Estimating: step-by-step videos

Go to Settings > Price Libraries. Each library shows its type, location, supplier, how many items it holds, its effective date and whether it is active.

Click New Library.

Internal is your own rates, Supplier is one vendor's catalogue, and Imported is a list you load from a file. This one is a supplier's, so pick Supplier.

Location is for rates that change by area, like Sunshine Coast against Brisbane. Supplier links the library to the vendor. Effective date is when this price list took effect.

Click Create library. It opens, empty and ready for items.

Click Add Item to price one line by hand. Import loads a whole price list at once (next video).

Description is what shows on the estimate. SKU is the supplier's item code, used to match items when you re-import. Unit is how it's priced. Primary cost type becomes the line's Type on an estimate.

The Cost code goes onto any estimate line you make from this item, so it lands in the right part of the budget.

Five rates, all ex GST: Material, Labour, Subcontractor, Equipment and Other. Fill the ones the price covers. The item's total rate is their sum. Frames are supply only, so just Material.

Min order qty and Qty increment are for things sold in packs. Rate as at is the date the price was current; pickers show it beside the rate, so you can see how old a price is.

Add & add another saves the item and opens a blank form. Add the roof trusses the same way: code 6.04, $42.00 per m², then Add item.

Each item shows its unit, type, Total rate, the date it was As at, and where the price came from: typed in, imported or harvested from an invoice.

Tick the items to change and click Adjust prices. Enter a percentage: 3 lifts every rate 3%, -2.5 drops them 2.5%. New rate as-at date defaults to today.

Click Apply adjustment. Both rates are 3% higher and dated today. Estimate lines already priced from the library keep the rate they were given.

Click New Library, name it, choose Supplier and link it to the vendor, then Create library.

Click Import. It walks you through four steps: Upload, Match, Review and Import.

1. aA CSV, TSV, Excel or PDF file. A PDF is read with OCR, so a printed or scanned list works too; a long one shows its progress.
2. bAdd new + update existing rates refreshes items you already have. Items match on SKU first, then description and unit, and a cost code you've set is never overwritten. Add new items only leaves existing items alone.

Click Read file.

1. aEach column in the file is matched to a field, suggested from its heading. Change any that are wrong. Description and Unit are required, plus at least one rate.
2. bThe prices include GST, so GST will be stripped: rates are always stored ex GST.

Click Review rows. The summary counts the rows to import and how many are flagged.

The first row is a note about the prices, not an item. Set Skip first to 1.

A row with no unit or no usable price is flagged: here a section heading and a POA price. Remove all flagged rows drops them in one go, or use the × on a single row.

Click Import. The result shows how many items were created, updated and skipped, and lists any row that didn't import.

Back on the library, every item is in, priced ex GST: the $24.75 sheet is now $22.50. Source shows they were imported.

A supplier's list has no cost codes. Click Edit on an item you'll use and pick its Cost code: Custom Orb sheet goes to 7.05. Do the same for the Quad gutter (7.03).

Click Estimating in the sidebar. The tiles count your jobs and your estimates by status, with what they're worth: Draft is being priced, Submitted is with the client, Approved is won, Rejected is lost. Click a tile to see those estimates in Manage Estimates.

Estimates by status, their value, jobs by status and the average margin by status. Hover a slice or bar for its figure.

The estimates changed most recently. Click one to open its estimate sheet.

Every estimate marked Submitted, the longest out first, with how long it's been out. The age turns amber after two weeks and red after a month, so you can see who to chase.

Jobs without an estimate, newest first. Create opens the estimate sheet and makes the job's first estimate, called Initial Estimate, straight away. To name it yourself, or copy from another job's estimate, use New estimate in Manage Estimates.

Manage Estimates lists every job with its estimates. The Composite Library beside it holds the assemblies you reuse (see the composite videos).

1. aSearch by job name, number, client or address.
2. bShow only estimates in one state: Draft, Submitted, Approved, Rejected or Archived.
3. cSort by recently updated, contract value, job name or job number.

The chips filter by job status, with a count on each. The up and down arrow keys step through the list.

1. aThe job, its number, client and site.
2. bThe job's status, its latest estimate's status and version. v2 +1 means version 2, with one more version.
3. cThe latest estimate's contract price and when it last changed.

1. aVersion lists every estimate on the job with its status.
2. bContract price (ex GST) and the margin as a percentage.
3. cBuilder cost and gross margin in dollars.
4. dHow many takeoff items, document sets and lines the estimate has.

