Estimating Small Jobs

How do I use Goldenseal for small job estimates?

Goldenseal construction estimating software lets you use several different sizes of estimates, for different sized projects.

Simple Estimates

For extremely small jobs, you can use a simple estimate with no breakdowns. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Estimates from the Income menu.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. Enter None into the breakdown popup (on the left side of the window).
  4. Type in a brief description for the work, and the amount it will cost.

Category Breakdowns

For jobs that are slightly more complicated, use a Category breakdown to list the work you'll do. Follow these steps:

  1. Choose Estimates from the Income menu.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. Enter Category into the breakdown popup (on the left side of the window).
  4. Click in the first row of the breakdown table, and type in details for one part of the work.
  5. Hit the Return key or Enter key to add a row to the table.
  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5.

HINT-- if you do similar work repeatedly, set up a Template for the work. For more about templates in the Getting Started manual, click here.

Item Breakdowns

If you want to use unit costs for a slightly larger estimate, use an Item breakdown to detail the work you'll do. Follow these steps:

  1. Choose Estimates from the Income menu.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. Enter Items into the breakdown popup (on the left side of the window).
  4. Click in the first row of the breakdown table, and type in details for one part of the work. You can just type in quantities for each item.
  5. Hit the Return key or Enter key to add a row to the table.
  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5.

HINT-- if you do similar work repeatedly, set up a Template for the work. For more about templates in the Getting Started manual, click here.

Using Templates

You can save time by setting up templates for the small jobs that you do frequently. When you use a template, it will already include the unit costs for a standard project, so you won't need to enter them from scratch each time.

To set up a template, follow these steps:

  1. Set up an estimate for a typical project with an Item breakdown.
  2. Choose Template this Item from the Options menu.
  3. Give the template a name, then click OK.

To use a template, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Estimates from the Income menu.
  2. Click the template button (to the right of the New button) and choose a template.
  3. Choose Estimate Dimensions from the Options menu, and choose the first dimension layout.
  4. Enter whatever measurements apply to this project..
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each dimension. You can ignore anything that doesn't apply to this job.
  6. When you are finished, choose Estimate Dimensions from the Options menu, and choose Specifications from the submenu.
  7. Click the Update Quantities button to calculate quantities for this job.

Click here to return to estimating topics .

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