Manually Enter Estimate Worksheet Data

You have the ability to enter and change certain data directly on the Estimate Worksheet. For example, you can manually add line items and enter unit costs/quantities for them. You can also override existing quantities. This means you can add things to your estimate even if you don’t yet have quantities or measurements (no takeoff needed) and can change quantities without having to edit your takeoffs. It also means you can enter unit costs and line-item markups or override the defaults coming from your STACK Items and your Company Cost Types.

You even have the ability to directly enter measurement quants without actually measuring anything in STACK and you can edit Assembly Inputs for any assemblies directly from the Estimate Worksheet.

TIP: If you want to include overhead costs, sales tax, and various other costs that may not be directly tied to one specific takeoff item or measurement, you can also manually enter that data. See Add or Delete Additional Costs from an Estimate Worksheet for instructions.

See below for more information and instructions:
Add a Row/Line Item
Manually Enter Data
Manually Enter Measured Quantities
Edit Assembly Inputs
Shortcuts to Enter and Reset Data
Defer Calculation of Distributions from Other Costs*

*If you're entering data for larger, complex projects that have distributed costs from the Other Costs section of the estimate, deferring calculation may improve performance and save time while working in the Estimate Worksheet.

Add a Row / Line Item

You can add line-item rows directly on the estimate, then manually enter an item name and other data like unit cost and adjusted quantity. This gives you the ability to add things to the estimate without creating a takeoff.

1. Right click within the estimate worksheet.
2. Click Add row.
    A new row will appear at the bottom of the worksheet or Group.
3. Enter data in the Item, Unit Cost, Adjusted Quantity and any other appropriate cells.

NOTE: If you add a row when data is grouped, the item will appear in that Group and will always be associated with that Group. This means if you later ungroup, and make the Group column visible (e.g., Label), the new line item will have the appropriate value for that column, and if you later regroup, the line item will still appear in that Group.

Delete an Added Row

Only rows you have manually added to the estimate can be deleted.

NOTE: Deleting a row is permanent and cannot be undone.

1. Right click on the row you want to delete.
2. Click Delete row.

Manually Enter Data

Cells that have a white background can be edited - simply click in the cell and type in the data you want. (You cannot manually edit/enter data in cells with a light grey background.)

If you manually override an item's Unit Cost or Account Code from the default value in your Library, the Rate (and as a result the Purchase Quantity), or the default Markup % set for your account in Account Settings, the data you enter will be displayed in bold so you can keep track of values on the estimate that have been changed from the default values set for your account. (If you change a value back to the default, it will no longer be bold.)

NOTE: Any data you manually enter/override on the estimate - like Unit Cost or Purchase Quantity - will persist even when changes are made to the takeoffs themselves, or to the Unit Costs in your Libraries. The only way to update the manually entered data is to manually enter new data or reset the value of that cell.

Manually Enter Measured Quantities

You can enter Measured Quantities directly in your Estimate Worksheet without using the takeoff tools to actually measure anything in STACK.

Just add/create takeoffs in the project, then manually enter the Measured Quantity (Primary measurement) as well as any Secondary measurements* for the takeoffs in the estimate. 

The values you enter will be used as the inputs to any item coverage/productivity rates and item formulas in assemblies, so you can continue to use your existing items and assemblies (which use those formulas to convert the Measured Quantities into Purchase Quantities).

What to know:

• You can only manually enter a Measured Quantity if there is no quantity from an actual measurement. (The Measured Quantity cell will be zero (0).)
• You can only enter measured quantities for a Takeoff, not for individual items or assemblies attached to the takeoff.
  (This allows you to use the same Takeoffs/Assemblies/Items whether you're going to draw measurements, or manually enter measured quantities; which means you can start with manually entered values then go measure later.)
• The value(s) you enter will be used for all Estimate Worksheets in the project. 
• The measured quantity entered on the estimate will not be listed on the Takeoff List in the PLANS & TAKEOFFS section of the project. The Takeoff List measurement will be zero (0) because nothing has actually been measured on the Takeoff.
• If you manually enter a Measured Quantity on the estimate and then actually draw measurements for the Takeoff in the PLANS & TAKEOFFS section of the project, the quantity from the drawn measurement(s) will permanently replace the manually entered Measured Quantity for all Estimate Worksheetsin the project.
  • If you start to draw measurements for the Takeoff, you'll receive a warning message to remind you that quantities have been manually entered and will be permanently discarded if you proceed to actually measure. 

