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Materials and Service Management

The selections on the File > Maintenance > Materials and Service Mgmt menu will vary. Refer to the information specific to a plug-in for its Materials and Service Mgmt selections. This section contains information about common selections, that is, those that appear on the Materials and Service Mgmt menu for most Viewpoint MEP Estimating plug-ins.

AuthorThis window allows you to add Author information that can be used in the Materials Management program.
Select Add to open the Add Authors window, where you can enter in the name of the author you wish to add.  
To change an author name, select Edit.
To delete an author, select Delete.  
When finished, select OK to save your changes and close the window.

CategoryThis window allows you to add Categories that can be used in the Materials Management program.

Select Add to open the “Add Categories” window, where you can enter in the new category.  
To change a category, select Edit.
To delete a category, select Delete.  
When finished, select OK to save your changes and close the window.

Cost CodesThe Cost Codes window allows you to categorize and store cost codes for databook items. Cost Codes and Cost Types are ultimately used in the Materials Management plug-in as ways of breaking down your orders for accounting integration or historical analysis.

Cost Types can be any categorization that is appropriate for you and how you classify orders. Examples of cost types include Category, Phase, and Section. Cost Types are broken down into Cost Codes, which further classify an order. In a Category cost type, you might have cost codes such as Conduit, Elbows, Fittings, etc.; a Section cost type may contain Branch Lighting, Feeders, and Panels cost codes.

Select File > Material and Service Mgmt > Cost Codes.
The Cost Codes display is comprised of two parts: Cost Types in the top grid and Cost Codes in the bottom grid. The Cost Types are general descriptions that “hold” the descriptions of the Cost Codes. When you highlight a Cost Type, its Cost Codes display below. The GL column in the Cost Code grid indicates General Ledger. Cost codes can be set up with a general ledger account number or name.

Use the function buttons to the left to add, edit, and delete cost types and codes. The Add function allows you to create a new cost type or cost code. When you select the Add function for cost type, the New Cost Type window displays, which only has a field for entering the cost type name.

The Add function for cost code displays the New Cost Code window which contains fields for entering a cost code and a name. If the cost code can be tied to a general ledger account, a code for that can be entered as well.
Select (highlight) the cost type or cost code you want to edit, and then select the Edit button. Similar windows display as described above for the Add function, where you can make changes to the existing information.
Use the Delete button to delete the selected cost type or cost code. A window will display prompting you to confirm the deletion.

Databook ItemsThis option accesses the Material and Service Management databook.  
The Databook contains all of the manufacturer and item file information. When you edit an item in the Databook, all of the pricing information is also there, together with its size, pricing code, etc. 

FOB TypesThis window allows you to enter, edit or delete FOB types.
To add a new FOB type, select Add to open the “New FOB Type” window.  Type in the name of the new FOB type and press OK.  
To edit a FOB type, select Edit.
To delete a FOB type, select Delete.

IndustriesThe standard Industries defined in Estimation are Electrical, Mechanical, HVAC, and General. The maintenance selection, Industries, allows you to set up further industry descriptions, perhaps if you are working on something completely different (e.g., security systems) and want items that pertain to that industry to be identified as such.
The Industries selection appears only in the Maintenance menu for Items and Favorites in the Databook.
Select File > Maintenance > Industries to display the Industries window. 
This window shows a grid with a single column for industry descriptions. Use the function buttons at the bottom to add, edit, and delete industries.

Add:  The Add function allows you to create a new industry. When you select the Add function, the Add Industry window displays, which has only a single field for entering the industry's description. 

Edit:  Select (highlight) the industry you want to edit, and then select the Edit button. A similar window displays as described above for the Add function (the title reads “Edit” instead of “Add”), where you can make changes to the existing information.

Delete:  This function will delete the selected industry. A window will display prompting you to confirm the deletion. If you answer Yes to the Confirm Delete prompt, if there are any items in the Databook assigned to this Industry, the program will then prompt Do you want to delete thennitems with an Industry of 'description'? If you answer No, only the Industry is deleted--any items with that Industry will remain, however, their Industry field will be blank. If you answer Yes, the Industry description and all items assigned to that Industry will also be deleted from the Databook. This provides a quick way to clean out unwanted items from the Databook.

