Introduction

The following instructions walk you through an overview of the export, setting up default B2W Estimate export options, configuring an estimate for export, and creating the file that you may then import to your ComputerEase accounting package.

Overview of the export

In a nutshell, the process of sending B2W Estimate information to your accounting package consists of creating an "export file" which contains information about your estimate's costs and prices. This file is saved in a format that will be imported and interpreted by your accounting system.

Of course, before you can successfully create this export file, you'll need to do some coding within certain fields at the pay item and/or component levels in your estimate. If you're thinking ahead (and if your codes are consistent) you can even do some "pre-emptive coding" within the Item Database area!

However, before we go into the details about cost codes, let's preview some basics:

• Default settings that tell B2W Estimate how to speak to your accounting package are entered in the Options dialog. This topic is discussed in the next section.
• The export file that B2W Estimate generates contains information about the items and/or components in a specific estimate.
• Indirect, bond, and overhead costs export by distribution to pay items.
• This export uses the bottom-up approach. This means that a child component with a cost code "overrides" its parent's cost code. More specifically, its costs are subtracted from its parent's, and appear in their own cost breakdown element.
• The ComputerEase file format is a tab-delimited text (TXT) file. The file begins with a comment record which lists the fields which are exported in the file. This is followed by cost records which contain cost information for cost components. Lastly, revenue records are written at the end of the file containing total revenues for each phase.
• It is important to note that revenue records are only created for phase codes entered at the pay item level, as this is the only level within B2W Estimate where pricing (i.e. revenue) exists. In other words, revenue records are not created for phase codes entered below the item level.

Cost record layout

Configuring your default export options

Before you can successfully export to ComputerEase, you must first configure some basic export settings in the Options dialog. This is part of the initial setup; once these settings are properly entered, you should not have to perform these steps again.

How?

1. Launch B2W Estimate, and log in.
2. Select Options, and choose Tools Options.
3. In the Options dialog, click the Imports/Exports folder, then click the Export Settings page.
4. In the Select Export Format box, select ComputerEase.

5. If desired, you may enter up to seven optional Material Categories. This tells B2W Estimate to tally the total costs of estimate materials with categories that match one of these two values, and export that total cost to ComputerEase.

   
   
   

6. In the Revenue Record Description field, choose the option you wish to use for exporting revenue records and descriptions.

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   Possible Choices

   A running sum of "Total Revenue" is tallied for the pay item and keyed by "Phase Number". "Total Revenue" is equal to the pay item's total bid price.

   • Lump Sum: after all pay items have been exported, revenue records are added to the file for each unique Phase Number.
   • Job Cost ID Description: when a cost record is exported for a pay item:
     • Contract Amount = Sum of total bid price of all Pay Items in the phase.
     • Phase Description = Pay item's Job Cost ID description if the pay item has a Job Cost ID description, otherwise blank.
   • Item Description: Each pay item is its own phase:
     • Contract Amount = The pay item's total bid price
     • Phase Description = The pay item's description

     Note: For this option, duplicate Phase Numbers are not allowed, and will cause the export process to abort.

7. Use the Category Description for Cost Components setting to control which values are exported to the Category Description column for Cost Components. The default is Component Description which uses the Cost Component's description. Alternately, Job Cost ID Description uses the Cost Component's Job Cost ID Description, if there is one. If there isn't one, the Cost Component's description is used instead.
8. In the Export Labor Hours and Base Cost using field, you may change the default value from Total Labor to Regular Labor. Total labor includes regular, OT (overtime), and DT (double time). Regular labor excludes OT and DT.
9. Set Combine Matching Phase Numbers & Category Numbers to Yes to combine the quantity and costs of Cost Records that have the same Phase and Category Numbers.
10. Export Fringe Labor Burdens Separately - This setting determines which labor burdens to export separately from other burdens as fringe. It has two options: Description or Category. If the labor burden description starts with word 'Fringe', it is added to fringe labor burdens. If labor burden category starts with word 'Fringe', it is added to fringe labor burdens.
11. Phase Number Source - When Job Code is selected, the part after the ~ character is outputed as Phase (column 1). Other options for Phase are Line Number and Item Number. Note that if the user chooses to export Indirect Items separately, Phase is outputted as blank.
12. Export Indirect Items Indirect items are exported as separate records in the same way as Pay Items.