1. aOpen Estimate Sheet is where you price the job.
2. bTakeoff opens the job's measured drawings; Specs opens the estimate's specification.

The bin deletes a version; it only shows while the estimate has no budget. Close the dialog with Cancel.

1. aEdit details on a Draft estimate.
2. bThe statuses: Draft, Submitted, Approved, Rejected and Archived.

1. aView Budget: approving made the job budget from this estimate.
2. bUnlock to edit takes it back to Draft so it can change. See Un-approving.
3. cOnly one estimate per job can be approved. Approving another one archives this one.

1. aSearch: Nolan.
2. bThe job. It has no estimates yet.

The panel says there are no estimates yet. Click New estimate. On a job that already has estimates, use New Estimate at the top of the page.

1. aThe job is already picked.
2. bName: Initial Estimate.
3. cStatus starts at Draft: it stays a draft while you price it.

1. aCopy from starts a revision from an earlier version of this job's estimate. A first estimate starts empty.
2. bUse separable portions prices the job in stages, each with its own handover. It can only be switched on here, when the estimate is made (see Separable portions).

A message at the bottom of the page confirms it.

1. aThe new version, v1, is a Draft.

Open Estimate Sheet takes you to the grid where you price the job.

The cost code set decides which codes the sheet's dropdown offers. It starts at your default set, here Estimate Cost Codes. Pick another set if this job uses different codes; the sheet reloads with it.

An empty sheet. Estimates usually start from a takeoff (see the Takeoff guide), from your cost codes, or from a spreadsheet. This one starts from the cost codes.

1. aEvery code in the sheet's cost code set, with its unit. Headings aren't listed: they appear on the sheet as sections.
2. bSearch by code or description. Select All ticks everything the search shows.

Click a row to tick it. The count of selected codes shows at the bottom.

Default Markup % goes on every imported line. You can change it on any line later.

1. aA line for each code, with its description and unit. Quantity starts at 1 and the rate at 0, ready to price. Codes already on the sheet are skipped.

1. aSections.
2. bEach heading groups the codes under it, with the section's subtotal.

Click a section heading to fold or unfold it, so you can work on one trade at a time. Folding only changes your view.

1. aSave. With Auto-save ticked, the sheet also saves itself as you work.
2. bSaved, with the time.

Cost (what the work costs you) plus Markup makes the Total, all ex GST. Contract Price is that total with GST: what the client pays.

1. aType a markup and click Apply: every line takes it, and new lines start with it. It overwrites markups you've changed on single lines, so set it first. A 25% markup is a 20% margin.

Add Line Item adds a blank line under the ticked one, or at the top. Add Composite Item builds an assembly of lines; Add Composite From Library reuses a saved one. Add From Price Library brings in priced items from your libraries.

1. aDelete Row removes the ticked lines. They go for good when the sheet next saves.
2. bImport Cost Codes adds a line for each code you tick.

Download template gives you a spreadsheet with the sheet's columns and dropdowns. Fill it in, or paste in your own pricing, then Upload estimate to add its lines.

Export PDF prints the estimate in detail or summed up by cost code, to download or save to the job's documents. Proposal PDF is the client's document: With breakdown for cost-plus work, Summary only for a fixed price.

Sends the proposal into the client's portal if they have one, or a secure link by email if not. The PDF is frozen as it was when you sent it, and a Draft estimate is marked Submitted.

1. aTakeoff opens the job's measured drawings. Once lines are linked to takeoff, a second button shows how many differ from the measurements and updates them.
2. bSpecification makes or opens the estimate's specification, from each line's specification setting.
3. cRFQs lists the requests for quote raised from this estimate.

The cost code dropdown offers this set's codes. On an estimate made with separable portions, Manage Portions and New Portion also show here.

1. aSections groups lines under their headings with subtotals.
2. bAuto-save saves a moment after each change. Untick it and only Save saves; leaving with unsaved changes asks first.

1. aWhether everything is saved, and when it last was.
2. bSave saves now; Exit goes back to Manage Estimates.

Click a cell and fx shows what's in it. A cell with a formula is blue, and the bar shows the formula behind the figure.

Start with = and use any arithmetic. [quantity] reads this line's quantity; [quantity:+1] the next line's, [rate:-3] the rate three lines up, counting lines as the sheet shows them. End a formula with an operator, then click a cell to put its reference in.

Tick a line to work on it; hold Shift or Ctrl to tick several. Item numbers the lines. A badge here means the rate came from a quote you applied (see the Purchasing guide).

IN is included scope: it's priced, goes into the budget and the proposal lists it as included. EX is an exclusion: it costs nothing and the proposal lists it as excluded. AL is an allowance: priced and budgeted, then settled against what the client actually chooses. NO is a note: it costs nothing and prints as a note.

1. aPS, a provisional sum, covers supply and install; PC, a prime cost, covers supply only.
2. bExcess is the margin on anything the client spends over the allowance. Leave it blank to use the line's markup. An under-spend goes back to the client in full.

1. aCost Code: type a code or a word and pick from the list. Picking fills the description and unit when they're empty, and sets the Type from the code's default. Headings can't be picked.
2. bDescription is what the line is. It prints on the PDFs and the specification.

Type a formula starting with = and the result becomes the quantity, here four townhouses at 96 m² each. The cell shows the result; click it to see the formula.

1. aQuantity: typed, from Calculation, or from takeoff.
2. bUnit: m², lm, ea and so on.

1. aRate (ex GST) is what one unit costs you.
2. bAmount (ex GST) is quantity times rate: your cost for the line, and what goes into the budget.

1. aMarkup % is this line's margin. It starts at the estimate markup; this one is lower.
2. bContract Price is the amount plus markup, ex GST: what the client pays for the line.

Material, Labour, Subcontractor, Equipment or Other. Put supply and install on separate lines when you want both.

1. aThis estimate is approved: the toolbar says Approved (locked) and Save is greyed out.
2. bNothing on a locked sheet can change: the buttons are greyed out and the cells are read-only. Unlock it in Manage Estimates to make a change.

Estimate Markup % then Apply sets every line's markup and becomes the default for new lines. Do it before you change any line: Apply overwrites them.

1. aThe concrete line, described as the ground slab.
2. bCalculation: =14*14. Start with =, like a spreadsheet; the result, 196, goes into Quantity. The unit changes to m².
3. cRate $142 and Type Subcontractor; Amount and Contract Price work themselves out.

Tick the slab line and Add > Add Line Item. With Sections on, the new line sits at the top until it has a code; code 3.08 moves it under the slab and fills in the mesh. Its Calculation is =[quantity:-1]*1.1: the slab's area plus 10% for laps, 215.6 m². Click ? on the formula bar for the syntax. When the slab's quantity changes, this line follows.

1. aThe mesh line's Calculation and the Quantity it works out.
2. bClick the cell and the formula bar shows the formula behind the figure.

Excavation 350 m³ at $38, ground floor wall frames 245 m² at $72, roof tiles 310 m² at $65, all Subcontractor. Amount and Contract Price work themselves out.

Site establishment is priced at $18,500 and carries 10% instead of the estimate's 18%. Its Contract Price follows; the rest of the sheet keeps 18%.

Cost plus Markup is the Total ex GST; Contract Price is the total inc GST.

Landscaping is by the owner. EX drops the line's amount to zero, but it stays on the sheet and the proposal lists it as an exclusion.

Add a line, code 1.13, "Council and water authority fees paid by the owner", and click NO. A note costs nothing and prints on the proposal as a note.

1. aFloor and wall tiles, supply only: 180 m² at $65.
2. bAL makes it an allowance; PC, a prime cost, covers supply only. The client chooses the tiles later.

Driveway and paths, supply and install, $18,000 as a lot. PS, a provisional sum, covers supply and install.

1. aExcess 15% on the tiles: the margin on anything the client spends over the allowance. An under-spend is credited in full.
2. bLeft blank on the driveway, so it follows the line's Markup %.

Included and allowance lines go into the budget; exclusions and notes don't. Allowances become the contract's allowance schedule and drive client selections, and the proposal prints each status in its own place.

1. aDescription: the assembly, here an internal stud wall for the first floor. Cost Code: the code the budget carries the whole wall under (6.02). Approval needs one.
2. bQuantity 120, Unit m2 and Markup % 18: the composite is priced per m² of wall.

Base Qty is how much of each child goes into one m² of wall: studs 2.6 lm, plates 0.8 lm, plasterboard 2.0 m² (both sides) and 2.0 m² to fix and set (Labour). Each child has its own Cost Code, rate and type, so the budget splits it across framing and plastering. Picking a code fills an empty description and unit.

Delivery is one trip at $180 whatever the wall area. Tick Fixed and its quantity stays at 1 when the composite's quantity changes.

From Price Library finds an item in your libraries: search MV-PT, tick the internal painting and set its Base Qty to 2, then Add as Child Items. It comes in with the library rate and type and keeps a link to the item. Its library code isn't one of this estimate's codes, so pick 14.01.

Tick Add to Composite Library to keep the assembly for other estimates, then Create Composite. The composite sits at the top of the sheet with its children under it: each child's quantity is the composite's 120 m² times its base qty, and the delivery stays at 1.

120 to 135 m²: every child scales, the Fixed delivery stays at 1. Then Save.

Select Template lists every saved composite; search by name. Pick one and the preview shows its children with their codes, base quantities, rates and types.

Use Template adds it at the quantity it was saved with. Change the composite's Quantity to 40 m² for the robes and linen walls and the children follow. Then Save.

Estimating > Composite Library lists the saved templates. Open one to change its children or rates, or click New to build one without an estimate. Changes there don't touch composites already on estimates.

Save the sheet first: adding from the library refreshes it.

1. aTwo characters or more. The search covers every active library.
2. bEach item with its library, unit and rate ex GST.

Quad gutter 85 lm and 90 mm downpipes 36 lm.

1. aCR-1030 finds the sarking: 6 rolls.
2. bThree items selected across both searches.

The sheet reloads with the new lines.

The gutter came with its library cost code, so it sits under Roofing with its rate and type. The downpipes and sarking have no code in the library, so they wait at the top of the sheet: pick 7.03 for the downpipes and they move into place beside the gutter. Do the same for the sarking (7.02). Rates are copied when you add them and each line keeps a link to its library item, so later price changes don't move it.

An Excel file with the sheet's columns and dropdowns for Specification and Type. The Calculation column is text, so a formula like =24+30+18 stays as typed.

Fill in one row per line in the template's columns, or paste your own pricing in. Here an electrician's schedule: a Calculation like =24+30+14 works out the quantity, a code the library doesn't know (10.07) is created on upload, and a row coded to a heading (10) comes in without a code.

Upload estimate adds lines; it never replaces what is on the sheet.

1. aWhat came in: lines added, rows skipped, codes created, and lines that need a code.
2. bThe same in detail, with the codes: 10.07 was added to your library, and the line on heading 10 came in uncoded.

Portions can only be switched on when an estimate is made. Copy from v1 so the lines come across. Four townhouses built in two stages is what portions are for.

Name, Reference and Sequence; the description is optional.

Each line gets a stage in the Separable Portion column. Where a trade spans both stages, split it into a line per stage.

Budget lines are kept per cost code and portion, the cost report groups by stage, and claims and PDFs can be run by portion.

Your internal copy, with rates and amounts. Saved, it goes to the job's documents under Estimating.

1. aReport Type: Estimate Breakdown (Detailed) or Summary (By Cost Code/Trade).
2. bInclude Heading Rows keeps the sections; Hide Markup shows marked-up rates for a client copy.
3. cDownload, or Save to Project Documents to file it in the job's Estimating folder.

The client's document opens in a new tab: cover, your letter, then the investment overview by trade with GST and the total.

Allowances and exclusions are listed from each line's specification status, and the breakdown by trade follows, each composite as one line under its code.

The same proposal without the line breakdown, for a fixed-price quote.

1. aRecipient: the job's client.
2. bProposal Layout: Detailed Breakdown or Summary.
3. cHide markup shows marked-up rates only; ticked by default.

A portal client sees the proposal in their portal; anyone else gets a secure email link. The PDF is frozen at the moment of issue, and a Draft is marked Submitted. This video stops here and cancels.

The same status, set from Manage Estimates. It puts the estimate on the dashboard's Awaiting decision and moves the client to Proposal in the CRM pipeline.

Copy from brings the lines, composites, document sets and takeoff across, with the markup and cost code set. Portions come across when ticked.

The client drops the scaffolding and upgrades the tiles: tick the line, Delete Row; tiles $65 to $85. Save.

Only one estimate per job can be approved: approving another one archives it. Every included or allowance line, and every composite, needs a cost code, or CortexPM lists the lines that are missing one and stops.

1. aThe version is Approved.
2. bView Budget: the budget was created from the builder cost. Markup stays out of it and is tracked as your margin.

Budget lines per cost code, from the estimate's builder cost.

1. aBack to Draft, so lines, details and specifications can change.
2. bA budget exists: changing the estimate affects job cost figures until you re-approve.

Once the job has a head contract, the estimate is frozen for everyone but the workspace Owner, who can override to correct a mistake. The contract value does not change.

Open the sheet, change the tile rate, Save, then Edit details > Approved. The budget is updated from the corrected estimate.