Managing Components

Required Permission

Estimate Database - You must have the Estimate Database permission to access this setting.

Components are individual items in your estimating database - materials, labor, subcontractors, and equipment.

Accessing Components

1. Go to Settings > Estimates
2. Click Components
3. View, search, and manage your component library

Component Types

Type	Description	Examples
Material	Physical products and materials	Cabinets, flooring, fixtures
Labor	In-house labor costs	Installation labor, finishing
Subcontractor	External contractor work	Plumbing, electrical, HVAC
Equipment	Tools and equipment	Rental equipment, machinery

Adding a Component

1. Click Add Component
2. Fill in the required fields:
   • Name - Item description
   • Type - Material, Labor, Subcontractor, or Equipment
   • Cost - Your cost for this item
   • Price - Sell price (or use markup)
   • Unit - Unit of measure (each, sq ft, linear ft, etc.)
3. Configure optional settings (see below)
4. Click Save

Component Fields

Basic Information

Field	Description
Name	Primary item name
Size	Size variant (e.g., 36", Large)
Color	Color variant
Options	Additional variant info
Description	Detailed description
Item Number	Internal SKU or part number

Pricing

Field	Description
Cost	Your cost
Price	Sell price
Markup	Percentage markup over cost
Tax	Apply sales tax
Unit	Unit of measure

Markup vs Price

Set either a fixed Price or a Markup percentage. Markup automatically calculates price from cost.

Categorization

Field	Description
Category	Component category for filtering
Cost Code	Links to your cost code structure
Manufacturer	Product manufacturer

Estimate Behavior

Field	Description
Allowance	Default allowance amount for selections
Selection Required	Customer must make a selection
Field Measurement	Requires field measurement before finalizing
PO Required	Purchase order needed before ordering
Work Scope	Default installation/demolition scope text

Editing Components

1. Find the component in the list
2. Click to open
3. Make changes
4. Click Save

caution

Editing a component updates the master record. Existing estimates using this component are not affected - they retain their original values.

Duplicating Components

Create variations quickly:

1. Open an existing component
2. Click Duplicate
3. Modify the copy (name, size, color, etc.)
4. Save as new component

Deleting Components

1. Select the component
2. Click Delete
3. Confirm deletion

warning

Components used in assemblies cannot be deleted. Remove them from assemblies first.

Option Groups

Option groups let you define interchangeable variants of a component.

What Are Option Groups?

When estimating, users may need to choose between similar items:

• Different cabinet door styles at different price points
• Standard vs premium flooring options
• Various fixture finishes

Option groups link these variants so estimators can easily swap between them.

Creating an Option Group

1. Select multiple related components
2. Click Create Option Group
3. Name the group
4. Set the display order
5. Save

Managing Option Groups

• Add more components to existing groups
• Remove components from groups
• Reorder options within a group
• Delete empty groups

Using Option Groups in Estimates

When adding a component that belongs to an option group:

• The default option is added
• Users can click to swap to another option in the group
• Pricing updates automatically

Filtering Components

Use filters to find specific items:

• Type - Material, Labor, Subcontractor, Equipment
• Category - Component category
• Search - Name, description, item number

Bulk Operations

Bulk Pricing Updates

Use the Component Pricing screen to apply a percentage increase or decrease across many components at once.

Navigating to Component Pricing

Go to Settings → Estimating → Component Pricing.

Selecting Components

Checkboxes on the left of each row let you select which components to update.

• Individual selection — Check the boxes next to specific components.
• Select all on page — Check the box in the table header to select all components currently visible. This selects only the 50 components on the current page, not your entire database.

To update your entire database, work through it page by page using the header checkbox. If you need to update most components but exclude a few, it's faster to use Select All and then uncheck the ones you want to skip.

Entering the Adjustment

Once at least one component is selected, an Update Components by Percentage field appears below the Category and Name filters.

Enter a number to apply a percentage adjustment to the Price of all selected components:

• Positive number (e.g., 5) — increases price by 5%
• Negative number (e.g., -5) — decreases price by 5%

As you type, a preview price highlighted in green appears to the right of the current Price column so you can verify the change before committing.

