Category Sheet Structure

NOTE-- We retired the MacNail estimating program in 2000, and replaced it with Goldenseal construction estimating software. There are still a significant number of die-hard MacNail users, so we keep the manuals online for them! Goldenseal is an integrated program that also includes accounting, scheduling and contract writing. Goldenseal does not require Excel. Instead of the Category Sheet described here, it uses a Category System to store details about estimating categories and subcategories.

Estimating Category Sheet Columns

Each line in a Category Sheet includes the following information:

Column A-- code: The code letter, number or text that will be used to identify the main category. This code shows up in the Summation, Clearinghouse and Specifications sections of the estimator. The code is also used when entering costs in MacNail Accounting, so keep it short and easy to remember!

NOTE: Subcategories do not need to have a subcategory code. They are automatically numbered sequentially by the MacNail construction management software, with the first category as 1, the second as 2, and so on.

Column B-- category: The name of the main category or subcategory. Its text is displayed in the Summation, Clearinghouse and Specifications sections of the estimator. It can be as long and descriptive as you'd like, although you may need to adjust the width of the first column if you want to see long category names!

Column C-- number of items: When a new estimator is created in the MacNail construction management software, this is the number of blank lines in Specifications that will be given to the category. Try to estimate closely about how many lines you'll want to have for each category. Later on when you move unit prices to the estimator, the process will go much quicker if there are already blank spaces to receive the new items.

Column D-- LM/SM/S: In this column, you'll put a 1 if you'd like the items in the category to be handled on a Labor and Materials basis, put a 2 for Sub and Materials, or a 3 for Subcontracted. See page 211 for more about these three choices.

Column E-- Skilled Wage: In this column you'll put the skilled wage rate (from Fixed Costs) that you'd like to use for the items in each category. This name should match one of the skilled wage rates defined in the Fixed Costs portion of the estimator.