Quick Bid - 03.10 Setting up Default Indirect Expenses - QB

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Indirect Expenses refer to expenses related to Stock, Clean, Supervision, and Per Diem, that accumulate as Material and Labor Costs are added to a Bid. Quick Bid can automatically apply Indirect Expenses to Material and Labor costs, if you choose to configure Defaults. Indirect Expenses are similar to Markups, but are calculated differently. For more information on Default Markups, see previous articles.

Although we don't really see Indirect Expenses get applied until we discuss the Condition Detail and the Markups Tab, in Chapters 4 and 5, if you want Defaults applied to your job costs, you need to set them up now. If you do not setup Defaults (and a lot of users do not), you can always setup Markups and Indirect Expenses for each Bid on the Markups Tab. This is done on the Markups Tab.

Changing/Setting Up Default Indirect Expenses affect future bids and Sections not already used in existing bids. Indirect Expenses operate a little differently than Markups (previous article). Markups are setup by Section - regardless of Wage Type, however, Indirect Expenses based on Labor Hours or Labor Cost must be setup per-Wage Type. So, let us say, you've configured "Section 1" to calculate Indirect Expenses off Labor Hours for Wage Type "Union" for the Payroll Class "Carpenter" only. When that Section if first used in a Bid, if the Wage Type for the cost is not Union and the Payroll Class is not Carpenter, no indirect expenses will be added. If you have dozens of Wage Types or Payroll Classes, you have to configure each combination individually (this is why most users do not configure Default Indirect Expenses unless they always use one or two Wage Types/Payroll Class combinations).

All Sections or By Individual Section

There are two ways to set up defaults (just like for Default Markups):

  • All Sections - any time you use any section in any Bid, these defaults are applied (most users do not configure these)
  • Individual Sections - when you use a specific section in a Bid, these Indirect Expenses are applied only to that Section. If you configure "Individual Sections", but do not enter values for defaults, no defaults will be applied for expenses in that Section. If you configure even one Individual Section for Default Indirect Expenses, "Defaults for All Sections" are ignored.

We will cover these two in the articles that follow.

Notes
  1. For details on how Markups and Indirect Expenses are applied, see Related Articles.
  2. It is important that you understand how Markups affect Bid values. Before you setup Defaults, we suggest you first change these settings on a few Bids get a feel for how changes affect final Bid amounts. Experiment with the various options, analyzing the results on Bid values. Before making changes, be sure to duplicate your bid.
CAUTION
When using Labor to calculate Indirect Expenses, you must set up Indirect Expenses for each Payroll Class / Wage Type combination. For example, if you are setting up Stock or Clean for a "Carpenter" using Labor Hours and regularly use three Wage Types (Union, Open, Sub), you must configure each Wage Type in the grid. Configuring IE for one Wage Type does not affect other Wage Types.

click here to view the previous article Default Markups for Individual Sections Default Indirect Expenses for All Sections click here to view the next article