Pick One
Pick One Categories are a group of mutually exclusive choices for the entire plan or a given room - you cannot have any two choices from a pick one category for the same choice/room combination (i.e. you can only "pick one").
Pick One Categories allow you to group together several choices that result in the removal of base house material when an option is selected.
Example
- If Marble Countertops are selected by the customer, the standard, Laminate Countertops are not ordered.
- If the customer selects a Basement, the material/labor for the Slab Foundation are not ordered.
- If a customer upgrades to tile in the Living Room, the standard carpet in the Living Room is not ordered.
Pick One Categories allow the system do the heavy lifting when material is switched out in a job budget.
Pick One Categories
Allow you to select one of the pick one choices as standard in a community.
Allow the user to set any/all of the other pick one choices as optional in a community.
Calculate an option’s cost basis by subtracting the cost of the standard feature in the pick one from the cost of the standard option.
Eliminate the need for estimators to create “takes” in many situations, including upgrades and changes in construction methods.
Greatly simplify assembly creation.
Revolutionize the ability to apply simple upgrades in option-on-option situations.
Pick One Example
Below are the steps for creating a Pick One Category for flooring. The example assumes that there are 4 levels of carpet and 3 levels of tile, and those are the only flooring choices available to the customer. It does not matter if the carpet is typically done "whole house" while the tile is room by room; the process for entering the information is essentially the same.
Using the flooring example, first create a new Pick One Category called "Flooring."
Next, select the choices that will be a part of the Pick One Category. In our flooring example, the choices would be:
Carpet Level 1
Carpet Level 2
Carpet Level 3
Carpet Level 4
Tile Level 1
Tile Level 2
Tile Level 3
We do not have to decide as we estimate if the flooring choice is standard or optional in any given community. We will be able to make that determination when we set the choices as "Standard Features" or "Standard Options" in the community. Thus, if one of your choices (i.e., Carpet Level 2) is standard in one community but optional in another, you still only create the choice one time.
The Takeoff Items
Given the example above, the takeoff items for flooring in the living room would look like this:
| Choice | Item | Quantity | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carpet Level 1 | Basic Carpet | 20 SY | Living Room |
| Carpet Level 2 | Standard Carpet | 20 SY | Living Room |
| Carpet Level 3 | Nice Carpet | 20 SY | Living Room |
| Carpet Level 4 | Really Nice Carpet | 20 SY | Living Room |
| Tile Level 1 | Basic Tile | 90 SF | Living Room |
| Tile Level 1 | Underlayment | 90 SF | Living Room |
| Tile Level 2 | Standard Tile | 90 SF | Living Room |
| Tile Level 2 | Underlayment | 90 SF | Living Room |
| Tile Level 3 | Nice Tile | 90 SF | Living Room |
| Tile Level 3 | Underlayment | 90 SF | Living Room |
Note
Notice that “Underlayment” is listed as a takeoff item 3 times, once for each tile choice. The reason for this is that if we START with carpet, we won’t need the underlayment; thus, the system must know to take it out when we switch to tile. If we start with tile and switch to carpet, the system needs to know to put in the underlayment. If we switch from one type of tile to the next, 0 is the net change to the underlayment.
Grid Assemblies
If the pick one information is entered into an assembly (covered in the next section), then it will be easy to quickly and efficiently create all the material for each room. In addition, if a grid assembly is used (found on the Assembly Detail screen), the system will remember the quantities and allow you to change those, the room, and all other information via the grid – you could even add Carpet Level 5 and Hardwood Flooring to the assembly, and use the grid to pull the changes in!
Standard Features
Select one of the choices to be standard in the Community. All others can be set as Options in the Community (or, if not available, left out of the Community completely).
Note
It is CRITICAL to note that you MUST have a category specific Standard Feature for the pick one. If you currently combine many different choices into one choice (i.e., "Meridian Estates Spec Level" includes basic cabinets, countertops and flooring while "Chantilly Estates Spec Level" includes cabinets, countertops, and flooring one grade higher as the standard), you will need stop using the "grouped" choice for anything that will be in a Pick One. This can be done as a part of the creation or conversion of Pick One Categories.
If "Meridian Estates Spec Level" were included in the Pick One Category for flooring, takes would be created for the cabinets, countertops, and flooring when an upgrade to Carpet Level 2 occurred. Obviously, this is not desired.
The Takes
To calculate option cost basis, the system will automatically create "takes" based on the standard selected for the community, subtracting the cost of the Standard Feature from the cost of the Standard Option.
You do not have to worry about building "takes", or updating all options (manually building new "takes") if you introduce a new standard – you simply designate what is Standard and what is Optional and let the system take care of the rest.
No matter which of the choices is set as a standard feature, the "takes" will always work out correctly, because ALL of the material for the standard feature will be pulled out by the system. This means that if you offer a NEW standard feature, there is not additional work for you to do other than to make sure that choice and the takeoff items are in the system.
Note
The Standard Features and Standard Options in this example will all be set room by room. By doing this, the Pick One Category will create takes for each individual room. This applies even if you previously set carpet as "whole house" and subtracted a portion of the total (deduct amount) when a room switched from carpet to another type of flooring. This is discussed in greater detail in the “Whole House” section of this document.
The Job Budget
In the job budget, the Budget Takeoff screen will list all of the material for the Standard Feature. If an Option is selected from the Pick One Category, the Optional material will be listed also. On all reports, (including the Purchase Orders) the system will display the "takes" and all Option Cost information will be calculated with the cost of the Standard Feature removed from the cost of the Option. The Standard Feature material is left in so that it is priced and can be updated should pricing changes be necessary.