About using alternates

Alternates enable you to prepare more versatile estimates that include optional pricing packages. The ability to define alternates enables you to tailor each estimate in response to specific financial concerns—a necessity for a competitive bid in today's construction environment.

Here are the general steps for using alternates in your estimate:

1. You use the Edit Alternates window to define the alternate packages that you want to provide to a customer. For example, you could create "Base" (for the "must have" details of the estimate) plus several optional packages, such as "Landscaping," "Parking Lot," "Marble Flooring," and so on.

   To open the Edit Alternates window, click Advanced tab > Alternates.

2. You use the Edit Alternate Statuses window to define your customer's commitment to include alternates in a job. For example, you might use "Proposed" to indicate that you have suggested an alternate to your customer, and "Accepted" to indicate that your customer has agreed to pay for an alternate. Later, you can apply these statuses to individual alternates in an estimate.

   Tip: You select Include? for a status if you want to include alternates assigned to this status in estimate totals.

   To open the Edit Alternate Statuses window, click Advanced tab > Statuses.

3. When you are ready to assign alternates to estimate details, you can use the Select Alternates window, or you can select the alternate right on the spreadsheet.

   First, you need to display the Alternates column on the spreadsheet. Then, you can assign the alternate in one of the following ways:

   • Assign the alternate directly on the spreadsheet. In the Alternates column, click in the cell for the detail line, and then select the alternate from the list that appears.

   • Right-click in the Alternates cell, click Select Alternate, and then select the alternate in the Select Alternates window that appears.

   Note: If the alternate uses a status that is marked "Included," the alternate is included in the estimate totals.

4. You use the summary pane to view alternate totals for an estimate, and to export the totals to a Microsoft Excel file for further analysis and presentation to your customer.

   The amounts displayed in this pane can vary, depending on whether the alternates have an Included status type, and whether you selected the Show Excluded Alternates option on the Advanced tab.

   To display the summary pane, click Advanced tab > Summary.

   Note: The Summary icon and pane and the Show Excluded Alternates option are not available until you add alternates to the estimate.

   You can export the Alternate Summary totals to an Excel spreadsheet that you can print for your customer.

   To export the Alternate Summary for the current estimate, you click the Export to Excel icon in the Alternate Summary pane.