Note: If you wish to export fringe costs for labor, you will need to create a labor burden called "Fringe" and associate it with the appropriate labor types in Resources. During an export to ComputerEase, B2W Estimate exports the values associated with this burden as "Labor Fringe Burden," breaking the value out of the more general "Labor Burden" category.

Configuring an estimate for export to ComputerEase

1. Open the estimate that you wish to export to ComputerEase.

2. On the Estimate Detail tab, verify that your pay items and/or cost components are coded as follows:

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   Combination Job Cost IDs

   The combination job cost ID can be used to encode several pieces of information within a single Job Cost ID (or Task JC ID) field in B2W Estimate. As shown below, the different elements within a combination job cost ID are separated by a tilde ("~").

   Example

   
   
   

   In this case, "001" is the "first part" of the combination job cost ID, and "3500" is the "second part." When using combination ID's at the component level, the first part of the combination job cost ID is the Phase Number, and the second part is the Category Number.

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   Coding at the pay item level

   Accounting codes may be entered in two places at the B2W Estimate pay item level:

   Task JC ID

   This field represents the ComputerEase Category Number. Entering a value in a pay item's Task JC ID field tells B2W Estimate that all direct costs within the pay item account to the same Category Number. This code will also be used for indirect cost, bond, overhead, and/or profit that have been distributed into the pay item. If you leave a pay item's Task JC ID field blank, the text "NOCAT" will be used for the pay item's Category Number, and B2W Estimate will search the item's cost structure for component level coding.

   Job Cost ID

   This field stores the ComputerEase Phase Number. If you leave a pay item's Job Cost ID field blank, the Phase Number will be blank and any value in the pay item's Task JC ID field will be ignored.

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   Recap of pay item level Job Cost ID set-up

   Job Cost ID Field	Task JCID Field	Description
   Combination	n/a	The first part of the combination Job Cost ID will be the Phase Number. The second part of the combination Job Cost ID will be the Category Number.
   Non-combination	Non-blank	The item's Job Cost ID will be the Phase Number. The item's Task JCID will be the Category Number.
   Non-combination	Blank	The item's Job Cost ID will be the Phase Number. The text "NOCAT" will be the Category Number.
   Blank	Blank	The Phase Number is blank. The text "NOCAT" will be the Category Number.
   Blank	Non-blank	The Phase Number is blank. The value entered in the items' Task JCID field is ignored, and the text "NOCAT" will be the Category Number.

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   Exporting at the component level

   Exporting at the component level allows you to have multiple ComputerEase Phase Numbers or Category Numbers within a single detailed B2W Estimate pay item.

   To export the cost structures within a detailed pay item to multiple ComputerEase Phase Numbers or Category Numbers, simply:

   1. Within the same pay item, enter a value in the Job Cost ID fields of any task, crew, or cost component as follows:
      • Non Combination ID: The value you enter will be used as the Category Number. The cost component's parent's Phase Number will be used as the Phase Number.
      • Combination ID: The first part of the combination Job Cost ID will be the Phase Number. The second part of the combination Job Cost ID will be the Category Number.
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   Recap of cost component level Job Cost ID set-up

   Job Cost ID Field	Description
   Combination	The first part of the combination Job Cost ID will be the Phase Number. The second part of the combination Job Cost ID will be the Category Number.
   Non-combination	The cost component's parent's Phase Number will be the Phase Number. The cost component's Job Cost ID will be the Category Number.

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   Coding materials for both B2W Track and ComputerEase

   Clients who own both ComputerEase and B2W Track can use a special type of combination Job Cost ID for material components. This special type of ID allows you to use one field - the material Job Cost ID field - to store two different codes, one for B2W Track and one for ComputerEase.

