QB Switch-- Estimates

Goldenseal estimating is much more advanced than Quickbooks Pro.

Simple Estimates

To make a simple Goldenseal estimate where you just type in items, follow these steps:

1. Choose Estimates from the Income menu.
2. Click the New button.
3. Click on the Breakdown field on the left side of the window, and enter Category.
4. Click in the first row of the breakdown table, and type a brief description into the Cost Item column.
5. Enter a quantity into the Quantity column, and a unit cost into the Unit Cost column.
6. To add a new row, press the middle Enter key (Windows) or the Return key (Macintosh).
7. Repeat steps 4 to 6 for each item you'd like to include in the estimate.

Unit Cost Estimates

To make a Goldenseal estimate using unit cost items, follow these steps:

1. Choose Estimates from the Income menu.
2. Click the New button.
3. Click on the Breakdown field on the left side of the window, and enter Items.
4. Click in the first row of the breakdown table, and enter Assemblies, Labor, Materials or another choice in the Cost Area column.
5. Click in the Cost Item column, and choose an item.
6. Enter a quantity into the Quantity column. Goldenseal will automatically calculate the total item cost.
7. To add a new row, press the middle Enter key (Windows) or the Return key (Macintosh).
8. Repeat steps 4 to 6 for each item you'd like to include in the estimate.

Dimensions

Most of the Goldenseal starter files include dimensions layouts that let you enter measurements, and then get quantities for each item in an estimate. For example, the construction starter files include dimensions for building projects, as well as "room by room" estimates.

Advanced Features

Goldenseal includes many additional estimating features that are not part of Quickbooks:

• Allowances-- Use allowances when you can't give a firm price because you don't have exact specifications.
• Assemblies-- Use assemblies for work that includes both labor and materials. Goldenseal starter files already include assemblies for different types of work.
• Bids-- Use bids to enter prices from suppliers or subcontractors. You can track single bids or competitive bids.
• Categories-- Use categories to make it easier to locate estimate items. When you enter a category into the Category column, Goldenseal only shows the cost items that belong to that category.
• Contracts-- Goldenseal automatically creates a "scope of work" from an estimate.
• Locations-- Use locations to divide an estimate into different phases or sections.
• Material Takeoffs-- Goldenseal creates a bill of materials that lists the items to purchase for a project.
• Percentages-- Goldenseal lets you add line items that are a percentage of hard costs, labor, materials or the complete project cost. You can use them for overhead, profit, sales tax and other items.
• Schedules-- Goldenseal automatically computes the start date for each item in an estimate, based on the labor involved with that item and the crew size.
• Templates-- Use templates to estimate your "standard" projects more quickly. They'll start you with the basic project quantities, so you only need to worry about the items that are different on this project.
• Unlisted Items-- Use unlisted items to type in a "one time" cost.

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