Payment Dates and Amounts - Up to four different draws are available to be set on each contract. The default draws are initialized with the settings configured on the Company Information form (see Setting Company Defaults for more info). The default settings can be overwritten by clicking the spin buttons or by typing directly into the Draw Percent or Amount Due fields. The balance of the other fields will be recalculated automatically once you leave the field that was just edited.
Estimate Dates - Date fields can be completed by clicking the calendar icon next to the date to be selected. The date fields are defined below:
- Print Date - The date that will be printed on the current estimate or contract.
- Start Date - The date that the contract will be started. This appointment date can be exported to MS Outlook by clicking the 'Add Dates to Outlook' button. If the End Date field is also completed, the appointment will extend from the start date to the end date.
- End Date - The date that the contract will be completed.
Exporting Dates to Outlook - Contracts can be managed using your MS Outlook scheduling feature. To view your Outlook Calendar prior to confirming a contract start date, click the 'View Outlook Calendar' button. Once a contract start date is confirmed, the appointment can be added to Outlook by clicking the the 'Add Dates to Outlook' button once the date is selected. The program will automatically complete fields in Outlook such as the client and job site address and will open the Outlook appointment form for you to confirm the information. Note: You must have a full version of Microsoft Outlook 2000 or later to use this feature - it will not work with Outlook Express.
Contract Acceptance Warranty - To mark the estimate as being accepted as a contract, click the 'Contract Accepted' checkbox. The current estimate/contract will now be flagged as a contract for reporting purposes. To print a warranty term on the estimate/contract, select from the 'Warranty Terms' selection box. This field can be overwritten by typing into the selection box for the current estimate. To add/modify the default selections, click with the right mouse button on the selection box.
Cost Multiplier - is a multiplier used to adjust the final total of the estimate. The Cost Multiplier designates a percentage cost. By increasing this value to 110% your have now added 10 % to the total fee structure by decreasing the value to 95 % you are giving a 5% discount.
Related Topics:
Painting Estimator Forms
Setting Company Defaults
Setting Material Descriptions and Rates