Explains how to search, filter and copy prior estimates to quickly build up your new estimate
Search for Previous Estimates
There are three ways to search for and re-use previous estimates
- When creating your new proposal you can copy and existing proposal or template including its estimates from the SETUP tab
- When creating a new estimate you can select a previous estimate or template in 'have you done similar work before' in the WORK tab
- As you end a new scope item, task or WBS you can search for or select previous WBS or scoping elements matching your description to copy from
This article is focused on searching and re-using prior estimates from the estimating app.
Search & Re-use during Estimate Setup
When filling out a new estimate, in the WORK tab for proposal or capital project estimates, select the best response to 'Have you done similar work before' either Yes, a proposal or capital project, Yes, in a template or No, create from scratch (highlighted below).
- If you selected either 'yes' option to select the proposal, project or template you want to copy from
- WBS or scope items which are marked as estimates only are showing in the next field, select one of these estimates within your selected proposal, project or template to copy from
- Click the COPY button to start the copy.
After clicking the COPY button (3 above) you will be presented with a popup, shown below, where you can see how many tasks, labor estimating records, bill of material components, travel records or other direct cost records exist in the selected estimate with options to:
- Copy the checked items replacing any existing tasks, labor, bill of material, travel or ODC estimates currently in your estimate
- Copy the checked items adding to your existing estimate
- Cancel, do not copy anything.
Search & Re-use during Estimate Maintenance
As you add scope items, work packages and tasks in the proposal or capital project WBS tab, or the proposal or capital project estimate WORK tab, you can add new work packages and search for existing work packages to re-use simply by typing in the name of that work package.
In the screen below, the user is adding a new work-package called 'option' into the WORK or STRUCTURE tab of the estimate, and the system is automatically searching for previous estimates also containing the word 'option'. Here you can:
- Ignore the previous estimates listed in the drop-down and just type in the description of the new work-package. On clicking away or pressing RETURN or TAB on the new work-package text input a new 'empty' WBS is created without reference to any previous work, just as if there was nothing to copy from in the first place
- Select any of the pre-existing work packages from the drop down to invoke the copy control for that work-package
- Click on the ADVANCED SEARCH button to gain a better perspective into the work packages you are copying from, as explained below.
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