Timberline Forum

Sage Timberline recently made some upgrades to  Estimaing.  The question is, are you using them to help you get the maximum juice out of your Estimating system?  If, after reading the following enhancements you find you are not using them please feel free to contact Daren.  He’s the guy in the know.  Without further adieu, here are the upgrades we want you to take advantag of!

1.  Upgrade individual estimating files on the fly.  Why spend hours upgrading all your estimates at once each time a new release comes out? That can take hours. So, now when you need to restore archived estimates from an earlier version of your software, you won’t need to upgrade all estimates and/or database files all at the same time. The system automatically identifies the files that need to be upgraded on a file-by-file basis so your estimating files get updated as you work. Now, that’s a time-saver.

2. Create new version of existing assemblies with ease.  Ready to save even more time? We’ve enhanced the “copy assembly” feature. In previous versions when copying an assembly from one location to another, the items would copy, but you would lose the assembly detail. Meaning, you wouldn’t have the variables (i.e. length, width, depth, etc). Now when you copy the assembly from one location to another, it shows up as an assembly and allows you to see the variables that were used to calculate the assembly.

3.  Streamline your RFQ and Buyout process.  In the past, you’ve always had a place to enter the subcontractor amount and name as well as material, but no place to record the material vendor name. With Version 9.6, you’ll be able to log and display both as well as pass this information to the Buyout module, so your entire RFQ, vendor assignment, and Buyout process runs more efficiently than ever.

4.  Select values from numeric columns that automatically display totals in the status bar.  The auto sum has been enhanced so you can view display totals at a glance.

Spring 2010 Enhancements:  Simplify your day…every day  

The more efficiently your business management system allows your team to locate and act upon key information, the faster and easier they can do their jobs. That’s why we’ve enhanced Sage Timberline Office to provide everyone on your team with a wide range of automation, workflow and process improvements to make it easier to get more done in less time, including:

1. Simplified reporting and data analysis with new tools that are familiar and easy to use.
2. A higher degree of work process automation so your team  has the freedom to focus on other tasks
3. Easier ways to share documents and manage internal approval processes making your entire team (and business) more efficient.

Simplified Installation
Why waste hours of your personal time upgrading workstations?

Laying the groundwork for future updates, the new Sage Installation Manager will make the task of installing and updating accounting workstations much more efficient. Getting your team up and running on the latest software advances for Sage Timberline Office will be quicker and easier than ever. That’s because the process is easily administered from a central location saving you unnecessary legwork and the need to manually install on individual workstations. The result is a dramatic reduction in the time you spend performing workstation installs and updates.

Document Management Rules-based Routing
Now you can ensure documents are reviewed by the right people in the right sequence every time with Document Management Rules-based Routing.

1.  Should all reviewers receive a document simultaneously or should documents be sent to reviewers sequentially?
2.  Would you like to designate an alternate recipient if the original reviewer is unavailable?
3.  Who should be notified when a process is completed?

These are just a few of the processes that Rules-based Routing can automate for you. And, the flexibility doesn’t end there! A number of other conditions are possible including:
1.  Which recipients can approve, reject, or forward documents.
2.  The types of documents recipients can approve (e.g. invoices, purchase orders, . . .).
3.  The dollar amounts (min and max) each recipient is allowed to approve.
4.  How many days are allowed for document routing.
5.  Due dates and alerts for documents.

Document Management Rules-Based Routing
Now you can ensure documents are reviewed by the right people in the right sequence every time with Document Management Rules-based Routing. Rules-based Routing also lets you automate the routing and approval processes that best suit your particular business needs. This means increased productivity and accountability. Avoid unnecessary delays, mistakes, and get paperwork approved faster. The best part is it’s all electronic.

Technology Updates
Keeping current with the latest technology, Sage Timberline Office now supports Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and includes an upgraded Pervasive 10 database. Our goal is to ensure your investment stays current and competitive as well as support the requirements most used by our customers.

More Comprehensive Tax Filing Capabilities & Improved Payroll Management
Now with over 250 additional US State and Federal government forms included, you’ll be able to complete tax filings, new hire reports, and more. Electronic forms are pre-filled using data from your Sage Timberline Office software.  You can then review, edit, or fill-in more completely if desired. And, to automate the process even further, we’ve partnered with Aatrix Software* offering you a number of additional services, including the option to eFile your forms. Of course, you’ll still have the option to print and mail the forms as you always have if you prefer. All new forms are printable as part of your regular service plan.  However, should you choose to take advantage of the eFiling capabilities, those services are offered for a modest fee through our partnership with Aatrix.