   This type of combination code is entered with a semicolon delimiter, as shown here: {B2W Track Material ID};{ComputerEase Code}

   Example 1

   
   
   

   In Example 1, "BUILD1" is the "first part" (B2W Track Material ID), and "CE1" is the "second part" (ComputerEase cost code).

   Example 2

   
   
   

   In Example 2, "CE1" represents the ComputerEase phase code, "CE2" represents the ComputerEase cost code, and "BUILD1" represents the B2W Track material ID.

   Example 3

   
   
   

   Example 3 demonstrates the proper way to code a material for B2W Track purposes without affecting the ComputerEase export. "BUILD1" represents the B2W Track material ID.

   Example 4

   
   
   

   In Example 4, "COMMONCODE" represents both the B2W Track material ID and the ComputerEase cost code.

   Note: There is no special coding needed in your Track and Dispatch export settings, beyond the Material ID mapping for single part codes, as shown below:

   
   
   

Examples of common coding scenarios

Below are a few examples of different ways to code a pay item in an estimate. The screenshots were taken from B2W Estimate's Job Cost report, a useful tool when analyzing estimate cost coding.

Example 1: Category ID and Phase Number at the pay item level

• All costs will be summarized and exported at the pay item level.
• The ComputerEase Phase Number is "2300" - the value entered in the pay item's Job Cost ID field.
• The ComputerEase Category ID is "1234" - the value entered in the pay item's Task JC ID field.

Example 2: Coding at the pay item AND component level (non-combination ID)

Item Level:

• Crew and trucking costs summarized and exported at the pay item level. Material cost is backed out at the item level.
• The ComputerEase Phase Number is "2300" (pay item's Job Cost ID).
• The ComputerEase Category ID is "1234" (pay item's Task JC ID).

Component Level:

• A separate record will be exported for the material "Asphalt Surface."
• The ComputerEase Phase Number is "2300" (material's Job Cost ID).
• The ComputerEase Category ID is "5678" (material's Job Cost ID).

Example 3: Coding at the pay item AND component level (combination ID)

Item Level:

• Crew and trucking costs summarized and exported at the pay item level.
• The ComputerEase Phase Number is "2300" (pay item's Job Cost ID).
• The ComputerEase Category ID is "1234" (pay item's Task JC ID).

Component Level:

• A separate record will be exported for the material "Asphalt Surface."
• The ComputerEase Phase Number is "3000" (first part of combination ID).
• The ComputerEase Category ID is "5678" (second part of combination ID).

Example 4: Phase Number at the item level, Category ID at the task level

Item Level: A record will export at the item level with no cost information. Includes distributed bond, indirect, and overhead.

Component Level - 2" Base Course: Phase Number "2500"; Category Number "1111".

Component Level - 1" Surface Course: Phase Number "2500"; Category Number "2222".

Example 5: No coding at item level, Category ID and Phase Number at the task level

Item Level: A record will export at the item level with no cost information.

Component Level - 2" Base Course: Phase Number "4000"; Category Number "1111".

Component Level - 1" Surface Course: Phase Number "5000"; Category Number "2222".

Creating the export file

Your final step is to create an export file that contains revenue and cost information for the items and/or cost components in your estimate. This file may then be imported into your accounting package.

How?

1. Open the estimate that you wish to export to ComputerEase.
2. Click the Tools menu, point to Import/Export, and then select Export Estimate Detail.
3. The Export Estimate Detail wizard appears. Click Next.
4. On the Select Export Format page, verify that ComputerEase is the selected export format, and then click Next.
5. On the Enter File Name page, click Browse, and navigate to the folder where you wish the export file to be created. The default filename will be the job title of your estimate, with a ".txt" extension.
6. Click Save, then click Next, and then click Finish.
7. Once the export program finishes, review warnings about missing codes and click Close.
8. Import the text file into ComputerEase.