Press Enter or click Update Items to apply the adjustment.

No Undo

There is no undo button. Review the green preview values carefully before applying.

Percentage adjustments do not perfectly reverse: increasing a price by 5% and then decreasing by 5% will not restore the exact original value. If you apply an incorrect percentage, you will need to manually correct the affected components.

After Updating

Once applied, the Modified date on each updated component reflects when the change was made.

Impact on Existing Estimates

Updated pricing applies to components when they are newly added to an estimate. Assemblies or components already placed on existing estimates retain their original values and are not affected.

Exporting Components

Export your component database as an Excel file. The exported file uses the same format as the import template, so you can edit it in a spreadsheet and re-import to update existing components.

How to Export

1. Navigate to Settings > Estimates > Components
2. Optionally apply filters (category, cost code, type, etc.) to export a subset
3. Click the Export button
4. The Excel file will download automatically

Round-Trip Editing

Export your components, make changes in Excel, then re-import the file. Components with an ID column will be updated in place — no duplicates created.

Important: Save and re-import the file as XLSX. Do not convert it to CSV — Excel may reformat values (e.g., turning part numbers into dates) and cause unintended changes.

Importing Components

Import components from a spreadsheet file to quickly add or update multiple items at once. Both XLSX and CSV formats are supported.

How to Import

1. Navigate to Settings > Estimates > Components
2. Click the Import button
3. Optionally click Download Template to get a pre-formatted XLSX file
4. Upload your file (XLSX or CSV)
5. Wait for the email notification with import results

Background Processing

Imports are processed in the background. You'll receive an email when the import completes with a summary of results.

Download Template

Before importing, download the template:

1. Click Import to open the import dialog
2. Click Download Template
3. Open the template in your spreadsheet application

The template includes all available fields with an example row showing the expected format.

Import / Export Fields

Field	Description	Required
id	ID of existing component (for updates)	No
name	Component name	Yes
description	Detailed description	No
component_type	Material, Labor, Subcontractor, or Equipment	Yes
subcontractor_type	Type for subcontractor components	No
component_category	Category name	Yes
action	Install or Demolition	Yes
workscope	Work scope text	No
price	Sell price	Yes
unit	Unit of measure (EA, SF, LF, etc.)	Yes
markup %	Markup percentage	No
tax rate	Tax rate	No
cost code	Cost code number	No
size	Size variant	No
color	Color variant	No
option name	Option group name	No
allowance	Yes if component is an allowance	No
field_measurement_required	Yes or No	No
po_required	Yes or No	No
selection_required	Yes or No	No
component_notes	Internal notes	No

Import Behavior

• Rows with an ID: The existing component is updated with the new values
• Rows without an ID: A new component is created
• Processing: Runs in the background so you can continue working
• Notification: Email sent when import completes

Import Results

After the import completes, you'll receive an email with:

• Total rows — Number of rows processed
• Imported — New components created (listed by name)
• Updated — Existing components modified, with a table showing each changed field, its previous value, and its new value
• Unchanged — Rows that matched an existing component but had no differences
• Failed — Rows that couldn't be processed, with error details

Component Usage

Viewing Where Components Are Used

1. Open a component
2. Click Used In
3. See all assemblies containing this component

This helps before:

• Deleting a component
• Making significant changes
• Understanding impact of price updates

Tips for Component Management

Naming Conventions

Use consistent naming for easy searching:

• [Category] - [Product] - [Size] - [Color]
• Example: "Cabinets - Wall Cabinet - 36" - White"

Pricing Strategy

• Update costs when vendor prices change
• Review markup percentages quarterly
• Use cost codes for accurate job costing

Organization

• Create logical categories
• Use item numbers for vendor ordering
• Link to cost codes for reporting

Related

• Managing Assemblies - Group components into packages
• Cost Codes - Organize your database
• Cost Codes in Estimates - How cost codes work in estimating
• Detailed Estimating - Using Detailed Estimating mode