Maintaining Categories for a Cost Estimate

Categories are used to separate items of work into specific groups, making it easier to work with large numbers of items. For example, categories can be used to separate different types of work, funding sources, locations, or individual structures. When you assign categories to cost estimate items, you can view the total estimated cost of active items in the category. You can also assign categories to typical sections and the category total will include the cost of the active typical sections.

The Categories tab on the Cost Estimate Summary lists all of the categories for items and typical sections included in the cost estimate, as well as the total cost of active items and active typical sections in each category. If the cost estimate is associated with a project or proposal that includes project items or proposal items, the information on the Categories tab is read-only. Changes made to categories and items on the project or sections and items on the proposal are automatically updated on the cost estimate category (see Managing Categories and Items and Managing Proposal Sections and Items).

Each category row includes an Actions button. When you expand a category row, you can view or change values in these fields:

Click in a field and add, change, or delete information as needed.

If you enter a value in the Category Alternate Member field, you must enter a value in the Category Alternate Set field.

To delete a category from the cost estimate, select Delete from the Actions menu on the category row. To reverse the deletion, click the Undo button. When you delete a category from a cost estimate, the Category value is removed from any cost estimate items and typical sections that were assigned that category.

To add a new category to the cost estimate, click the New button. The system adds a new blank category row to the list. To save a new cost estimate category, you must enter a value in the Description field and a unique value in the Category field.

When you are finished, click the Save button. The system displays a message to confirm that your changes were saved in the database.