BIM–Estimating Quantity Takeoff Integration
With this release, estimators can now take full advantage of both 2D and 3D Building Information Models (BIM) when creating estimates. Thanks to our partnership and development work with Autodesk, estimators can enjoy powerful integration between Estimating and Autodesk’s Quantity Takeoff 2010 product. Using Autodesk’s Revit platform for BIM, object quantities and dimensions for items such as doors, windows, and walls can be stored within the Model and then extracted using AutoDesk’s Quantity Takeoff. Then, simply drag and drop items to map the Model objects and their dimensions to the estimating database for a one-time integration setup.

Advanced Assembly Databases
Databases are some of the most complete Estimating databases we’ve ever offered. Are you not yet taking advantage of Sage Timberline Office estimating? Or, are you interested in bidding different types of work outside of the normal types of projects you do? If so, these databases will significantly reduce the amount of time you spend getting your estimating system up and running or bidding new types of projects. The latest versions include a significant increase in the number of items with the ability to price labor in three different ways: turn-key, man-hour, or labor-only unit price. Plus, assembly items are now organized by trade with over 60 trade specific labor costs supported.

Excel-based Reporting—Office Connector Starter for Sage
Do you wish you had an easier way to analyze and report on data in a familiar format? Now you can leverage the benefits of Microsoft Excel to work with your Sage Timberline Office data using Office Connector Starter for Sage, included as part of your maintenance and service update.** Developed by Event 1 Software, Office Connector Starter for Sage is a reporting and analysis tool that allows you to use workbook templates created in Excel to key data housed within Sage Timberline Office. It provides you with a fast and easy way to look at your Sage Timberline Office data in a whole new light. Extract and perform analysis on a wide range of data through six workbook templates, including:

1. Sage Timberline Office Dashboard
View high-level summary totals from different Sage Timberline Office applications on one worksheet. This includes a financial summary, summary of jobs in-progress, summary of Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Property Management, and Billing. The Dashboard also allows you to identify a number of un-posted entries by application.

2. Sage Timberline Office Search
This helpful report lets you quickly find items in Sage Timberline Office based on arbitrary pieces of information you may have, such as a fragment of the description, number, date range, or amount. A separate worksheet also shows you the results returned from each application. Sage Timberline Office Spring 2010 Enhancements

3. Account Ledger with Detail
This report provides you with an excellent auditing tool. Identify a specific account, a set of accounts (using an account mask), or report all accounts. Select a desired date range and other criteria, such as whether to include entries associated with closing the fiscal year. And for each account, a summary of information that shows the beginning balance for the date range, net activity, and ending balance for the date range can also be included.

4. Cost To Complete
Simply specify which job, and this useful report lets you quickly produce a cost to complete worksheet that includes the estimate values, commitments, and actual cost to date. A data-entry column is included where you can record your expected cost to complete. And, calculated columns show you the resulting cost at completion and over/under values in real-time.

5. Job List with Maps & Weather
View a simple list of open jobs that can be quickly filtered or searched, which include two columns with hyperlinks. One takes you to Google Maps providing you with a map of the job location; the other takes you to Weather.com so you can easily see weather conditions at the job site.

6. Lease Expiration List
See every lease that’s about to expire within a timeframe that you identify. You can select all properties or a specific property, enter a cut-off date, and number of days until lease expiration. You can also quickly filter and sort the list using auto-filter and sorting features within Excel.  Customers on a current service plan receiving the Office Connector Starter for Sage will also be granted “a 5-day trial access period” to the full version of Office Connector. The full version includes an additional 20 standard reports/templates and the ability to create your own custom reports and templates using the Designer Tool should you decide to upgrade.

Also, as a special bonus, the trial version of Office Connector Starter for Sage also includes a FREE Anytime Learning session offered on Sage University. This short, online presentation describes the products functionality as well as a number of useful tips and tricks.

For more information or details on purchasing the full version of Office Connector, click here.
Download this  information in a printable PDF format.

Expect some great new features this Spring for Sage Timberline Office in the spring.  These additions will make your day-to-day ops smoother.

This spring you’ll get:

1.  Improved electronic routing.
2.  To review and approve documents within the system.
3.  Document Management’s rules-based-routing helps avoid
     unnecessary delays ensuring documents are reviewed by the right
     people, in the right sequence, at the right time–every time!
 4. Comprehensive tax filing capabilities with hundreds of new US
     state and federal government forms for reporting unemployment
     wages and withholding, new hires and more. Tired of printing and
     mailing forms? No problem– eFiling capabilities will be offered as
     well.

These are just a few of the new offerings coming your way!  We’ll have a more detailed list for you in the near future.

More and more of our clients are bidding on government jobs. For many of them it’s brand new territory. Do you have all the information you need? Do you know your chance of being audited if you do take on Stimulus work is nearly 100 percent according to the wording of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009?

