billing: Both cost and billing columns. The Analysis grid on the Summary tab displays Total Cost, Total Bill, Gross Margin, and Gross Margin %. Project Service Estimate reports are only available if you select Billing or Cost and Billing.

Clauses Grid

Use the Clauses grid to set up and save clauses that can be selected for inclusion on Project Service Estimate reports. The codes/clauses you enter here appear as selectable options when you are setting up the Project Service Estimate report. Clauses can be inserted at the top or bottom of the report. For example, a top clause might read "Please quote us your firm price for the following goods." A bottom clause might read "Please indicate all prices FOB our place of business."

You enter and display most information in grids on various forms. For information about using grids, see Working with Grids.

Field	Description
Type	Enter a unique identifier for the clause.
Clauses	Enter the text of the clause. Click to display a larger work area and to use the available formatting options.
+Add Clause	Click this option to enter a new clause.

Company Service Estimate Settings

These labor category tables and billing multiplier defaults apply to the active company.

Estimate Defaults

Labor Category Tables

Field	Description
Cost	Select the default labor category table for cost. This option is only available if you set Estimate Type to Cost or Cost and Billing. This default can be overridden for individual projects on the Estimates form in the Projects hub.
Billing	Select the default labor category table for billing. This option is only available if you set Estimate Type to Billing or Cost and Billing. This default can be overridden for individual projects on the Estimates form in the Projects hub.

Billing Multipliers

Field	Description
Expense	If the Expenses grid is enabled and you set Estimate Type to Cost and Billing, Vantagepoint automatically applies this billing multiplier to the planned cost to calculate the planned billing amount for reimbursable expenses. This value can be overridden in the Projects hub.
Consultant	If the Consultants grid is enabled and you set Estimate Type to Cost and Billing, Vantagepoint automatically applies this billing multiplier to the planned cost to calculate the planned billing amount for reimbursable consultants. This value can be overridden in the Projects hub.