SpecWriter Estimate Menu Reference

Generating the Estimate Worksheet involves:

1. Copying the specifications you “tagged” on the Checklist to the Estimate page.
2. Resorting them into the 8 sections of the Specifications.
3. Numbering and lettering them into the outline format.
4. Copying the Cost Code Number into the left column.
5. Adding the extra columns on the right of the specifications.
6. Adding the Estimate Summary at the bottom of the page.
7. Formatting the print range.

You may generate the Estimate Worksheet as many times as you wish, although you will lose any prior estimate in the process.

We recommend that you wait and generate the Estimate Worksheet after you have reviewed and revised the Specifications.

When you re-generate an Estimate Worksheet, any existing Estimate will be moved to a new page named Prior Estimate.

Deciding when to generating a new Estimate Worksheet is a management decision, as follows:

1. If only a couple of specifications were revised, then you probable only need to edit the existing Estimate to reflect the modifications.
2. If you need to add an entirely new item to an existing estimate, then you may avail yourself of the extra 10 lines we have provided at the bottom of the Estimate for just such a purpose.
3. If you determine that there were enough changes to the Specifications that you need to generate a new Estimate Worksheet, then your existing numbers in the existing Estimate will be saved for your reference in a new page named Prior Estimate.
4. Remember: The Specifications and the Estimate are generated independently of each other, so revising the Specifications so they are picture perfect for the contract does not necessarily require that you re-generate a new estimate.

This command is identical to the Settings | Program Settings menu command.
Of course, you can always override the percentages in the Estimate Worksheet at any time simply by entering new percentages as desired.

You can read the descriptions of the different options in the dialog box itself.

You may switch back and forth between the different presentation options as often as you wish with no effect on the numbers you’ve entered.

Many SpecWriter users will perform their estimate vertically, which means they totaled the costs at the bottom and then added the overhead and profit, but will then switch to the horizontal markup presentation and show the client the costs that include overhead and profit in each line item.

The default setting in SpecWriter is with the lines visible.

You can switch between the two options as often as you wish, so give it a try and see if you like it.

The Page Break View draws bold blue lines on the Estimate representing the actual pages that will be printed, and ghost-writes the page number in grey lettering across each page. (it doesn’t get printed that way)

The only reason we’ve included this function here is because the Estimate does not actually have designated page footers like the Specifications, and thus when printed the pages will break naturally with the length of the page itself, something you can’t actually see on the page itself.

The default setting in SpecWriter is with the Page Break View off.

You can switch between the two options as often as you wish, so give it a try and see if you like it.

In the Preview mode you can use the menu bar at the top of the page to move between the pages and to zoom in on any portion of a page for a closer view.

You can also use the Margins menu to change the page margins, by we strongly suggest that you leave our default settings as they are.

Use the Close menu button to close the Print Preview function when you are finished reviewing the Estimate.

It’s always a good idea to preview the Estimate before printing it.

If you need to send the print job to another printer, or if you only want to print a page or specific pages of the Estimate, then you should use File | Print Dialog Box instead.

This feature is designed in recognition of the fact that in many instances, such as when you are about to meet with your customer, you need will need two copies of the Estimate.

With this function, you can start the print routine and forget about it until it’s finished.

This function will print the Prior Estimate.