Stimulus Jobs demand:

1. Accurate and timely action by contractors, subcontractors and public entities
2. Full compliance. Contractors are being monitored by government agents.
3. Tight reporting, complete accuracy as well as transparency.

The Arizona State University Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering is offering an online training and review program. You can learn how to master the art of bidding Stimulus Projects from industry experts. You can learn more about the Buy American Act, Civil Rights Compliance, Davis Bacon Act and ARRA/Stimulus Act Reporting, Accountability and Transparency by going here.

World of Concrete 2010

World of Concrete 2010

Ed and  Daren spent the week in Las Vegas working hard (uh huh) at this year’s World of Concrete Showcase. Held Feb. 1-5, the tradeshow is the only annual international construction show for those businesses devoted to the industries of concrete and masonry.

They spent their days taking to attendees about the many construction solutions Sage Timberline has to offer. Although we offer a full suite of accounting solutions, it appears most people are interested in Estimating. Which makes sense because the bidding wars are now on, triggered of course, by the current economic downturn.

Ed tells me a steady stream of people stopped by, many of them wanting to hear more about Timberline Estimating. “It’s always fun to be able to meet and chat with our clients face-to-face.” Ed believes “there is no substitute for getting out there and just talking to people.”

Daren feels the same way. He says most of the people he spoke with were interested in Timberline Estimating, “all of them eager to find that one thing that is going to give them the edge when it comes to bidding on projects. They want immediate tangible results in the form of winning more jobs.”

I’ve attached a couple of pictures taken by Daren – although he and Ed are camera-shy which explains why they’re not in any of the pictures!

A Little more info…

World of Concrete showcased more than 1,500 exhibitors in more than a million square feet of exhibit space. It also offered more than 100 educational sessions, product demonstrations and much more! To find out more about World of Concrete (did you know they’ll be in Mexico this June?) click here!

Sage Timberline Estimating Update 5 provides solutions to the following issues:

1.  The inconsistent spreadsheet display when using Edit > Options > Open estimate in last used sequence with a custom sort tab has been fixed.  The program will now display the data on the spreadsheet correctly.
2.  A Material price of “0″ will now transfer correctly from Estimating to Buyout workfiles.
3.  Estimates that had trailing spaces for any of the unit fields for items will now extend the amounts out properly.

Note:
1.  Estimating updates are cumulative. Update 5 includes the fixes listed above plus all enhancements and fixes from previous updates.
2.  You must have installed Estimating 9.6 in order to install 9.6.0 Update 5.
3.  If you install new or additional Estimating applications after installing an update, you must reapply the update.

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS

1. At the computer where Estimating is installed, click here to download the self-extracting file that contains the update.
2. In the File Download – Security Warning window, click [Save]. If you see the Save As window, select a temporary location on the computer to save the file and click [Save].

Note:
This location must be available to all workstations where Estimating is installed. For example, create a folder named “Update” if it does not yet exist, under X:\Timberline Office\Estimating, and then save the file to that location.   If you installed to a different location, select the appropriate path.

~ In the Download Complete window, click [Close]

To Update each workstation where you installed Estimating:
1. Close the Estimating application and all Microsoft Office applications on the workstation.
2. Browse to the location where you saved the file in step 2 of the “Download the update” section above.
3. Double-click the update file.
4. If a security warning appears, click [Run] or [Allow].
5. On the Ready to install 9.6.0 Est Update5 window, click [OK].
6. When the message This update has been installed successfully appears, click [OK].

 Repeat steps 1 through 6 at each workstation where you installed Sage Timberline Office Estimating Products.

 Update 4 Note:
Update 4 was not available for general release, but is included in Update  5. 
9.6 Estimating Update 4 addresses compatibility issues with 9.6 Accounting Update 7 (2009 Year-End Update) and Estimating Update 3.

1. If you have applied 9.6 Accounting Update 7 to a workstation or server and subsequently apply or reapply Estimating 9.6 Update 3, you will receive an error stating that “A newer version of Sage Timberline Office exists on this machine. You cannot apply this update.”
2. Apply Estimating Update 4 to workstations or servers under the following conditions:
3. Accounting Update 7 is installed. AND You need to apply an Estimating update.

 Update 3 Fixes:

1. Printing Totals
2. When selecting various report options and then a summary level other than Detail on Estimating reports, printing  or previewing may have resulted in an incorrect total. This issue has been fixed.

Barry Cassell

I’ve been asked by one of my industry software provider friends to write a piece on the current state of Building Information Modeling (BIM), as it relates to estimating in the here and now.

