Introduction to the Quotation Register in the Job Costing Module

In many cases, it will be normal practice to use a Quotation record to estimate the costs and revenues of a Project, to plan the work to be carried out and to issue a Quotation or Project Confirmation document to the Customer. Once the Quotation has been accepted by the Customer, you should copy its contents to a Project Budget record by opening the Quotation in a record window and selecting 'Project Budget' from the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or + menu (iOS/Android). No further changes should be made to the Quotation, so that the details of what was quoted to the Customer are retained. Any further changes should be made in the Project Budget record. Once work on the Project has started, you should use the Budget record to control its invoicing and in reports to check that work is running according to plan. There is no limit to the number of Quotations that can be entered for a particular Project (unless you are using the Allow one Quotation per Project only option in the Project Settings setting), but a Project can only have one Project Budget.

Please refer here for full details about Quotations in general use, and to the following pages for details about using Quotations with Job Costing:

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Entering a Quotation

This page describes creating Quotations that are connected to Projects.

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You can create a Quotation from a Project by opening the Project in a record window and selecting 'Quotation' from the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or + menu (iOS/Android). Alternatively, you can enter a Quotation first and create the Project from it later (perhaps when the Quotation has been accepted) using the 'Project' on the Create or + menu. Linking a Quotation to a Project after the Quotation has been accepted has two advantages:

  1. The Project register will not be filled with records relating to Rejected Quotations; and

  2. It prevents the accidental creation of a Project Budget record before a Quotation has been accepted. It is not possible to create a Project Budget from a Quotation that has not been linked to a Project.
However, it has the following disadvantage:
  1. If a Quotation is not linked to a Project, pricing, especially of time, may not be correct. The Job Costing pricing structure described on the Time, Purchases and Materials from Time Sheets and Activities page will only be used in Quotations that are connected to Projects. It will not be used in and may not be appropriate for Quotations that are not related to Projects.
The Quotation register is also to be found in the Quotations module. Only the features of this register relating to Job Costing are described on the pages listed below. Please refer here or a full description of this register.

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Please refer here for full details about Quotations in general use, and to the following pages for details about using Quotations with Job Costing:

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Entering a Quotation - Terms Card

This page describes the fields on the 'Terms' card of the Quotation record that are connected to Projects. Please refer here for a more general description of this card.

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Project
Paste Special    Project register, Job Costing module
Enter a Project Code here to connect a Quotation to a specific Project. The Customer, Currency and Tags/Objects will be brought in to the Quotation from the Project. The Salesman in the Project or, if that field is blank, the Project Manager 1 will be brought in to the Salesman field in the Quotation, and the radio button options on the 'Job Costing' card will be set as determined on the 'Service', 'Purchases', 'Stocked Items' and 'Materials' cards of the Project Settings setting.

It is usually recommended that you link a Quotation to a Project immediately, before listing any Items. You can do this using 'Paste Special' to connect a Quotation to an existing Project, or you can create a Project from a Quotation by selecting 'Project' from the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or + menu (iOS/Android). This field will be filled in automatically if you create a Project in this way. Linking a Quotation to a Project ensures that pricing, especially of time, will be correct as a Quotation that is connected to a Project will use the Job Costing pricing structure described on the Pricing and Costs - Time, Purchases and Materials from Time Sheets and Activities page. This pricing structure is not used in and may not be appropriate for Quotations that are not related to Projects.

The 'Project Budget' function on the Create or + menu will not create a Project Budget from a Quotation if its Project field is empty.

There is no limit to the number of Quotations that can be connected to a particular Project unless you are using the Allow one Quotation per Project only option in the Project Settings setting.
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Please refer here for full details about Quotations in general use, and to the following pages for details about using Quotations with Job Costing:

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Entering a Quotation - Items Card

This page describes the fields on the 'Items' card of the Quotation record that are connected to Projects. Please refer here for a more general description of this card.

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Flip F

Person, Time Class, Markup, Type, Inv. After
These fields together with those on the 'Job Costing' card will be used to calculate the value of the Project to be quoted to the Customer. Information entered in these fields will be copied to the corresponding fields in any Project Budget record that you create from the Quotation using the 'Project Budget' function on the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or + menu (iOS/Android). Please refer to the page describing the 'Items' card of the Project Budget register for descriptions of these fields.

In the case of the Markup field, if you enter an overall Markup on the 'Job Costing' card, it will be copied to the Markup field in every row.


!

Make sure you specify a Project on the 'Terms' card of a Quotation before using the fields on flip F. If you do not do so, the Person and Time Class fields on flip F will not affect the pricing of time.


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Please refer here for full details about Quotations in general use, and to the following pages for details about using Quotations with Job Costing:

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Entering a Quotation - Price List Card

This page describes the fields on the 'Price List' card of the Quotation record that are connected to Projects. Please refer here for a more general description of this card.

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Comment
If you create a Project from a Quotation by selecting 'Project' from the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or + menu (iOS/Android), the first line of this Comment will be copied to the Description field in the Project.
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Please refer here for full details about Quotations in general use, and to the following pages for details about using Quotations with Job Costing:

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Entering a Quotation - Job Costing Card

This page describes the fields on the 'Job Costing' card of the Quotation record.

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Markup
This field allows you to add a markup to each row in a Quotation. The figure that you enter will be placed in the Markup field on flip F of each row. If necessary you can change the Markup in an individual row.
You can enter an amount or a percentage (e.g. enter "10%" to calculate a 10% markup). You can also enter a negative amount or percentage to effect a discount.

