Cost Plus Bid Center

Estimate Sheets of Material

Bruce Chezem — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 23:08:56 +0000

Estimate Sheets of Material Bruce Chezem Mon, 08/19/2024 - 16:08

Episode Number

069

Episode 069 of A Cabinet Vision Minute is about setting the Estimate Sheets of Material flag in the Bid Center.

If you use the Cost-Plus Bid Center or even if you don't use the Cost-Plus Bid Center and you're not using "Catalog Prices" for estimating your cabinet jobs, then watch this video. This could ~~save you~~ make you thousands of dollars on your next job.

The bottom line.... Check this box!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Cabinet Vision Minute on Patreon

https://Patreon.com/PeelingBackCabinetVision

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Shop Craftsman Engineering

https://Shop.CraftsmanEngineering.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Craftsman Engineering website

https://CraftsmanEngineering.com

Video Author

Craftsman Woodworks Engineering

Video Tags

CV Minute

Add new comment

Version 4 of the Cost-Plus Bid Center has just been released!

Bruce Chezem — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 00:20:18 +0000

Version 4 of the Cost-Plus Bid Center has just been released! Bruce Chezem Thu, 08/15/2024 - 17:20

Episode Number

005.4

Craftsman Engineering just released version 4 of the Cost-Plus Bid Center and the Estimators' Toolbox catalog last week ( Aug. 8, 2024 ).

What's new in the Cost-Plus Bid Center version 04:

Two category (A) rate tables have been added to include Flush Inset Face Frame construction and Beaded Inset Face Frame construction. It's worth noting that for the sake of estimating, Flush Inset Face Frame construction and Beaded Inset Face Frame construction are by far, the most labor intensive style of cabinets to build. Consequently, the per linear foot values for these two rate tables are relatively high as compared to the other category (A) rate tables for other construction methods.

A new Group B Rate Table has been added to accommodate Clear Coat finish on Drawers and Rollouts

All Group B Rate Tables have been edited and cleaned up to include the area of both sides of doors in the calculation for square footage of “finished area”.

All the Rate Tables in Version 04 are uniquely named such that the rate table names included in this version won't interfere with rate tables already on your system. All rate tables in this release are named like "CP4A Cabs/Foot FF", for example. In this example CP4 represents the name and version of the Cost-Plus Bid Center and A represents the Rate Table Group for construction method class. See the Rate Tables Explained pdf document for a detailed explanation of each Rate Table Group and explanation and application of each of the individual Rate Tables.

An updated version of the Estimators’ Toolbox catalog has been bundled with this version of the Cost-Plus Bid Center. Estimators Toolbox v4 has been edited from the previous version so that all object prices have been removed or “zeroed out”. In the previous version of the Estimators Toolbox, some objects had values listed in Cabinet Properties|Price which caused unwanted results while using the Bid Center. All cabinet objects in the Estimators’ Toolbox should have $0 prices.

Pricing for drawers and rollout trays has been improved from previous versions of the Cost-Plus Bid Center. 6 new Group C Rate Tables have been added to the Cost-Plus Bid Center v04 to provide for “Good - Better - Best” pricing scenarios of both Buyout drawers/rollouts and Make drawers/rollouts. With this improvement, the pricing value in the Drawer construction method ( Std. #137 ) is no longer used as a source of the prices of drawers.

The Cost-Plus Bid Center, Version 04, is a collection of 28 prepared rate tables and 5 reports packaged with the Estimators' Toolbox catalog. The Estimators' Toolbox contains hundreds of easy-to-find cabinet configurations and popular cabinet accessory products for residential and commercial projects.

This useful collection of Cabinet Vision tools can be used as soon as the package is installed on your Cabinet Vision system. The Cost-Plus Bid Center v4 is best used on recent versions of Cabinet Vision including CV 2021, CV 2023, and CV 2024.

Just as Cabinet Vision models the "real world" in 3 dimensions, room by room, the Bid Center extends all of your work into the world of estimating commercial and residential cabinet jobs. Using the Cost-Plus Bid Center and the Estimators' Toolbox, you can create fast, accurate estimates with instant access to project Break-Even analysis reporting, customized estimates, purchasing summary reports and more. And here's the kicker....you don't have to draw any walls or cabinets.

The Cost-Plus Bid Center takes all the guesswork out of setting up your Bid Center so you can "hit the ground running" with cabinet pricing that includes every production aspect, every material, every department of every cabinet shop from the design department, engineering, milling, assembly, finishing departments and your shipping and installation departments, too. The collection takes advantage of Cabinet Vision's xBidding multiplier with a smart implementation of a "cost-plus" approach to using the Bid Center for commercial jobs and residential jobs using your construction methods and material schedules.

