The purpose of this article is to provide a guide on how to use Microvellum's Proect Costing Tools. A step-by-step tutorial is included in the attached video for a clearer and easier understanding of how to effectively use these tools.

1. Material file material cost amounts and/or labor time values for each material.
   
2. Activity stations labor time and labor rate for each station.
   
3. The Cost Based Estimating Report.
   

Registered users may access downloads of the most current Reports and Activity Stations in the Downloads section of the Microvellum Knowledge Base.

The following Project Properties are used in the Cost Based Estimating Report:

1. Job number
   
2. General Contact
   
3. Estimator
   
4. Currency Symbol (Global)
   

Material File

The material file contains multiple types of costing data for each sheet stock material, solid stock, buyout item, edge band, and hardware item in the respective material file libraries. In the material file interface, you set the material cost for that material by the sheet, by a linear unit, or by the material unit (Each).

Please see the relevant material file fields and a short description of each below.

1. Markup – if the Estimate Price is your shop cost for materials, use markup to bring the total price up to fair market value.
   

You decide to use the Material Pricing Markup value or to use the Markup feature in the reports. If you decide to use the material file Pricing Markup value, keep in mind that if you add a Markup value in the report, it will compound the total markup on the quote. $100 material with 10% material markup = $110. If 10% markup is also added at the report level, the cost would be $121.)

2. Waste Factor – enter the waste percentage that you expect for this material.
   
3. Labor Value – enter the time, calculated as Minutes Per Unit (MPU), that it would take to finish a square foot or meter of material with sanding, staining, painting, lacquering), or to install a piece of hardware. As noted below, in the context of the project costing tools, the material file Labor Value applies only to Finishing and Hardware. Be very careful that you calculate this as MPU. This is the inverse of the Activity Station calculations.
   
4. Estimate Price – enter the cost of the material, before markup, waste percentage, or sales tax percentage. This is the most frequently used value of these four to be used in the project costing reports.
   

The Estimate Price is generated using Optimization Priority 1 Materials only - If you have multiple sheet sizes, ensure that only ONE of them has a cost value entered or the Estimate Price will not calculate correctly.

The material file contains a text entry box for Labor Value, which represents the estimated cost of any labor associated with the sheet or the unit specified. This is currently used in the Toolbox Project Costing Tools for only sheet finishing and hardware installation labor values.

If you decide to enter and use a material file 'Labor Value' instead of the activity station 'Units Per Minute of Factory Time' for something such as material finishing or material handling, you must remember that the material labor value should be entered as a value representing 'Minutes Per Unit' (MPU) instead of 'Units Per Minute' (UPM). This is the inverse of the format required by the activity station's labor calculations.

As you are adding labor values and costing values to the materials, you may edit multiple materials simultaneously, making it quick and easy to configure this Costing component.

Toolbox populates the data from the materials into the work order database parts, sheets, edgebanding, and hardware tables without alteration or re-calculation.

Activity Stations

As the name implies, we use the activity stations to set the values for the time required for each labor operation or activity. The categories set up in the Activity Stations should reflect the various engineering, manufacturing, assembly, shipping, and installation processes in your shop. Every essential operation or group of operations that consume time in the process of producing a billable project can be assigned as an activity station. Configure each activity station with a time value and a labor rate if you want the report to display data for that operation in the reports.

Default Activity Station Numbers should not be modified. Additionally, make sure you do not have more than one activity station with the same Activity Station Number.

As you process parts through various Activity Stations, some stations may require many minutes per part, and an activity interval assignment based on 'Units per Minutes' does not make sense for those stations. Here is another way to think about this that may make it easier to understand. Instead of 'Units per Minute' (UPM), think of the interval assigned as 'Minutes per Unit' (MPU). To determine 'Units per Minute' just divide the value of one by the minutes per unit that you determine each part will require in the activity station process to get the proper value (1/MPU).

In Figure 4, the Unit Type is 'Lineal Feet' (Linear). The value of 15 that is entered in the box Units Per Minute of Factory Time means that every minute the CNC machine associated with this processing station can route a distance equal to 15 feet. If the Unit Type is 'Each Parts' and the Units Per Minute of Factory Time is 0.2, the activities related to Part Assembly proceed at the rate of one part every five minutes.

See the table below for the default library values in the Component Cabinet version 50.5. This table can serve as a model for you as you set up your company data.

Fig. 4 - Table of Activity Station Values Entered in the Microvellum Component Cabinet Library Version 50.5

Although the average user can customize the activity stations outside the values found on this table, if you are working in a sandbox environment, we recommend that you acquire the services of a Microvellum Service Tech to assist you. If your activity station modifications include modifying the activity station numbers, you also must modify the costing reports with your revised numbers.

Toolbox populates the data from the activity stations into the factory database ActivityStations table without alteration or re-calculation.

Relationship of Activity Stations to Processing Stations

Each software configuration contains an exclusive set of Activity Stations. Although the Activity Stations contain a section for default Processing stations, they are not defined by those stations, and it is not necessary to attach an Activity Station to a Processing Station. The Activity Station box located in the Processing Station setup screen is used for legacy purposes. It does not need to contain an Activity Station for the program to function correctly. On the other hand, if the Processing Station does contain an Activity Station in this box, nothing in the program is affected adversely.

In summary, the Processing Stations and the Activity Stations are separate entities and only connected because the button for accessing the Activity Stations is located in the Processing Stations tab of the Microvellum options.

Reports

We have set up the reports with the ability to tailor the output to your individual needs as the report contains multiple parameters in the header area of the report. Use these user input variables to display the report in the exact combination of predetermined formats you need. For example, open the Cost Based Estimating Report and notice that the header contains multiple parameters to which you add values or checkboxes ON or OFF to control the appearance of the report. These parameters also control the data to display on the report. The parameters for this report include whether you want to display the greyscale graphics bands, the markup percentage to apply to the report subtotal, the overhead percentage to apply, the finishing markup, and options to hide various costing categories on the rendered report.

Properties

Hidden Variables

We will now discuss the three report tabs we currently use with the Project Costing Tools in the Cost Based Estimating Report (Shop Quote, Shop Labor Quote, Customer Quote).

Cost Based Estimating Report: Shop Quote

This report contains two main sections. The first section is Materials and contains the costs for the materials of all parts included in the work order.  The second section is Labor and contains the cost of the labor necessary to design engineer and manufacture your products. 

Cost Based Estimating Report: Shop Labor Quote

This report contains the cost of the labor necessary to design engineer and manufacture your products. This report draws its base labor values from the activity stations.

Cost Based Estimating Report: Customer Project Quote

This report contains a list of products contained in the work order. It sums the material costs for all the parts of those products and the labor for the relevant activity stations, including tax. This report draws its base material cost values from the activity stations and the material file.

It also contains a legal statement of the Terms and Conditions that serves as a contract between the Customer and the Contractor.

This statement must be modified to match the Terms and Conditions of each company using the report.

XML Data Export

This report contains the ability to export the report data via XML to external software.  This requires the use of a plugin for functionality.  The export page, when enabled, will be the last page of the report.

The reports are the main engine for calculating costing values in the Project Costing Tools. As noted elsewhere in this documentation, the values from the materials and activity stations are populated directly to the database without alteration. The reports take those values from the database and calculate the costs according to the user input variables set in the reports.