{"id":8401,"date":"2022-01-25T23:08:47","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T23:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3.26.62.22\/?post_type=ht_kb&p=8401"},"modified":"2022-01-31T22:27:22","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T22:27:22","slug":"best-practices-for-price-book-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"http:\/\/help.gjgardner.com\/nz\/hc\/estimating\/price-books\/best-practices-for-price-book-maintenance\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Practices for Price Book Maintenance"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article contains best practices for Price Book maintenance. In order to maintain consistent and accurate pricing, Price Books need to be updated monthly. Price Books directly impact the quotes New Home Consultants are producing and ultimately a franchise’s bottom line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow the steps below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Clean-up Items and Components<\/li>
  2. Delete any unused House Plans<\/li>
  3. Clean-up House Plan Descriptions and Codes<\/li>
  4. Review Price Book Margins\/Markups<\/li>
  5. Review House Plans in the Price Book<\/li>
  6. Review Items and Components in the Price Book<\/li>
  7. Reprice the Price Book (if needed)<\/li><\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Clean up Items and Components<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The first place to start is by reviewing all items and components because they can cause clutter in Price Books. Review house plan master templates to see what Items need to be adjusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Adjusting items and components can be done  by navigating to Setup > Estimating > Items\/Components<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Here are a few considerations when cleaning up items and components:   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Delete unused or duplicate Items<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A quick way to do this is to click on the Last Updated<\/em> column and sort date to display items that have not been updated in a long time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Hover over the item in the list and click the Display Usage <\/strong>button to see if it is being used in any House Plans, Quotes, Price Books, or Components. It\u2019s okay to delete items that are being used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Deleted items will be highlighted in red wherever they are being used as a visual cue that they should be replaced. \"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Update Item Descriptions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    If needed, update Item Descriptions to make them easily understandable. Avoid using jargon and acronyms. Remember these item descriptions are how New Home Consultants will identify items that need to be added to quotes, how clients may see them on printed quotes, and how suppliers will see items on purchase orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rename Standard Inclusion Items<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Instead of creating new items, if an inclusion has changed, simply rename it so that it will not need to be added to each house plan. Also, consider prefixing all standard inclusions item descriptions with \u201cSTD\u201d so that they can easily be identified in the items list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Update Item Codes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    It is recommended to use a code sequence that keeps items organized in the list. The code needs to be alphanumeric, consisting of 4 letters and 4 numbers. For example, all appliances should be prefixed with \u201cAPPL\u201d and then a four-digit number (e.g. \u201cAPPL1050\u201d). When creating new items increase the number by increments of 10 to allow for future items to be added to the correct place in the list. Reserve items ending in \u201c0000\u201d to serve as headings in the items list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here is an example of standard HVAC items using the proper codes and naming conventions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Create Per Quote and Allowance Items <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Every Cost Center in the Price Book should have Per Quote<\/em> and Allowance <\/em>items that can be used by New Home Consultants when a specific item or component does not exist in the Price Book. This will ensure items added to the quote are added to the correct Cost Center when the Job Estimate is created and reduce work for the Job Estimator. Reserve items ending in 0001 for Per Quote items and 0002 for Allowance items. For example, DOOR0001 with the description \u201cDOOR Per Quote\u201d, and DOOR0002 with the description \u201cDOOR Allowance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Delete unused House Plans<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s a good practice to Delete Unused House Plans<\/a> and old Quick Quotes annually to reduce clutter in the list of Plans. There are two ways to delete old House Plans and Quick Quotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1.  Delete them one by one in Estimating > House Plans & Estimates.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      1. Delete them in bulk by going to Estimating > Bulk Delete House Plans<\/strong> (Look for plans that have not been used in the past year as these are a good place to start).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Clean up House Plan Descriptions and Codes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        In Estimating > House Plans & Estimates <\/strong>it is good practice to maintain an organized list of house plans. We want the Code to display the floor plan series and square footage, e.g. Country: Cypress 2505 will be COUN2505. The description will be the floorplan name followed by the square footage, e.g.  Cypress 2505.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. House Plans & Estimates > Edit<\/strong><\/li>
        2. Change Code <\/strong>and Description<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          Review Price Book Description, Margins, and Markups<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          There should only be 3 Price Books in the system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n