ManufacturersFrom the Estimating main menu, selecting File > Maintenance > Materials & Service Mgmt > Manufacturers accesses the file containing manufacturer data including name, abbreviation (short name), DCI code, rank, web site address, and more. The manufacturers set up here appear in the choices for Manufacturer when editing a record in Items and Favorites.
When you first receive Estimating and the Databook plug-in, the Manufacturers file will be empty. You can either build it from scratch (following the instructions in Adding Manufacturers) or, if you have the Materials Management plug-in, use its Import function to import manufacturer short names, names, and DCI codes from the Merlin purchasing program.
The Manufacturers sidebar function contains a grid and searching capabilities. Figure 1 shows a sample Manufacturers file, imported from Merlin (using the Materials Management Import function).
Once items are imported or once you have built up a large Manufacturers file, you can perform searches to find specific manufacturers. See Searching For Manufacturers. You can also edit manufacturers by following the instructions in Editing Manufacturers.

PO CategoriesThis window allows you to enter PO Categories.
To add a new Category, select Add to open the “New Category” window.  Type in the name of the new Category type and press OK.  
To edit a Category, select Edit.
To delete a Category, select Delete.

PO TypesThis window allows you to enter PO Types.
To add a new Order Type, select Add to open the “New Order Type” window.  Type in the name of the new Order Type and press OK.  
To edit an Order Type, select Edit.
To delete and Order Type, select Delete.

Price TypeThis window allows you to enter Price Types.
Type any price information in the “Price <#>” fields.  The large field at the bottom of the window can be used to enter any desired notes.
Select OK when finished.
 

Shipping Methods This window allows you to enter Shipping Methods.
To add a new Shipping Method, select Add to open the “New Shipping Method” window.  Type in a name, choose a shipping company, and enter in any notes.  Press OK when you are finished.  
To edit a Shipping Method, select Edit.
To delete a Shipping Method, select Delete.
Note:  The shipping company field is drawn from the Suppliers list.  For more information refer to Suppliers.

SourcesThis window allows you to enter Sources.
To add a new Source, select Add to open the “New Source” window.  Type in the name of the new Source and press OK.  
To edit a Source,select Edit.
To delete a Source, select Delete.

For more information, see Sources.

SubcategoriesThis window allows you to enter Subcategories.
To add a new Source, select Add to open the “Add Subcategories” window.  Type in the name of the new Subcategory and press OK.  
To edit a Subcategory, select Edit.
To delete a Subcategory, select Delete.
 

SuppliersThis option allows you to add Supplier to use with the Materials and Service Management plug-ins. 
Use to add a new supplier. This opens the New Supplier window. Enter as much information as you have about the supplier in the tabs and fields provided.

Supplier TypesThis window allows you to enter Supplier Types.
To add a new Supplier Type, select Add to open the “New Supplier Type” window.  Type in the name of the new Supplier Type and press OK.  
To edit a Supplier Type, select Edit.
To delete a Supplier, select Delete.

Tax ProfilesThe Tax Profiles selection appears on all Maintenance menus for most plug-ins.
Select File > Maintenance > Tax Profiles.
The Tax Profiles module has two "pages": Tax Profile and Tax Authority. The Tax Profile page has two parts: Tax Profiles in the top window and tax profile details in the bottom window. The Tax Profiles are descriptive names for the tax(es) applied. The tax profile details are the actual tax percentages, what order they are applied, who collects the taxes (Tax Authority), and to what they are applied. 
The Tax Authority page is where you set up all of the taxing entities which you encounter when ordering materials, when invoicing, etc.
The steps in setting up Tax Profiles are as follows:
Create your applicable Tax Authorities. See Creating Tax Authorities.
Create Tax Profile names and codes. See Creating Tax Profile Names.
Create the details for each Tax Profile. See Creating Tax Profile Details.

TermsThis window allows you to enter Terms.
To add a new Term, select Add to open the “New Terms” window.  Type in the name of the new Term and press OK.  
To edit a Term, select Edit.
To delete a Term, select Delete.

Units of MeasureThe unit of measure is the unit by which an item is priced.
The Units of Measure selection appears on all Maintenance menus for most plug-ins so it is discussed here, rather than in each individual plug-in reference.
Select File > Maintenance > Units of Measure to display the Units of Measure window. 
This window shows a grid containing two columns: UOM (Unit of Measure) and Symbol. The UOM column contains a full description of the measurement unit, while the Symbol column is an abbreviation of the unit.

Use the function buttons to add, edit, and delete units of measure.
Select Add to create a new unit of measure. When you select the Add function, the New Unit of Measure window displays, which only has fields for entering the unit’s symbol and name.

Select (highlight) the unit of measure you want to edit, and then select Edit. A similar window displays as described above for the Add function (the title reads “Edit” instead of “New”), where you can make changes to the existing information.

Clicking Delete immediately deletes the selected unit of measure. A window will display prompting you to confirm the deletion.