Estimate Information Tab
About the Estimate Information tab
The Estimate Information tab is a cover sheet for your estimate, where background information is stored. It is important to complete as many fields as possible because much of this information will appear at the top of your bid forms.
The Estimate Information tab is divided into sections. Bid information, Project information, and Attachments and links appear at the left side of the tab. On the right side of the tab, you can display either General information or Custom information.
Each section is described below:
Bid information
Stores information pertaining to the bid, such as the bid number, title, status, bid date, and the location of the bid letting.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Displays the title that was entered in the New Estimate Wizard. This is also the title that appears in the Open Estimate dialog. Your customer does NOT see this title on the Private Bid Form. You can alter this title at any time. |
| Bid number | Stores an optional bid number for internal use. Typically used for a DOT or other authority's bid number. |
| Addendum # | Specifies an addendum number provided by a customer if the project has an addendum. This is useful if you have several copies of the same estimate and need to distinguish them. |
| Status | Displays which phase of the bidding process the estimate is in. Select an existing status or create your own estimate status by typing a value in this field. Examples of possible statuses include Active, Pending, or Under Contract. |
| Status Changed | A read-only text box that displays the date when the estimate's status was last changed, and the initials of the estimator who changed the status. |
| Bid bond % | Stores the bid bond percentage for the estimate but does not calculate the actual percentage of the total or add it to the estimate. |
| Bid date | The date of the bid letting. If you place a check mark in the Bid Date field, the date you enter will be printed in the header area of the B2W Estimate private bid form. |
| Time | The time of the bid letting. Note that unlike bid dates, bid times do NOT appear in the header area of the B2W Estimate private bid form. |
| Bid location | The location of the bid letting. |
Project Information
Stores specific project information, such as customer, contact, liquidated damages, and projected value.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Project name | When you first create an estimate, this field displays the same value as the estimate's Title. The Project Name appears in the heading area of printed reports, including the Private Bid Form. |
| Primary customer |
Displays the default customer that was chosen during the New Estimate Wizard. Information for this customer will print at the top of your bid form. To print bid forms to multiple customers, you can add additional customers to your bid later on. Use the pencil icon About saving changes to Resources In B2W Estimate's options dialog, there is a setting called Save estimate organizations and contacts to Resources. If you have enabled this setting, the Edit Customer dialog will include a check box labeled Update in Resources. Enabling this check box instructs B2W Estimate to attempt to save your customer edits to the Resources version of the customer you are editing in your estimate. Use the magnifying glass icon |
| Contact |
The contact whose name will appear in the header of your printed bid form. A few words about creating new contacts To enter a new contact, type their name in this field, then press Enter. A dialog appears, prompting you to confirm the new information. If, in B2W Estimate's options dialog, you have enabled the setting called Save estimate organizations and contacts to Resources, the Create New Contact dialog will include a check box labeled Add to Resources. Enabling this check box instructs B2W Estimate to attempt to save your new contact to the Resources version of the customer you are editing in your estimate. |
| Engineer/Architect | The engineer/architect whose name will appear in the header of your printed bid form. |
| Projected Value | An entered value which represents the projected value of the project. |
| Project location | The location of the jobsite. |
| City | The city where the jobsite is located. |
| State | The state where the jobsite is located. |
| Zip | The zip code where the jobsite is located. |
| Start Date | The project's target start date. |
| Completion Date | The project's target completion date. |
| # of Phases | The number of expected project phases. |
| Liquidated Damages | Stores the liquidated damages amount specified by the customer. This value does not affect the estimate cost. |
Linked Trimble Connect Project
Manage your estimate's connection to a Trimble Connect project here.
This functionality is only available on systems with TC1 subscription licensing hosted in Trimble Cloud. Users must also have access and permissions to view the project in Trimble Connect.
Select an option to choose how this estimate interacts with Trimble Connect:
- Set Project Link: Select this option to launch the Select Trimble Connect Project dialog where you can select the project you want to associate with this estimate.
- Remove Project Link: Select this button to remove the link to an existing Trimble Connect project.
- Create New Project: Select this option to launch the Create New Trimble Connect Project dialog. Complete the following fields:
- Project name: This field will be automatically populated with the title of the estimate, named on the Estimate Info tab. This field can be edited.
- Project server location: This field will be automatically populated with the default value specified in the New Estimate Defaults page in Tools Options. Note: users must have access and permissions to view the project in Trimble Connect.
- Description: (Optional). Add a description to the new Trimble Connect project.
- Start and End Dates: (Optional) Add a start and end date to the Trimble Connect project.
Attachments and links
B2W Estimate allows several different types of attachments or links:
- Attach a file
- Link to a file
- Link to a folder
- Link to a website
Attaching files directly to your Estimate Information tab means that important documents - such as project specifications, blueprints, or jobsite photos - are always at your fingertips.
Similar to the way embedded Excel Workbooks are stored within your B2W Estimate database, attachments are copied into your estimate. In other words, attachments are NOT pointers to a file residing outside of B2W Estimate.
The maximum allowed file size for attachments is specified within the B2W Estimate Administration tool.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The filename of the attachment or link |
| Description | An open text field that stores a user-entered description. Simply select into the Description field, and enter the text you want to see. |
| Size | The size of the attachment. The default maximum file size is 1024KB. You can change this value within the B2W Estimate Administration tool. |
- To add a new attachment, select Add..., then browse to and double select the file you want to attach.
- To open a file that is attached to your estimate, select the attached file, then select Open.
- To delete a file that is attached to your estimate, select the attached file, then select Delete. Note that this does NOT delete the original file from which the attachment was made.
General Information
Stores minority requirements, user defined fields, and notes for the estimate.
How to display the General Information section
The General Information and Custom Information sections appear in the same place on the Estimate Information tab. To display general information, select General as the value for Show above the information section.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Estimate Type | Classifies the type of estimate. Public and Private are common examples. Select an estimate type from the list, or type a new value into this field. |
| Estimate Number |
Stores an optional estimate number for internal use. Optionally, you may configure B2W Estimate to automatically assign an Estimate Number to new estimates that you create. How?
|
| Job Number | Stores an optional job number typically used for tracking a number used for accounting purposes. |
| Bid As | Specifies whether you are bidding the job as a General Contractor or a Subcontractor. |
| Estimator | Stores the name of the main estimator for this project. Select a name from the list, or type a new value in this field. |
| Created | A read-only text box that displays the date when the estimate was created, and the initials of the estimator who created the estimate. |
| Minority participation requirements | Use this area to enter minority participation goals for the estimate as required by certain customers. (See related topics, below) |
| Additional information | An open text field to store miscellaneous estimate information. |
| User defined fields | Use this area to create user defined fields. (See related topics, below) |
Custom Information
Use the Custom Information section to gather specific information for an estimate, such as: email addresses and phone numbers of key contacts; checklists for tracking completion of tasks; projected costs; and so on.
How to display the Custom Information section
The General Information and Custom Information sections appear in the same place on the Estimate Information tab. To display custom information, select Custom as the value for Show above the information section.
The appearance of this section is based on a user-defined custom properties template. Use the Edit Custom Properties dialog to set up or edit the Custom Information section to meet your needs.