The topic has become increasingly relevant as the software driving the standard is  evolving quickly. (Or is it the demand that’s drving the software, fueling the growth? No matter.) BIM is fully useful now.

In fact, the oil and gas industry has been modeling its projects for thirty years,
not starting construction until the model is complete, and all potential design conflicts resolved. In the building sector, BIM is largely confined to the design-build arena. Why Design- Build? Because you need to own the drawings to have sufficient access to the CAD objects, or be on a truly team-oriented project that shares its resources openly among all project players. Not found on the conventional (read archaic) low-bid project!

To the uninitiated, the BIM standard (also known as Virtual Design & Construction or VDC)
requires “intelligent” design objects, rather than mere lines on the digital plan page. These
objects contain rich data including material dimensions, quantities, and types, to name just a
few attributes that sets modeled objects apart from conventional 2-D CAD lines. The 3-D
model can be rotated and viewed from any angle, including virtual walk-through capability.

Additionally, built-in clash-detection attributes prohibit drawing ducts through windows, or
electrical lines through ducts. It has evolved to the point of “5-D” technology: following the
more familiar 3-D design standards, “4-D” designates Time (project scheduling) data within the
model, and “5-D” the material takeoff quantity information, all built in to the drawings!

So why doesn’t everybody do it? Several reasons: High initial Cost is followed by a steep
Learning Curve, and topped off with multiple competing and Incompatible Software Standards.
Real world project experiences include glowing tales of months and millions shaved off
projects.

But likewise we hear some horror stories of high investment with puny returns. Unless
the entire project team is on board utilizing the same tools, those without are at a considerable
disadvantage. All major subs need to have fully compatible software, which doesn’t happen on
many projects under $50mm. And even with the resources and willingness to do all of the
above, the top three competing software tools are incompatible with each other. AutoDesk
doesn’t talk to Bentley, and neither works with Vico. The Army Corps of Engineers mandated a
year ago that Bentley and Autodesk must adhere to a common comapatible standard, but
nobody I know has seen it yet.

So how does this relate to estimating? Tools which interface between the model and estimate
applications are becoming increasingly available, in both proprietary and software-neutral
platforms. US Cost, Win Estimator, Bentley, and Vico have authored their own dedicated tools to
map and import the quantity takeoff information into their estimating applcations. Sage
Timberline requires a third-party interface, such as Innovaya’s Visual Estimating to import the
data. The speed of this software is truly amazing. I’ve watched Innovaya read complex models,
and execute literally days of quantity takeoff in minutes into a Timberline estimate. It’s truly
amazing.

And if the model changes, simply run the takeoff again for virtually instant update of
only the changed components. Which brings to light the obvious question, are we estimators
dinosaurs? The answer is no, for two reasons.

First, the model doesn’t contain “invisible” apects of the project such as mobilization, supervision,
temporary facilities, or necessary omponents such as formwork and scaffolding.

Second, and perhaps even more reassuring is hat it still takes a human mind to evaluate productivity,
and account for  weather conditions, as wll as the unique project constraints and advantages that
differentiate one project from aother. Where we’re saving estimating hours, (and ultimately potentially
reducing estimate staff requirements), is on what I call the “donkey work” of quantity takeoff. For that,
I for one say good riddance!

Have questions?  Want to know more?  Then ask Barry!  He’d love to hear from you.  Contact Gary
by going here.

The current economic climate t is actually a very good thing for the Arizona Department of Transportation. Originally, ADOT received $350 million dollars as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The state allocated the stimulus money for a set amount of jobs, then put them out to bid.

Then an interesting thing happened. The economy brought in such highly competitive buds, there is actually a surplus of $114 million dollars.That means you can expect to see dozens more ADOT jobs to be put to bid in the next few months. At this time 59 stimulus jobs are underway across the state.

Want a complete breakdown of the work being done? Go to http://www.azdot.gov/recovery/.

All this month you can save on Sage Timberline Office and Sage Master Builder when buying additional uses or modules.

Buy one additional module or use and get 10% off!
Buy two additional modules or uses and get 15% off!
Buy three or more additional modules or uses and get 20% off!

Estimators – we didn’t forget about you on this deal! John Fredley’s Advanced Databases are ALSO included.

Don’t forget to use the promo code C-0325 for Sage Timberline Office and C-0326 for Sage Master Builder.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact either me, Myrna, or Daren at anytime!!

The Arizona Department of Transportation finds itself with an extra $60 million dollars for more projects. That means ADOT will soon be bidding out more projects.

Originally ADOT budgeted for and signed off on 41 jobs but those projects came in WAY under the estimated bid. So much so, there is now more money for more projects.

ADOT is putting those projects together and have not yet but them out to bid. To check on its progress go here.