What can you do with the Cost-Plus Bid Center?

Well, you can make complete estimates for cabinet jobs in minutes... You can perform project job costing analysis... You can do catalog product costing.... You can do A/B testing product comparisons... You can make complete "no-draw" estimates or "full-draw" estimates... You can make historical estimate analysis....

The bottom line is that you can use Cabinet Vision's bid center effectively and efficiently and quickly....with a very high return on your investment and a very flat learning curve.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Cabinet Vision Minute on Patreon

https://Patreon.com/PeelingBackCabinetVision

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Shop Craftsman Engineering

https://Shop.CraftsmanEngineering.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Craftsman Engineering website

https://CraftsmanEngineering.com

Video Author

Craftsman Woodworks Engineering

Video Tags

CV Minute

Add new comment

CV Minute Update for April 29, 2024

Bruce Chezem — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 00:09:07 +0000

CV Minute Update for April 29, 2024 Bruce Chezem Mon, 04/29/2024 - 17:09

Episode Number

20240429

This is the first A Cabinet Vision Minute Update....kinda like A Cabinet Vision Minute vlog. This is published on April 29, 2024.

These "vlog class" of videos are designed, hopefully, to fill the time gap between releases A Cabinet Vision Minute videos. Currently, for example, I'm working on a 6 part series of videos on the Door Manager. I've completed two of them and the 3 in the series about buyout doors is in progress and very nearly complete.

So, here's what's on my plate today...

There's the A Cabinet Vision Minute Door Manager Series that I just mentioned
As I was working on the Buyout Door episode, I decided I needed a working buyout door catalog. So, I set about to make one that is modeled after Caldoor's catalog. The Caldoor catalog I made features Caldoor's profiles, door styles, available species and even Caldoor pricing which was published in one of their recent catalogs. The pricing aspect of this is especially cool because it dovetails so nicely with the Cost-Plus Bid Center. But the coolest part of my Caldoor catalog is the Caldoor order form report I made which makes ordering doors from Caldoor as easy as picking the report in the Report Center.
Hexagon's Software Maintenance Agreement - Like you, I have a real problem with this "SMA" thing. As I type this, I'm trying not to get myself all worked up about it. In a nutshell, there is no Software Maintenance Agreement. Where I live here in California, home of the world famous Silicon Valley, software companies know how to write a Software Maintenance Agreement....a real, legal document....a legal contract. The kind that says, in exchange for X, we'll give you Y...with all the details spelled out in tiny legal-ese. Since I purchased Cabinet Vision way back when, I have never signed or even seen any kind of Software Maintenance Agreement. But I keep sending them a pile of money every year. But for what?
OK....I gotta calm down now. I've also been working on NOTE Reports. NOTE is an acronym for Nice On The Eyes. NOTE Reports are common Cabinet Vision reports out-of-the-box that I've redesigned and reformatted and renamed so that 1) they are easy to read with an nice san serif fonts 2) they are in Landscape format with consistent labeling of the report names, print dates, customer information etc. and 3) they are named so that its easy to distinguish one report from another.
The Cost-Plus Bid Center is an "evergreen" work-in-progress with version 3 being the most current release. I do get a lot of questions about The Cost-Plus Bid Center. So, I just want to reiterate that there is a lot of information about the Cost-Plus Bid Center on the Craftsman Engineering website. And it is available for purchase and download on the Craftsman Engineering store.
If you are an Allmoxy user along with Cabinet Vision, I'd love to talk with you about estimating your jobs that originate with Allmoxy and subsequently sent to Cabinet Vision. The Cost-Plus Bid Center can play a huge roll in your ability to produce fast and accurate estimates. I'm working on getting the ear of Allmoxy so I can present this opportunity to them.
Every day....well every Monday through Thursday, I'm meeting with two training clients each day. One in the morning for two hours and then another client in the late morning for 2 more hours. My training calendar is quite full right now but there always seems to be room for more. Currently, I'm booking training about 2 weeks out. If you have specific problems with jobs in Cabinet Vision that you are working through or maybe you'd just like to have a little fresh eyes on a process in your shop, give me a holler and I'll tell you all about my unique approach to training for your shop.
And finally, I'm adding new content to the my Patreon page. Most of the content I'm adding to the Patreon page is exclusive to the page but it's all aimed at making you more productive in your business with Cabinet Vision.

