Configuring an Estimate

Estimates have a high level of configurability, ensuring you can create your estimates with precision. For more information about creating an estimate, see Creating an Estimate.

An estimate record consists of two main components: Estimate Variables and Estimate Builder.

Estimate Variables

The Variables tab enables you to amend any global details on an estimate.

In the Global section of the Variables tab, you can amend the start and end date of the estimate. You can also select whether the estimate is the primary version for the opportunity, and the billing type.

The Cost Contingency field enables you to set a budget for any unexpected costs. This amount is added to the net amount and cost for the estimate. You can also select the Apply Discount to Cost Contingency checkbox, so that any discounts on the estimate are applied to the cost contingency.

The Expense field enables you to specify an expense amount to apply to the total amount and cost of the estimate. You can also select the Apply Discount to Expense, so that any discounts on the estimate are applied to the expense amount.

To apply a discount to an estimate, enter the percentage to discount in the Global Discount (%) field on the estimate.

Note:

If a global discount is applied to the estimate, this is not currently displayed in the Net Bill Amount column in the Estimate Builder component. Global discounts are only reflected in the Net Bill Amount field on individual records.

For more information about the fields displayed on the Variables tab, see Estimate Fields.

Estimate Builder

The Builder tab contains the Estimate Builder component, which enables you to build your estimate using estimate products, line sets, tasks, and role requests.

Note:

You must have the appropriate permissions for the fields to display in the Estimate Builder component. Contact your administrator.

Hierarchy of Estimate Records

Records on an estimate employ the following hierarchy:

1. Estimate Products
2. Line Sets
3. Tasks
4. Role Requests

Each record can exist alone, but they will always exist in the outlined hierarchy if the records are related to each other. Any changes to records will have an effect on their parent and child records. If a parent record is deleted, its child records will also be deleted.

Tip:

You can reorder and reparent records by dragging and dropping the rows. However, the new location of the records must still respect the hierarchy, and records can't be moved into or out of estimate products.

Date Behavior

Records on an estimate retain their duration when their dates are changed. For example, if you move the start date of a record forward by one day, the end date of the record will also move forward by one day. If the record has parent or child records, those records can also inherit the date changes. If the new dates are outside of the parent or child records' dates, the new date will be copied to these records, and the start or end date will change to accommodate the new date and ensure the duration remains the same.

This date behavior is useful if, for example, you want to move the dates of a task forward by one week. Any related role requests will also be moved forward by one week and their duration will remain the same.

Estimate Builder Component Buttons

The following table describes the buttons in the Estimate Builder component.

Buttons in the Estimate Builder Component

Button	Name	Description	Further Information
	Refresh	Refreshes the Estimate Builder component to display any external changes.
	Hours Breakdown	Opens the Hours Breakdown view, where you can specify the hours for each role request for the selected task per week.	Adding Role Requests to an Estimate
	Collapse All	Collapses all records in the builder so that only the highest level records are visible.
	Expand All	Expands all records in the builder so that all of the estimate's records are visible.
	Delete	Deletes the selected records. Tip: You can delete multiple records by selecting the checkboxes next to the records you want to delete, or by holding down Command (Mac), Ctrl (PC) while selecting a cell on the row of the records you want to delete. Then, click .
	Add Line Set	Adds a line set to the estimate.	Adding Line Sets to an Estimate
	Add Role Request	Adds a role request to the estimate.	Adding Role Requests to an Estimate
	Add Task	Adds a task to the estimate.	Adding Tasks to an Estimate