Setting Up the Maxwell Management Suite Bid

The Template tab allows you to save Bid Export Report setting configurations that can then be selected for future Bid Export Reports involving the loaded Estimate.

ADD:  Adds a setting template to the window. When a saved template is highlighted, the settings of the Properties window are changed to how they were configured when the template was added. In addition, any selected Default Items will be added into the Bid Export Report.

COPY: Use the Copy feature to copy the selected bid export template within the current bid or to copy the bid export template to another data set or another estimate. Follow the prompts on the Open Summary window to select where you want to copy the bid export template to: Data Set or Estimate.
Note: Remember to rename your copy to a descriptive name that suits your needs.

RENAME:  Allows you to rename the selected template.

DELETE: Deletes the selected template.

Note:  Templates for Bid Export Reports can also be configured by going to Data > Data File Maintenance > Bid Export Templates or Estimate > Estimate File Maintenance > Bid Export Templates.  Templates created through Data File Maintenance will be available for all new Estimates, while those created through Estimate File Maintenance will only be available for the Estimate being modified.  

When accessed through the above methods, the Template tab will feature an additional button: View Default Items.

VIEW DEFAULT ITEMS:  This option will open an empty Bid Export Report screen. You can then takeoff default items which are added to the report when it is run. The Default Items screen functions just like a regular Bid Export Report. However, you cannot actually create a bid file.  

 

 

The General tab contains general settings for the Bid Export Report.

NAME:  By default, this field is set to the name of the Job.  It can be modified if desired.

REPORT DESCRIPTION:  A brief description of the Bid Export Report.  If a template is selected, its name will be automatically entered into the field.

COMMENT:  Comments on the Bid Export Report can be entered in this field.

LABOR BURDEN % /  LABOR RATE / TAX %:  Enter in the values for these settings in the provided fields.

CHANGE ORDER ID:  This field can hold a three-character string.  If this field is filled in, the XML file generated for Estimating will include the ID information, allowing it to be imported into Management Suite as a Change Order.

In the Overhead % and in the Profit % columns, select “Per Cost Type” or  “Overall.”  

INCLUDES OVERHEAD:  This option will allow profit to be drawn from overhead during calculations for the Bid Export Report.

Note:  If this option is selected, you will have to also select the same option in your Management Suite program for it to apply correctly.

PER COST TYPE:  In this area, you can set the Overhead or Profit percentage for individual item types that are in the Bid Export Report.

OVERALL:  This setting allows the user to set an Overall % for Overhead or Profit for all item types.

USE LABOR PERCENTAGES FOR ALL LABOR VALUES:  If this box is checked, the Labor overhead and profit will be applied to all labor values, regardless of their cost type.  

In the Divisions tab, you can specify overrides for the segments used in Bid Exports for Field labor cost type items.

NOTE: To effectively use this feature, you must have “Create Separate Material and Labor Items” checked in the Accounting Integration section of your Summary Preferences. If this box not checked, items that contain both Material and Labor values will appear as Cost Type “Material” and your overrides selected here will not be applied.

Check the box next to Use Field Labor Overrides. Then use the drop down arrow next to each Segment field to select the segments you want used in the report.

The Segment 1, 2 and 3  entries correspond to the segments selected in the General Options Accounting Integration tab.

This tab provides a place to store notes regarding the Bid Export Report.

 

 

This tab allows you to specify which Takeoff Sections you want included in the Bid export file. To select/deselect a Section, click on the box by the Section’s name. By default, all Sections are initially selected. In addition, you can use Select All to quickly select all the available Sections.

You can also filter what is included in the report by any of the six user-defined levels or by Sections. To do so, use the drop-down menu beside Include the following checked. You can also use Show Entries to display the number of items in any particular Section or user-defined level filtered.