Video Author

Craftsman Woodworks Engineering

Video Tags

CV Minute

Add new comment

Estimating refacing jobs with Cabinet Vision

Bruce Chezem — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 18:43:07 +0000

Estimating refacing jobs with Cabinet Vision Bruce Chezem Tue, 02/27/2024 - 10:43

Episode Number

037

A Cabinet Vision Minute - Episode 37

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A Cabinet Vision Minute on Patreon

https://Patreon.com/PeelingBackCabinetVision

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Shop Craftsman Engineering

https://Shop.CraftsmanEngineering.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bruce demonstrates the versatility of the Cost-Plus Bid Center by estimating a refacing job...doors and drawers only with hardware and installation.

Easy-peasy....way too easy.....with Cabinet Vision and the Cost-Plus Bid Center.

Video Author

Craftsman Woodworks Engineering

Video Tags

CV Minute

Add new comment

Cost-Plus Bid Center and the Estimator's Toolbox - Part II

Bruce Chezem — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 15:42:49 +0000

Cost-Plus Bid Center and the Estimator's Toolbox - Part II Bruce Chezem Thu, 07/20/2023 - 08:42

Episode Number

022

In this second of a two-part series on practical bidding and estimating techniques using Cabinet Vision, the Cost-Plus Bid Center and the Estimator's Toolbox, Bruce demonstrates a very fast and accurate method of estimating a high-end kitchen for an apartment in San Francisco without laying out walls...a COMPLETE No-Draw Bid with Cabinet Vision 2023.

You'll witness some amazing estimating agility and efficiency as Bruce creates a complete no-draw estimate in minutes using Cabinet Vision 2023, the Cost-Plus Bid Center add-on package, and the Estimator's Toolbox catalog package from Craftsman Engineering.

With Release 2 of the Cost-Plus Bid Center we added the Estimator's Toolbox catalog package to the Cost-Plus Bid Center package. With the Estimator's Toolbox catalog, estimating a project is made as simple as picking ready configured cabinets and options from a catalog.

For more information about the Estimator's Toolbox and the Cost-Plus Bid Center add-on packages for Cabinet Vision, visit our website and online store at https://Shop.CraftsmanEngineering.com.

Video Author

Craftsman Woodworks Engineering

Video Tags

CV Minute

Add new comment

Cost-Plus Bid Center and the Estimator's Toolbox - Part 1

Bruce Chezem — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 01:10:59 +0000

Cost-Plus Bid Center and the Estimator's Toolbox - Part 1 Bruce Chezem Wed, 07/05/2023 - 18:10

Episode Number

021

In this first of a two-part series on practical bidding and estimating techniques using Cabinet Vision and the Cost-Plus Bid Center, Bruce demonstrates a very fast and accurate method of estimating a high-end kitchen for an apartment in San Francisco.

Bruce introduces the Estimator's Toolbox, a new feature we recently added, with Release 2, to the Cost-Plus Bid Center. With the Estimator's Toolbox, estimating a project is made as simple as picking ready configured cabinets, options, add-ons and even services from a catalog.

For more information about the Estimator's Toolbox and the Cost-Plus Bid Center add-on packages for Cabinet Vision, visit https://Shop.CraftsmanEngineering.com

Video Author

Craftsman Woodworks Engineering

Video Tags

CV Minute

Add new comment

Sharing Some Secret Sauce

Bruce Chezem — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 01:33:40 +0000

Sharing Some Secret Sauce Bruce Chezem Tue, 06/13/2023 - 18:33

Episode Number

027

In this episode of A Cabinet Vision Minute, I tip my hand about how I came up with some of the numbers I use in the Cost-Plus Bid Center rate tables that use the Per Linear Foot bid method.

To find out more about the Cost-Plus Bid Center and the Estimators' Toolbox, visit https://Shop.CraftmanEngineering.com

Video Author

Craftsman Woodworks Engineering

Video Tags

CV Minute

Add new comment

Materials and Vendors

Bruce Chezem — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 21:44:19 +0000

Materials and Vendors Bruce Chezem Mon, 06/12/2023 - 14:44

Episode Number

025

Let's say you buy plywood from several different vendors. And of course, vendor A has a different price for that material than does vendor B or vendor C for that matter. How can we make sure we have the right price AND vendor for this plywood.

In this A Cabinet Vision Minute, Bruce peels pack the vendor/price onion.