This overall Markup will be applied after each Price has been multiplied by the Quantity and after any discount percentage has been applied.

After specifying a Markup in this field, it will not be copied to any rows that you subsequently add to the Quotation, but you can remedy this by re-typing.

Invoice Time, Invoice Stocked Items, Invoice Materials, Invoice Purchases
Use these sets of options to specify how Items of the various types will eventually be invoiced to the Customer. These options are essentially defaults: in a Quotation they do not directly affect the invoicing process, but the options that you choose will be copied to a Project Budget if you create it from the Quotation by selecting 'Project Budget' from the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or + menu (iOS/Android).

Please refer to the page describing the 'Invoicing' card of the Project Budget register for descriptions of each set of options.

You can choose which option will be selected as a default in each new Quotation using the Budget options on the 'Service', 'Purchases', 'Stocked Items' and 'Materials' cards in the Project Settings setting.

Time
This field shows the total value of time (i.e. Service Items) listed on the 'Items' card in the Quotation. It will be updated automatically.

Stocked
This field shows the total value of Stocked Items listed on the 'Items' card in the Quotation. It will be updated automatically.

Materials
This field shows the total value of materials (i.e. Plain Items in which the Treat Item as Material on Project box is ticked) listed on the 'Items' card in the Quotation. It will be updated automatically.

Purchases
This field shows the total value of purchases (i.e. Plain Items in which the Treat Item as Material on Project box is not ticked) listed on the 'Items' card in the Quotation. It will be updated automatically.
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Please refer here for full details about Quotations in general use, and to the following pages for details about using Quotations with Job Costing:

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Create Menu - Quotation

This page describes the functions on the Create menu of the Quotation window that are connected with Projects and Job Costing. Please refer here for details about the other options on this menu.

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When a Quotation record is open in a record window, the Create menu is available.

Please refer to the following pages for details about the commands on this menu that are related to Job Costing:
Please refer here for full details about Quotations in general use, and to the following pages for details about using Quotations with Job Costing:
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Create Menu - Quotation - Project

This page describes the 'Project' function on the Create menu in the Quotation record window. If you are using iOS or Android, the 'Project' function is on the + menu.

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The 'Project' function allows you to create a Project from a Quotation.

To create a Project from a Quotation, first open the Quotation in a record window and/or ensure you have saved all changes and then select 'Project' from the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or + menu (iOS/Android). A new Project will be created, containing Customer details from the Quotation. The Description of the Project will be taken from the Comment field on the 'Price List' card of the Quotation.

The new Project will be opened in a window entitled 'Project: Inspect'. This means that it has been created and saved, and is being opened for checking. After amendment if necessary, save it by clicking the [Save] button (Windows/macOS) or tapping √ (iOS/Android) and close it using the close box or by tapping <.. Alternatively, if you no longer require the Project, select 'Delete' from the Record menu (which has a 'cog' icon if you are using iOS or Android).

The Project Code of the new Project will be copied back to the Project field on the 'Terms' card of the Quotation. If this field already contains a Project Code when you select this function, a new Project will not be created and instead the existing Project will be opened in a new window.

If you need Quotations to pass through an approval process before you can create Mails from them, you can configure such a process using the Approval Rules register in the Business Alerts module. Please refer to the description of the Approval Status options on the 'Inv. Address' card of the Quotation window for brief details about the approval process and here for full details.

You can use Access Groups to prevent certain users from creating Orders from Quotations. To do this, deny them access to the 'Order from Quotation' Action.

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Please refer here for full details about Quotations in general use, and to the following pages for details about using Quotations with Job Costing:

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Create Menu - Quotation - Project Budget

This page describes the 'Project Budget' function on the Create menu in the Quotation record window. If you are using iOS or Android, the 'Project Budget' function is on the + menu.

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The 'Project Budget' function allows you to create a Project Budget record from a Quotation. The new Project Budget will be an exact copy of the Quotation, reducing typing load and reducing the risk of error. This is especially useful where you have used a Quotation to plan precisely the Items (especially Stocked Items) that are to be supplied to complete a Project, and where special pricing has been agreed for those Items. If any of the Quotation rows already have an Invoice Number on flip F, it will be transferred to the Budget, so the rows will not be invoiced again.

To create a Project Budget from a Quotation, first open the Quotation in a record window and/or ensure you have saved all changes and then select 'Project Budget' from the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or + menu (iOS/Android). The new Project Budget will be opened in a window entitled 'Project Budget: New'. This means that it has not yet been saved. Once you have checked that it is correct and, if necessary, made any amendments, save it by clicking the [Save] button (Windows/macOS) or tapping √ (iOS/Android) and close it using the close box or by tapping <. Alternatively, if you no longer require the Project Budget, click [Cancel] or tap <. In either case, you will be returned to the Quotation window.

If the function does not create a Project Budget record when expected, the probable causes are:

  1. A Project Budget record for the Project already exists.

  2. You have marked the Quotation as Rejected or Closed.

  3. The Project field on the 'Terms' card of the Quotation is empty.

  4. You have not saved the Quotation.
If you need Quotations to pass through an approval process before you can create Mails from them, you can configure such a process using the Approval Rules register in the Business Alerts module. Please refer to the description of the Approval Status options on the 'Inv. Address' card of the Quotation window for brief details about the approval process and here for full details.

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Please refer here for full details about Quotations in general use, and to the following pages for details about using Quotations with Job Costing:

Go back to: