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Estimating: FAQ

Within this article you will have a complete list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding Estimating within LMN!

Select from the list below to jump to its spot within the article!

Estimate Setup FAQ

Estimate Materials FAQ

Measurements and Production Rates FAQ

Estimate and Photos FAQ

Pricing FAQ

Other Changes FAQ

 

Do I Have To Have A Budget In Order To Create Estimates?

While it is recommended, it is not required in order to create estimates.  You have the option to customize pricing per each item and work area.  All LMN subscriptions - Free, Pro and Pro +Plus Pack include sample budgets which you can use to see how estimating/pricing works before you actually enter your company's budget.

We strongly recommend creating your customized company budget before estimating actual jobs.  Your LMN Budget is going to make sure you're covering all the costs of the job:

  • Labor - incl. wages, overtime, downtime, taxes/burden
  • Equipment - incl. both leased and a fair return on owned equipment
  • Materials - incl. warranty + shipping
  • Subcontractors
  • Overhead - incl. all non-billable costs specific to your company
  • and, of course, a fair Net Profit

Without an operating + overhead budget, you can only guess/hope that each job is priced correctly.. and guessing is exactly what LMN is designed to eliminate.

Most companies finish a budget in less than a day... and once they're up and running - they wonder how they ever estimated without one.

 

How Do I Renew Service Estimates?

You can renew multiple Service estimates at one time to automatically adjust dates, prices, costs and more!

To renew multiple Service estimates at the same time, follow these steps:

  • Click on Estimates tab in your menu, then click Service
  • Check off which estimates you want to renew from the list
  • Click Update Estimates then click Renew as shown below

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  • Within the Renew Estimate screen, pick your preferences from the following options: 

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  • Click the Checkbox to confirm your selections then hit OK 
  • Type RENEW and then click CONTINUE to confirm your changes and create the new estimates

*Please note* Depending on your selection for the 'Update Pricing' option, this can result in a change to your profit and overhead recovery percentages and your new estimate may not match the previous one.

 

How Can I Copy an Estimate?

When estimating, it is very common that you might need to make some changes to an original estimate but want to keep all of your original numbers. You may also want to copy and use the same estimate for a different customer. In this case,  we can simply copy the original estimate and then make changes to the copied version or change who the estimate is for.

How do I copy an Estimate?

  1. Click into an Estimate (Standard or Service).
  2. On the Customer Info Tab, on the bottom right of the screen, you will see a Copy button - click on it.
  3. LMN then gives you the option to re-name the project, change the customer etc. If changing, click the red Change button here. Make all of the necessary changes and click ok.
  4. The screen will then load, and open the copied version of the original estimate.

*NOTE: Make sure that you go back into the original estimate and check off the "Exclude from Stats" checkbox if making multiple versions for the same customer. This will make sure that the system does not include the original estimate on the stats dashboard and CRM reports.

 

How Can I Save an Entire Estimate As A Template?

Estimate templates are a great way to save time and effort when estimating, but did you know you can also build estimates that can serve as templates?  This tip can save you many hours building estimates for repeatable work like maintenance and snow + ice contracts.

First, use or create an Internal Customer using your Company's name to store your Estimate Templates within for ease of use.  To do so, go to the CRM and select Internal Customer or add one if it doesn't already exist.  We recommend adding a (#) in front of the Name, so it shows up as the contact in your CRM i.e #LMN's Landscaping.  As you are building out Estimate Templates, they will all be stored within your Internal Customer.  This will simplify Estimating as you can access your Estimate Templates within your Internal Customer >Estimate tab, make a copy, and reassign to customize for your Customers (steps listed below).

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Within, the Internal Customer #(Company Name) >click the Estimate Tab and create a Standard or Service Estimate.  Override the Project Name with i.e #TEMPLATE - Residential Lawn Maintenance and build out the template with the corresponding Service Areas including Labor, Equipment, Materials, Etc.

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Next, check the "Exclude from Stats?" box on the Customer Info page of the estimate. 

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OR from the estimate list, select the estimate and "Update Estimates" to "Exclude" so that the $ amounts are excluded from your sales stats.

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Now, you can copy the Estimate and change the Client/Jobsite to use this estimate as a template for future estimates.

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How does LMN handle change orders?

A change order is a common task in any landscape/construction environment, but every company has its own ways of handling changes.

Here are some of the most common ways you can manage change orders in LMN Estimating.

  1. Add a new work area to the existing estimate called CO1: CHANGE_ORDER_DESCRIPTION (whatever the description is)
  2. Make a copy of the Work Area you want to change (you can do that in the ACTION menu beside the work area). Make changes to that new Work Area and put the old Work Area ON HOLD (that will stop the old work area information from showing up in the totals, on reports, etc.)
  3. Make a copy of the estimate (COPY) and then make your changes to the copied estimate (call it version 2 or whatever)
  4. Make a brand new estimate of just that change order.  This is typically ideal for larger change orders.

To improve estimate tracking and reporting, you can add an enhancement or change order relationship between estimates for a specific customer. 

 

How do I account for drive time, load time, clean time in my estimates? [SERVICE ESTIMATES]

LMN can help make sure you capture this time, but it really depends on how you estimate.  Below, we're going to outline a few scenarios that will help you recover this time but make sure you use the method that matches the way you estimate.

Some companies include driving/prep/cleanup hours when they estimate.  Other companies don't.  It's critical that you use the method below that best matches the way you estimate.

If you include drivetime in your estimated hours...

If you include drivetime in your estimates (e.g. 15 min of driving time built into the estimated hours on the job/contract), then you have the cost driving time built into your bid.  However it's not fair that the first job absorbs all the load/prep time and the last job absorb all the cleanup time.  The best way to recover those times is by using the unbillable factor in your labor catalog.

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For instance, if your crews work a 10 hour day, and they spend .5 hr in the AM loading and .5 hr in the PM unloading and prepping, then at least 10% of your payroll hours are unbillable/unestimated.  

Note:  Remember that you will have other unbilled time on top of this.  You'll have warranty work, rework, unforseen problems (murphy's law), meetings, shop work, equip repair, etc.

How to setup and clock in to LMN Time

  • In the AM, they should clock in to a SHOP job, and a task called Load/Unload/Drivetime.
  • When they get to their first job (Job 1), they should clock into that customer's job
  • They should stay clocked into Job 1 until they arrive at their next job (Job 2).  If you really want to track how much time spent driving, you could create a DRIVING task for Job 1.  The crew would then have to switch their task from whatever they were doing (e.g. MOWING) to the DRIVING task.  Note that this makes it more complicated for the crews.
  • This way, Job 1 absorbs the drivetime from Job 1 to Job 2.  Job 2 will absorb the drivetime from Job 2 to Job 3, and so on

Why this works...

  • If your estimates include drivetime hours you need to book drivetime to jobs.  If you booked drivetime to a task called DRIVING, your actual hours on jobs would always look better than the estimated hours... but it would only be because the jobs had driving hours included in the estimate, but not in the actual tracking.
  • Using the method above, each job is carrying drive time to the next job, so estimated hours will line up with actual hours.
  • The cost of morning setup hours and afternoon cleanup hours are absorbed by the Unbillable Factor setup in the labor catalog.  The cost of these hours are factored into the cost (and price) we charge for the labor hours that we do estimate)

If you don't include drivetime in your estimated hours...

If you don't include drivetime or shop time, prep time or unload time in your estimated times (i.e. you only estimate time spent at the customer's property), then you must use the unbillable factor in the labor catalog to recover the costs of those hours.

For example, imagine a typical crew day was spent like this:

  • Loading in the AM (.5 hours)
  • Unloading in the PM (.5 hours)
  • Driving time or windshield time - daily total (1.5 hours)
  • Time spent physically on jobsites  (6 hours)
  • Total daily payroll hours (8.5 hours)
  • Unbillable % (non job hours) = 2.5 hours divided by 8.5 payroll hours = 30%
  • Note:  Remember that you will have other unbilled time on top of this.  You'll have warranty work, rework, unforseen problems (murphy's law), meetings, shop work, equip repair, etc.

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How to setup and clock in to LMN Time

  • In the AM, they should clock in to a SHOP job, and a task called Load/Unload/Drivetime.
  • Stay clocked into that task until they arrive at their first Job (Job 1)
  • They stay clocked into Job 1 until they are ready to leave Job 1.  Then, they clock back into SHOP and a task called Load/Unload/Drivetime
  • They stay clocked into SHOP - Load/Unload/Drivetime until they arrive at their 2nd Job (Job 2).  Then, they clock into Job 2
  • Repeat clocking in/out each time they arrive at and leave a jobsite until the end of day
  • As the crew leaves their last job for the day, they should clock back into SHOP - Load/Unload/Drivetime until the end of their shift

Why this works...

  • Your estimates don't include drivetime, so you don't want to track driving time to those tasks.  Otherwise, your actual hours would always look greater than estimated (even though it's only because you're treating them differently)
  • The cost of am prep, driving, and pm unloading are absorbed by the Unbillable Factor setup in the labor catalog.  The cost of these hours are factored into the cost (and price) we charge for the labor hours that we do estimate

 

How do I account for drive time, load time, clean time in my estimates? [STANDARD ESTIMATES]

LMN can help make sure you capture this time, but it really depends on how you estimate.  Below, we're going to outline a few scenarios that will help you recover this time but make sure you use the method that matches the way you estimate.

Some companies include driving/prep/cleanup hours when they estimate.  Other companies don't.  It's critical that you use the method below that best matches the way you estimate.  

If you include loading, unloading and drive time in your estimated hours...

Some companies include all payroll hours in their estimates.  For example, if the job was a 3 day job and the crews work a 10 hour payroll day, the job would be estimated at the full 10 hrs per day * the number of persons in the crew.  This way, every payroll hour gets estimated in the job whether or not the crew was physically on-site.  Loading, unloading and driving time is still time dedicated to that job and therefore its included in the estimate.

Note:  In this example, it would appear that you'd have a 0% unbilled factor in your labor catalog.  Don't forget though, that you will have other unbilled time on top of this.  You'll have warranty work, rework, unforseen problems (murphy's law), meetings, shop work, equip repair, etc.

How to setup and clock in to LMN Time

  • In the AM, the crew should clock directly into the job they are going to that day 
  • The crew should stay clocked into that job until the end of their shift, then clock out

Why this works...

  • Each day's full payroll hours have been included in the estimate.  You want to cost all the day's hours to the job as well so that you have an apples-to-apples comparison of estimated vs. actual hours

If you don't include drivetime in your estimated hours...

If you don't include drivetime or shop time, prep time or unload time in your estimated times (i.e. you only estimate time spent at the customer's property), then you must use the unbillable factor in the labor catalog to recover the costs of those hours.

For example, imagine a typical crew day was spent like this:

  • Loading in the AM (.5 hours)
  • Unloading in the PM (.5 hours)
  • Driving time or windshield time - daily total (1 hour)
  • Time spent physically the jobsite  (6.5 hours)
  • Total daily payroll hours (8.5 hours)
  • Unbillable % (non job hours) = 2 hours divided by 8.5 payroll hours = 23%
  • Note:  Remember that you will have other unbilled time on top of this.  You'll have warranty work, rework, unforeseen problems (murphy's law), meetings, shop work, equip repair, etc.

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How to setup and clock in to LMN Time

  • In the AM, they should clock in to a SHOP job, and a task called Load/Unload/Drivetime.  
  • Stay clocked into that task until they arrive at the job
  • Stay clocked into the job until they are ready to leave for the day
  • As the crew leaves their last job for the day, they should clock back into SHOP - Load/Unload/Drivetime until the end of their shift

Why this works...

  • Your estimates don't include drivetime, so you don't want to track driving time to those tasks.  Otherwise, your actual hours would always look greater than estimated (even though it's only because you're treating them differently)
  • The cost of am prep, driving, and pm unloading are absorbed by your Unbillable Factor setup in the labor catalog.  The cost of these hours are factored into the cost (and price) we charge for the labor hours that we do estimate

 

How To Add Materials from the Marketplace to an Estimate

Fast & efficient estimates with the LMN Estimating Marketplace

As you are building an Estimate, you have the ability to search our Marketplace and add Material Item directly to Estimate.

From within the Service/Work Area of the Estimate, go to +Add Items + Templates.

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Select Materials and choose the second tab - Marketplace.

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Search by Vendor Name, Category, Material Name, and filter by distance to Jobsite.  Select Material Item to add to your Estimate.

Please note: Item will not be added to your Material Catalog and will not include a shipping, or warranty factor.  It will use tax defaults and profit margin from budget unless customized.

 

How do I add an item or material to my estimate which is not in my catalog?

  1. You can add items to your catalog as you estimate.  To do so, follow the instructions below.
  2. Under Services/Work Areas + Pricing in an estimate, click Add Items + Templates.
  3. Depending on the type of estimate you wish to add, click either Labor, Equipment, Materials, Subs or Other.  On the far right side, click +New. mceclip3.png
  4. Enter all information required (as per the type of item you are adding).
  5. Finally, click Add to Estimate (if you think you will not need the item again for estimating) or Save to Catalog + Add to Estimate (if you think you will use the item again for estimating). mceclip4.png

 

Can I set up LMN Estimating so that materials have a labor factor with standard installation times?

Yes, you can, and Work Area Templates are what you'll use to set this up.

You'll notice that there is no labor factor on materials themselves.  This is for good reason.  Different crews have different costs and we need to assign a specific crew on the estimate.  Secondly, labor times vary greatly - the job site, the location of the material, the access, what equipment is being used, the experience level of the crew and foreman.

That said, you can setup a template to give your estimators a baseline number.  Here's how to set up a simple template that will help you calculate plant installation times.

  1. Create a new Work Area Template
  2. Name the new template "Plant Install Template" (or something similar)
  3. Click the Items tab
  4. Use the Add Items button to add a crew (e.g. a planting or installation crew from your labor catalog) to the template
  5. Repeat Step #4 for the number of different plant types or sizes that you want to calculate install times for.  For example, if you calculate your labor times by shrub sizes (e.g. 1G, 2G, 3G, 5G, 7G, 15G, 25G), then add same crew 7 times.
  6. Close the Add Items panel so that you are back to your template with the same crew listed 7 times.
  7. In the Description box for each line, enter the size of the plant material for which you want to specify an install rate (e.g. Install 1G) mceclip0.png
  8. Click the Prod Rate button to enter a labor install time
  9. When the rate calculator screen opens, enter the production rate or time you want to use for plants of the size you entered in Step 7.  For instance, we'll specify that our crews can install 1 1G shrub every 6 min (or .1 man hours) mceclip1.png
  10. Now repeat Step 10 for each different plant size.  As the plants get bigger, it should take more hours to install each one.
  11. Click OK when your template is complete

When you're building an estimate for planting, do the following:

  1. Create a new work area (e.g. Garden Bed Installation)
  2. Use the Add Items button - Add any/all labor/equipment materials you need for the bed preparation (excavation, disposal, soil installation, etc.)
  3. Use the Add Items button - Add the specific plants to be installed in the garden.  Count the total number of plants/shrubs by size.
  4. Click the Templates tab in the AddItems panel
  5. Add the Plant Install Template you created in the earlier set of steps.  It will add a labor item (a crew) for each plant type you entered in your template
  6. Click the Calculator button beside the Qty field on the right hand side beside each the labor for each plant size, and the calculator screen will pop up.
  7. Enter the number of plants for that size, and LMN will use the installation the rate you specified in the Work Area Template to calculate the total labor hours required to plant all the plants of that size mceclip2.png
  8. Click OK to update the labor hours on the estimate
  9. Repeat for each plant size
  10. Save your estimate

Your estimate will end up with a few different labor items, one for each size of plant.  When this estimate gets exported to LMN Time, it will combine all these hours into one simple goal for the crew.

 

How to Customize Overhead Recovery Factors Within an Estimate

Some customers may require special attention or specification. Customizing your estimate to your desired overhead recovery percentage can be useful when tailoring your estimate. Whether you’re looking to have a higher/lower markup, these steps will help you customize your recovery method percentage.

  1. Within your standard or service estimate, navigate to the tab over ‘Services + Pricing’
  2. Just below the ‘Services and Pricing’ tab, click on ‘Edit’ mceclip5.png
  3. You have the option of applying different percentage markup within your different OHR factors as shown below (your default budget, default recovery method and percentage is already applied and shown) mceclip6.png

 

Can I do square foot pricing in LMN Estimating?

LMN estimating is not designed to do simple square foot pricing.  If you want to price by the square foot, any spreadsheet can handle that.

The problem with square foot pricing is that you can never be sure whether you're recovering enough labor, equipment, materials and overhead costs in your estimate. You might be close, but you can't be sure.

The other problem with square foot pricing is that all the information about the job is stuck in the head of the person who sold it!  Crews cannot get a job done in $15/sq foot!  To truly build a business that doesn't require you to micromanage every job, you need to have an estimating system that plans:

  • How many labor hours
  • What equipment was planned for the job
  • What materials?  How many?  What colors + sizes etc?
  • Enough overhead recovery 
  • And a fair profit for the business

Square foot pricing might be good enough to get you "the sale", but it's not good enough to build a business that runs itself.

 

How do I view Jobsite Measurements from LMN's Measure Site Tool while building an Estimate?

LMN Users have the ability to quickly locate jobsite measurements while building estimates... all with the click of a button!

Here's how to access these measurements:

  1. Go to into Estimates > Standard/Service/Estimate List > Click on an estimate
  2. Click on the Workareas/Services + Pricing tab 
  3. Click on the <-> Measure Site button

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And that's it - this will open a new window and link back to Jobsites section in the CRM (specifically, showing your saved data under the new Jobsite Measurements tab where you can quickly access your those measurements while estimating).

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Measurement Types and the Measure Site Tool

  • First, you will want to create your list of Measurement Types, by going to the Measurement Types tab in your CRM options, and clicking the +New in the top right (under main Settings menu). mceclip3.png
  • Next, go into your Contacts in the CRM, and open the jobsite, you'll notice a tab under each Jobsite, for Jobsite Measurements. Once you select a type from the list you have already created, you click on the Measure Site button, as shown below.  mceclip4.png
  • This will open up the Measure Site tool, same as previous, except now, once you calculate an area or length, the system will save that number, that you can refer back to when building your estimates! As shown by the 2 screenshots below.mceclip5.pngmceclip6.png

 

Will My Measurements On Work Area Templates On Estimates Be Saved For Future Review?

Estimates remember the measurements you use when using calculators on Work Area Templates, to make it easier to review your estimates afterwards.

To review what measurements were entered:

  • Access your Estimate.
  • Click Work Areas/Services + Pricing.
  • Click Edit to expand the Work Area/Service.
  • Click the green Calculator of the line item you wish to review. mceclip7.png
  • The measurement entered will appear on the Installation Rate Calculator screen.mceclip8.png 

PLEASE NOTE: measurements entered prior to the update will not appear.

 

Will my Production Rate measurements on Estimates be saved for future review?

LMN remembers the measurements you used on your Production Rate calculators, and will be displayed back to you in the future for easier revisions.

To review what measurements were entered:

  • Access your Estimate.
  • Click Work Areas/Services + Pricing.
  • Click Edit to expand the Work Area/Service.
  • Click the brown Calculator of the line labor item you wish to review. mceclip9.png
  • The Prod Rate calculator + measurement(s) will appear on the Production Rate Calculators screen. 

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Google Maps is not showing the streets and jobsite when using the jobsite measurement tool

Sometimes you will see an undeveloped area/site when using the measurement tool.

But, when you go on to Google Maps, it clearly shows that the area is developed.

When encountering this issue, simply click the Tilt Map button and the undeveloped area will magically appear developed.

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Note: The Google tilt map feature availability depends on the area, and it's on Google Maps to have it available. So, you may see it, or not there yet.

Pro Plus: How to Add Files/Photos to Estimate [File Storage]

This article will showcase the Jobsite Files and Photos feature. This feature that is used throughout the software, ranging from the web to the mobile app. It can be used to add files and photos directly into estimates. (Note: The Jobsite Files/Photos feature is only available with a Pro Plus subscription).  This feature is useful in a variety of ways, including:

  • Photos:
    • Job completion/quality assurance
    • Enhancement opportunities
    • Liability / damage reports
    • Marketing material
    • Jobsite reference
  • Files:
    • Property diagram
    • Site specifics
    • Materials list
    • Site maps
    • Snow relocation maps

By following this guide you will see how this feature is used in a Service or Standard Estimate on the web browser.

Step 1: Go to > Estimates tab, select either Service, Standard, or Estimate List > open an estimate > Navigate to the Files tab > Click Upload Files

  • In this tab you also have the option to filter through files by type and source. mceclip12.png

Step 2: Select a file or photo to upload. You will be shown a message indicating if your upload was successful

  • The versatility of the Files/Photos feature allows users to access uploaded documents through a number of avenues. mceclip31.png

 

How to add photos into your estimates or proposals

1) Upload the photo to your Jobsite Files for that client FIRST (you can find this in the contact's Jobsites> click into the jobsite > jobsite files)

2) In the Jobsite Files > Right click on the photo you uploaded > press on Inspect > right click again on highlighted grey/blue area > copy >  copy element

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3) Go back to your Estimate’s Client Notes section > press on Source Code icon ( < > ) > Paste the copied element info into the Source Code box > Press Ok

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4) Ensure you press on Save Changes 

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5) Go to Print Reports tab > Preview to see the photo embedded into your estimate or proposal

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Alternatively, photos can be added into your estimate or proposal if you export the file as a Word Doc or PDF File:

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Understanding Unit Cost in Your Standard & Service Estimates

When building a Standard or Service estimate in LMN, your Labor, Equipment and Material items in your Item Catalog will come over and show a Unit Cost, then a Unit Price.
Here's how you can understand the math on how Unit Cost is calculated:

  • Labor Item's Unit Cost (shown in Estimates as Unit Cost): Average Wage + Overtime Factor Markup + Unbillable % Markup + Labor Burden % Markup = Unit Cost.
  • Equipment Item's Unit Cost (shown in Estimates as Unit Cost): Cost Per Day = Unit Cost.
  • Material Item's Unit Cost (shown in Estimates as Unit Cost): Unit Cost = Unit Cost.

 

How Can I do Unit Pricing in LMN?

Unit Pricing in LMN does not exist and here is why LMN does not recommend it.

Many companies want to price their work with unit pricing. This is when you bundle your material, labor and equipment prices together and divide that total price by the number of material units. Here are two examples that demonstrate why this could be a flawed way of estimating, and why you should always break down pricing by separating labor, equipment, and materials in most cases.

SCENARIO A:You are planting 50 trees and there is NO equipment access on the job-site so you will need a full day to plant all of those trees (8 hours). mceclip24.png

If you take the total price in this case which is $4,593.88 (labor + materials) and divide it by the 50 trees you will get a unit price of $91.88/tree. 

SCENARIO B: Say you are planting the same 50 trees but there IS equipment access on the job-site now. Now you can cut your day in half because the mini-excavator and tracked wheelbarrow are a big help.  mceclip25.png

With some equipment, you cut your hours in half compared to scenario A. Although the price is still about the same. If you take the total price (labor + equipment + materials) which is $4,593.88 and divide it by the 50 trees you will get a unit price of $90.66/tree.

ANALYSIS:

Considering that both scenarios end up being around the same unit price per tree, you can see that you can do twice the amount of work per day when you have the equipment. Consistently using unit pricing could cloud your judgment when pricing jobs and you will most likely end up spending too much time on jobs that make you less profit in the long run (because they are more difficult and high in manual labor).

Furthermore, now your clients expect you to always price their work at a certain level no matter how hard or easy it is. If two companies were battling over the easier (scenario B) job that has equipment access, the company that doesn't use unit pricing could come in much lower and win the job, and make less profit on the job compared to a company that uses unit pricing, although they will end up making much more profit in the year because they will pull in much much revenue overall by completing jobs quickly. In that case, they will recover their overhead much more quickly too, and end up in a great place where they are making "super profit" on all the jobs that come after all of the overhead for the year has been recovered.

 

How Does LMN Calculate the Total Cost, Breakeven and Price of an Estimate?

When looking at one of your Standard or Service estimates in LMN's Estimating module, under the Workareas + Pricing tab (or Services + Pricing tab, for Service estimates), you will notice three tiles beside the total amount of "Man Hrs" within the estimate labeled as Total Cost, Breakeven, and Total Price. 

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*The picture posted above is an example of the Total Cost, Breakeven, and Total Price tiles located in every Standard or Service estimate within your LMN's estimating module*

These tiles provide a snap shot of the estimate's direct job costs, the estimate's job costs + overhead recovered, and the total price the customer will pay for the project or service.

Total Cost: this field is calculated based on the total of all direct job costs associated with the estimate.

Breakeven: this field is calculated base on the total of all direct job costs associated with the estimate + the amount we marked up the direct job costs to recover the company's overhead.

Total Price: this field is calculated based on the total of all direct job costs associated with the estimate, + the amount we marked up the direct job costs to recover the company's overhead, + the desired profit margin's markup.

 

How Do I set Custom/Override Pricing on an Estimate?

After constructing your Service or Standard estimate, you have the ability to set a Custom Price or Override the Price/Profit for your Services or Work Areas, respectively. 

This can be achieved by clicking on the drop-down arrow immediately to the right of the EDIT/CLOSE button on the far-left corner of your Service or Work Area.

NOTE: the button is titled "Edit" if your Service/Work Area is not expanded. The button reverts to "Close" if your Service/Work Area has been expanded.

SERVICE ESTIMATES

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STANDARD ESTIMATES

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Can I Enter Negative Quantities/Credits On An Estimate?

Quantity fields within LMN Estimates can accept negative values.

To add a negative quantity on your Estimate:

  • Access your Estimate.
  • Click Work Areas/Services + Pricing.
  • Click Edit to expand the Work Area/Service.
  • Enter a negative quantity (ie. -1) in the Qty field.

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How Do I Change Taxes on an Estimate?

There are two ways to edit your taxes on an estimate:

The Fast Way - Use this if you want to change a bunch of items at once

To update or change your tax settings on all items in an estimate (for example, if you did work in a different county and needed to charge a different sales tax on the estimate), the fastest way to do this is to use the Edit Taxes button right on the estimate screen.

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A new window will open that will allow you to change items within your estimate, and apply those changes to one or more work/ service areas.

  • On the left-hand side, you'll specify the purchasing or sales tax(es) that needs to be applied to labor, equipment, hardscapes, softscapes, subs and other items.  Choose your EXMT tax if no tax applies.
  • On the right side of this screen, you can specify the work area(s) these settings apply to.  For states/areas where taxes differ based on the type of work you are performing (e.g. hardscape work is taxable, softscape work is tax-exempt), this feature allows you to customize the tax settings for each work area specifically.

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The One-By-One Method - use this if you only need to change the tax settings on very few items.

  1. Go to the "Workareas + Pricing" section for a standard estimate, or "Services + Pricing" for a Service estimate.
  2. Select the workarea or service that requires changes to taxes to open the details for that service/workarea.
  3. Select the "Edit Taxes" tab.  This will allow you to select/change the purchase and sales taxes and edit Warranty and shipping percentages.

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How Do I Filter the Estimate List by Salesperson?

You can now filter both your Standard and Service estimates by Salesperson/Estimator in your Estimate list section.

To sort by Salesperson or Estimator, follow these steps:

  • In LMN Home, click Estimates tab from the left menu
  • Click Standard (or Service) to get to your list of estimates
  • Click the drop-down box shown in the picture below where it says 'ALL COMPANY ESTIMATES'
  • Select desired Salesperson or Estimator to sort your estimates

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Please note: If the salesperson or estimator is not assigned to any estimates, their name will not appear in this list.

 

LMN Estimates - Excel Export Button

From the Estimate - Standard and Services screens, you can run an Excel report of all of your estimate information simply by clicking the Excel button shown below. This information is great for running all kinds of reports that you can easily filter right in Excel to get the information you need.

Some examples include:

  • Total Labor hours sold in a specific date range (Use this to compare to how many labor hours you have available!)
  • Sales Forecast report - Estimates are given a predicted value based on the estimators confidence level in winning that job.
  • Easily tally how much overhead has been recovered so far from Sold estimates.
  • Track profit and costs per Salesperson/Estimator

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Included in this report is the following:

  • Estimate ID
  • Estimate Date
  • Estimate Close Date
  • Estimator & Salesperson
  • Estimate Status
  • Divisions
  • Project Name
  • Version #
  • Client Information (Addresses, Contact ID, Email, Phone number, Name)
  • Estimating Pricing Information (Material Cost, Material Price, Labor Cost, Labor Price, Labor Hours, Equipment Cost, Equipment Price, Other Costs, Sub Costs, Total Costs)
  • Confidence Level & Predicted Sales (Estimate price * Confidence level) 
  • Total Overhead recovered
  • Total Profit
  • Filter for Archived Estimates & Estimates that are Excluded from stats

 

How To Change Client/Jobsite On An Estimate

  1. Access the Estimate you wish to change the Client/Lead for
  2. You will be on the Customer Info tab
  3. Click Change Client/Jobsite mceclip35.png
  4. If you wish to change the Jobsite only, click on the drop-down next to Jobsite and select the desired Jobsite                      mceclip36.png
  5. If you wish to change the Customer/Lead entirely, click on the -Change mceclip37.png
  6. In the Search field, start typing the name of the Customer/Lead you wish to change to
  7. Click Search
  8. Click the Select button next to the Client/Lead you wish to change tomceclip38.png 
  9. Now the new Client/Lead has been selected
  10. If applicable, select the correct Jobsite as well
  11. Press OK

 

How do I customize the Client Notes and Crew Notes on my Estimates?

You can add Terms + Conditions, Work/Service Area descriptions and Crew Notes to your estimates, scroll below to learn how.

Terms + Conditions Information

  • Within the estimate, if you want to add specific terms rather than using just your default terms and conditions or customize per this contract, click the Client Notes tab.

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Headers or Footers

  • Open the text box called Estimate Header/Footer Terms & Conditions.
  • Click the Add Terms and Conditions button in the upper right to open the Terms + Conditions panel.
  • Click the green + button beside the term and condition name that you wish to add.
  • The term and condition will be automatically inserted after any pre-existing text in this section.

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Work/ Service Area Descriptions (client notes) Information

You can also follow the steps above to add Descriptions to certain Work/Service Areas within your estimate.  Make sure you click on the appropriate area to add descriptions (as shown below with Chemical Application/ Mowing).

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Crew Notes Information

You can add Crew Notes to your estimates - these notes will display on internal documents only (such as Job Planners), these notes will also show up on your foreman's phone when they clock into specific tasks.

Crew notes can be used for:

  • Specific customer/job information.
  • Task/Tool Checklists.
  • Any internal communication you wish to share with your crews while they are onsite.

Please note: We would suggest limiting the amount of text you include in these notes as they will be displayed on your crew's phones during clock in.  

Adding Crew Notes

  • Click on the Crew Notes tab for your estimate. mceclip42.png
  • Select the specific Work/Service Areas within your estimate that you wish to add information to.  Make sure you click on the appropriate area to add text (as shown below with Chemical Application). mceclip43.png

 

How can I toggle all work areas as on/off hold in 1 click?

To toggle all work areas as on 'Hold' or off 'Hold' follow these steps:

  • From within your Estimate, click on the Workarea + Pricing tab or Services + Pricing tab
  • Click the icon that looks like an eye as shown in the picture below
  • To deselect all Work areas, simply click the 'eye' icon again

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Can I translate LMN's Crew Notes to Spanish?

Users often ask about translating Job Planners to Spanish.  Follow these steps to easily translate your Crew Notes to Spanish.

First: Download the Google Translate Browser Plugin

Google Translate Browser Plugin

In LMN

  1. Open your estimate's to the Crew Notes tab
  2. Highlight the Crew Notes you wish to translate
  3. Right-Click - choose the Google Translate option that shows up (you must have installed the plugin above for this to show up)
  4. On the translate page, choose Spanish
  5. Copy the results back into your Crew Notes

 

How do I reassign estimates or budgets in bulk?

You can reassign budgets and estimates in bulk to another user by going to: 

1) Settings > LMN Users > Click on the user’s name who you want to reassign their estimates to another person

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2) Go to the “Reassign” tab , choose rather you want to reassign Budgets/ Service or Standard Estimates > select all that applies

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3) Assign to: (Choose User Name) > Press on “Reassign” first then, press Save.

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If you require further assistance, please contact our Support Team via email at support@golmn.com or reach out to us through our Live Chats feature or by Phone: (888) 347-9864! 

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