Unit cost rates are a price list for detailed estimating. A rate is one priced item, such as 5/8in Type X drywall. Rates sit in groups, and each group has variants, such as the cities you build in, so each rate holds one value per variant. When a detail row is priced from a rate, its unit cost comes from that value, not from its unit cost formula.
You build the list on a template. Each new estimate made from it gets its own copy, so later changes to the template do not reach estimates that already exist. Changes on an estimate do not reach the template either, unless you ask them to.
To set up and use unit cost rates follow these steps.
Press the "gear" icon in the bottom left corner to open your company settings, then select "Record Templates" under "Configuration". Select the template you want to work on and open its "Unit Cost Rates" tab. Each group is listed with its "Variants" and the number of "Rates" in it.
Press the "Add Group" button. Type a name in "Group Label" and your first variant under "Variants". Press "Add Variant" for each extra variant, then press "Save".
Click a group's row to open it. The group has its own page, with a column for each variant. To change a value, type it into its cell. It saves as you type. The dropdown in the top left corner switches to another group.
To add a rate, press the "Add" button in the top right corner and choose "Unit Cost Rate". Enter a "Code" and a "Label", a "Description" if you want one, and a dollar value for each variant. Press "Save".
To add a variant later, press "Add" and choose "Variant". Every rate in the group starts at $0.00 for the new variant, so fill in its values afterwards. The "three dot" menu in a variant's column header has "Rename Variant" and "Delete Variant". The "three dot" menu at the end of a rate's row has "Edit Rate" and "Delete Rate".
You can also import rates from a spreadsheet. Press the "three dot" button beside the group dropdown and choose "Import CSV". Press "Download CSV Template" to get a file with the right header row: Code, Label and one column for each variant. Add one rate per row, choose the file under "CSV File" and press "Import CSV". If any row is invalid, nothing is added.
To start a detail row on a rate in every new estimate, select the template's "WBS" tab and find the "Default Unit Cost Rate" column. Click the dropdown on a detail row and pick a rate. Each option shows the rate's code, variant and value, and you can type in "Search rates..." to narrow the list. "None" keeps the row on its unit cost formula.
Each estimate keeps its own copy of the rates. To see or change them, open the estimate, select the "Settings" tab, then "Unit Cost Rates". It works the same way as the template's tab. An estimate made before the template had rates starts with none, and you can add groups to it here.
To price a detail row from a rate, select the estimate's "Budget & Inputs" tab and click the detail row's "Unit Cost". Press "Select Unit Cost Rate" under "Unit Cost Rate". If you would rather use a formula, it is still there below "or use a formula".
Search for the rate and click the variant you want. Your choice saves straight away and the popover closes.
The row is now priced at the rate's value, and a small icon beside its unit cost shows that it comes from a rate. Hover over it to see which rate and variant. Click the unit cost again to see "Priced by unit cost rate" with the rate, the variant and the value. Press "Change Rate" to pick another rate, or "Use Formula Instead" to price the row from its unit cost formula again.
To change a rate's value from the budget, press "Change Rate" and then the "pencil" icon beside the rate. Type the new value. Tick "Also update the template item" if the template should get the same value, so later estimates start from it too. Press "Save and Use Rate". The new value applies to every row on this estimate that uses the rate, and the row you opened it from is priced from it.
To price several detail rows at once, tick them, press "Bulk Actions" beside "Detail Row" and choose "Set Unit Cost Rate". Pick a rate under "Unit Cost Rate" and press "Update Detail Rows". Choosing "None" puts the rows back on their unit cost formulas.
NOTE, only detail rows can be priced from a rate. A cost field without detail rows still uses its unit cost formula or its comps.
NOTE, a rate does not override everything. An awarded bid package, general conditions and an overridden total cost all take priority over it.