Learn more about the Cost-Plus Bid Center at https://Shop.CraftsmanEngineering.com

Video Author

Craftsman Woodworks Engineering

Video Tags

CV Minute

Add new comment

The Cost-Plus Bid Center - An Overview

Bruce Chezem — Fri, 12 May 2023 20:39:04 +0000

The Cost-Plus Bid Center - An Overview Bruce Chezem Fri, 05/12/2023 - 13:39

Episode Number

005

The Cost-Plus Bid Center is a set of prepared rate tables, reports and catalogs made specifically for Cabinet Vision. This video is an excellent overview of the Cost-Plus Bid Center.

To find out more about the Cost-Plus Bid Center, visit https://Shop.CraftsmanEngineering.com

Video Author

Craftsman Woodworks Engineering

Video Tags

CV Minute

Add new comment

How to make a No-Draw "Quick Bid" in Cabinet Vision

Bruce Chezem — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 00:17:12 +0000

How to make a No-Draw "Quick Bid" in Cabinet Vision Bruce Chezem Thu, 03/16/2023 - 17:17

Episode Number

012

See Episode 023 of A Cabinet Vision Minute for the Complete No-Draw Bid Process.

Download a very handy tool to help you expedite this Quick Bid process. Scroll down to the end of the text below to find the download link.

In this video, Bruce explains how to create a "Quick Bid" using the Cost Plus Bid Center package available from the Craftsman Engineering Online Store ...all without drawing a single wall and without drawing any cabinets.

A "Quick Bid" is a better-than-ballpark estimate of a job. And, it's a very handy sales tool. With it, a cabinet sales executive can quickly come up with numbers for potential clients. It isn't intended to be a detailed final bid. It isn't intended to be a substitute for a final detailed bid. Instead, it's a "conversation starter" and a tool to be used to determine the price of a design fee of a future job, for example. There's a lot of good uses for a "Quick Bid".

Steps to follow are incredibly simple... ( use the link below to download the Quick Bid Take-off Tally Sheet )

Get a short list of linear footage cabinet "take offs" from the architectural plan set. I typically get a count of base linear footage, upper linear footage and tall linear footage. In this example in the video, I have 163 linear feet of base cabinets, 130 linear feet of uppers, and 12 linear feet of talls.
Next, I divide the footage tallies by 4. The reason I do this is to get an estimated number of cabinets of bases, uppers and talls. So, in this example, 163 linear feet of bases becomes about 40 base cabinets, 130 lf of uppers becomes 32 uppers, and 12 lf of talls becomes 3 talls. This step is important because I want Cabinet Vision to calculate of the number of drawers and doors and associated hardware and other materials that can only be calculated from an estimate of the number of cabinets on a job.
Open a new job in Cabinet Vision and fill in the job info on the job setup screen. Just like a "normal" job, be sure to complete the appropriate construction method and materials schedules, and door styles. This'll be used on the estimate report in the Bid Center. Create a room for each room in the job. Repeat the next two steps ( steps 4 and 5 ) for each room of the job...
Now, press the Order Entry button under the reports tab. From the Custom Catalog ( or any cabinet catalog for that matter ), drag a base cabinet, an upper cabinet and a tall cabinet onto a line of the Order Entry screen.
Modify the width of each of the cabinets to 48". Do this for the upper and the tall as well. Then, in the Qty column, change the count from 1 to 40 for bases, 32 for the uppers and 3 for the talls. This "normalizes" the count of cabinets as an equivalent of linear footages ( 40 base cabinets @ 48" wide = 160 linear feet ).
This step takes us into the Bid Center. I selected only four rate tables from the Cost Plus Bid Center list of rate tables.... CP (A) Cabs per foot F/I, a couple of rate tables for the finish I want, and the CP ( C ) Job Global rate table.
I pressed the Internal Mode button from the Menu Bar which reveals the Markup Slider. I moved the slider over to 30% because that's the margin or Markup I want to add to the Break Even figure when I present the Quick Bid to the client.
Finally, I run a simple report in the bid center. I highlight and copy ( CTRL-C ) the contents from the report view on the bid center screen into a Google Docs document. I use Google Docs to dress up my estimates and add them to contracts and various other documents. I suggest formatting your bid center reports using Word or Google Docs ( or any word processing program for that matter ) to dress up your documents. The report view screen within the Bid Center doesn't have document editing features sufficient to function like Word or Google Docs.

Downloads

Very handy Quick Bid Take-off Tally Sheet

Video Author

Craftsman Woodworks Engineering

Video Tags

CV Minute