To Manually Enter Measured Quantities:

TIP: Click the Measurements header to view/edit data in the primary and secondary measurement columns (Sq Ft, Ln Ft, Cu Yd, or EA).

1. Click in the Measured Quantity cell for the takeoff and type in the Primary measurement amount.
   The Measurements cell (Sq Ft, Ln Ft, Cu Yd, or EA) representing the Primary measurement will auto populate with the same amount.
   NOTE: If the unit of measure is EA, you can only enter a whole number.
2. (Optional) Click in any Measurements cell(s) for the takeoff (Sq Ft, Ln Ft, Cu Yd, EA) with a white background and type in the Secondary measurement amount(s).
   The cells available to edit depend on the Takeoff Measurement Type.

Edit Assembly Inputs

You don't have to go back to the PLANS & TAKEOFFS section to change Assembly Inputs like Item Groups and Custom Variables, you can do this directly from the Estimate Worksheet. 

TIP: It's helpful to Group By Assembly before editing Assembly Inputs so you can see which line items will be affected by the changes you make.

To change an assembly's inputs, right click on a cell, select Edit Assembly Inputs, and make the necessary changes. 

Based on the changes you make, information like Item Name, Rate, and Purchase Quantity will automatically update on the Estimate Worksheet for all the line items that are part of that assembly.

NOTE: The changes you make to Assembly Inputs are not confined to the specific Estimate Worksheet where they're made. Changes impact the entire project and are reflected on the Takeoff Settings panel in the PLANS & TAKEOFFS section of the project and on other Estimates in the project.

Shortcuts to Enter and Reset Data

• You can copy and paste data within the editable cells on the estimate.
• You can also copy and paste data from editable cells back and forth from your estimate and Excel.
• You can drag and fill to enter the same data in consecutive cells within a column - enter the data in one cell, then click the green square in the bottom right of the cell and drag up or down to fill the other cells with the same data.

• When you right click on cells in some columns (Cost Type Unit Cost, Cost Type Markup %, and Waste %), you can choose to apply the value of that cell to other line items with the same purchase unit in the entire column or grouping (if you are using Group By on the estimate).
• If you have manually entered data in the cells of some columns (Rate, Cost Type Unit Cost, Cost Type Accounting Code), you can right click on the cell and choose to Reset the value of that cell or click on the menu in the column header to Reset values for the entire column and the cell(s) will be reset to their default or calculated value. (For Rate, the value will be rest to the actual measured quantity from the Takeoff.)

Defer Calculation of Distributions from Other Costs

Every time you manually edit a data point in the main estimate grid - like changing Purchase Quantity, Rate, Waste, Unit Cost, Markup, etc. - any distributed costs from the Other Costs section of the estimate are automatically recalculated by default. On larger, complex projects, this can take a few seconds (depending on your device) for each edit you make.

Setting your estimate Preferences to Defer calculation of distributions from Other Costs lets you defer all those recalculations until you finish editing. This makes your line-item edits immediate, which may improve your estimate performance and save time while editing those larger/complex estimates.

It is important to note that while you're making edits with this preference enabled, some numbers in the Totals section of the main grid will be out of sync until you choose to recalculate. However, the totals on the green bar at the bottom of the estimate worksheet will always be accurate, regardless of preference setting or recalculation status.

To set the preference:

1. Click the three dots on the right side of the estimate toolbar at the top of the worksheet.
2. Click Preferences.
3. Check the Defer calculation of distributions from Other Costs box.
4. Click Save.

If you decide you no longer want this Preference enabled, follow the same instructions and uncheck the box in step 3.

Once this preference is enabled, you will need to force the recalculation process when you finish making edits. This can be done by clicking the refresh icon on the Totals header on the estimate.

Recalculation will also happen if you refresh your browser, close and reopen/load the estimate, or Export the estimate (to CSV, XLS, or Proposal).

When the recalculations are complete, the icon on the Totals header will change to indicate all numbers are up to date.

Related Articles

Estimate Worksheet Overview
Add or Delete Additional Costs from an Estimate Worksheet

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