Quick Bid supports importing a properly formatted spreadsheet to create Condition and Quantities. The Survey, provided by a Quantity Surveyor, is created in your favorite spreadsheet program (such as Excel...) and then imported on the Conditions Tab.
We cover the import process in the next article, this article explains how to format your spreadsheet so you can import it.
There is a sample Quantity Survey template included in your OCS Documents\Quick Bid folder. If you have deleted that template, you can download it again at the bottom of this article.
The process for configuring an Excel file for import is a little complicated so this is a fairly long article (so is the next article). Please be patient and read through the steps carefully. Your Quantity Survey must be formatted exactly as explained in this article or the import will fail.
Formatting the Import file (formatting the Survey)
Your original quantity survey file will need to be edited a bit before you can import it into Quick Bid. It must be manipulated so that all information is in the correct columns, defined below. Attached to this article is an example of how a properly formatted Quantity Survey looks - you can use it as a template, if you like.
Rules
To import the file successfully, it must adhere to the following rules:
- Must be saved as a Microsoft Excel file (*.xls or *.xlsx file extension) (you can use another program to create/edit the spreadsheet, but you must save it as an Excel spreadsheet)
- The Survey must use the same Units of Measure (Metric or Imperial) as the Quick Bid database into which you are importing the file (you cannot import a Metric survey into an Imperial database)
- Row 1 must contain data in one of the columns to designate a start pointing for the file to be scanned (we recommend you enter the Project Name in Cell A1)
- A Condition can be assigned to one Bid Area only - you can use this process to add the Quantify for the first Bid Area, then circle back and update each Condition, entering values for multi-areas as needed
Formatting the Spreadsheet
Using the quantity survey spreadsheet you've received (if you used the attached file as a template, you may skip much of this reformatting),
Add 3 columns to the left side of the spreadsheet (for Type, Area, and Name)
Row 5 must contain the following "Column Headers", exactly:
- Column A = Type
- Column B = Area
- Column C = Name
- Column D = Item
- Column E = Description
- Column F = Quant
- Column G = Unit
"Rate" and "Total" are not imported and are optional.
|
Spreadsheet Column (A, B, C,...) |
Row 5 Column Header |
Explanation |
What to Enter/How to Format |
|
A |
Type |
T: Defines the Condition Type. All subsequent entries will be assigned to this Condition Type until "T" is encountered again in this column.
N: Defines the Condition Area, Name, and Condition Notes.
|
"T" indicates the Condition Type and is the first row defining a Condition - the Condition Type must be entered in the "Description" column - no other information should be in that row
"N" indicates the start of the description of a Condition
|
|
B |
Area |
Define what Area the Condition Quantity will be assigned to. All quantities for the Condition will be assigned to this Area. |
If the Bid Area doesn't already exist, it will be added to the Bid. |
|
C |
Name |
Defines the BASE Name for the Conditions. All Conditions are named by combining the "Name" and "Item". |
A base name that is common to all Conditions in this block. |
|
D |
Item |
A 'sub-name' or suffix identifying each unique Condition in the current block. |
Designate a difference between sub-Conditions under the main Condition name. (such as height, or even just a letter to differentiate between Conditions) |
|
E |
Description |
The Condition Notes. For each sub-Condition, the Base notes and sub notes are combined. |
Whatever notes are necessary to detail the difference between sub-Conditions. |
|
F |
Quant |
The Condition Quantity (only one) |
A number indicating how much of this unique Condition there is. |
|
G |
Unit |
The standard Unit of Measure for each sub-Condition. |
Valid UOM (Units of Measure), for the quantity survey file, are:
m, mm, m2, mm2, m3, mm3, EA, IN, LF, LY, IN2, SF, SY, SQ, CF, CY
See Related articles for information on the supported UOMs.
|
Additional columns:
Column D through I - the data in these columns is provided by the Quantity Surveyor and should include the following information:
|
Column |
Description/What's expected... |
|
D |
A letter which is appended to the Condition Name indicating a different variation of that Condition.
For example, say the root name of the Condition is "Wall" and the Survey indicates several different variations, A, B and C. When you import this Survey into Quick Bid, the program creates three Conditions: "Wall A", "Wall B" and "Wall C". |
|
E |
This column has two different types of data: - On the "T" Row: the name of the Condition Type
- On the "N" Row: the overall Condition Notes (added to EACH variation of the Condition) - On each lettered (Column D) Row: notes applicable for that variation of the Condition
|
|
F |
Quantity for each Condition variation |
|
G |
Unit of measure for each Condition variation |
|
H |
Not imported (ignored) |
|
I |
Not imported (ignored) |
Example - What Creates a Condition
Each main Condition must be formatted like the example below. Empty cells must be left empty - missing information is acceptable, see the examples below.
So, if we'd setup the following in our Survey:
Quick Bid would build the following Conditions for us:
For each sub-Condition, Type, Area, and Name are left blank. The only time these Columns should have entries is when defining a new Base Condition.
Example - Additional Details of What's Imported
When the program finds a "T" in Column A, it looks in Column E for some Condition Type.
When the program finds an "N" in Column A, it looks in:
- Column B for 'Area' (Bid Area) to which the Condition will be assigned (only one Bid Area per Condition can be imported - you can always assign Multiple Areas/Quantities after the import)
- Column C for the base Name of the Conditions that will follow
- Column D for the Item - the suffix added to the Base Name to create the entire Condition Name; if Column D is blank, it is assumed Column E are the base Condition Notes
- If Column D is not blank, Condition E is assumed to be the (item) Condition Notes (these are appended to the base Condition Notes)
- Column F is the amount or quantity of whatever UOM is being measured
- Column G is the UOM for Column F
Reminders
The "Description" column for "N" (Condition Name) are the Condition Notes,, the Condition Name will be a combination of the Name field and the Item field.
If any rows are missing the Column 1 data of N or T, and there is nothing in Column 4 (the Item letter) the row is ignored.
If any rows contain invalid data, the row is ignored.
See Related Articles for more information on how Condition Names, Areas, Types, and Quantities get imported.
Create Conditions from an Excel File (importing a Quantity Survey)
