Attach bid items to a condition

Bid items turn one condition (a named, colored measurement group with a unit) into several pay-item quantities, each calculated from the same measured area, length or count. Use them when one takeoff feeds more than one bid line; editing them takes an estimator seat.

What it's useful for

A mill-and-fill area needs cold milling in square yards (SY), tack coat in gallons and a top course in tons from the same footprint.
A sidewalk drawn as a line needs concrete and subbase in cubic yards (CY), calculated from a width you enter.
An agency publishes its pay item list as a spreadsheet and you want its codes and units in your library before the first bid.

Set up the Item Library

The Item Library holds your organization's pay items: code, name, category, unit, unit price, a default calc method and default waste.

Click Item Library in the header on Home.
Click New item, then type over the new row's code, name and unit.
Choose a Default Calc method and fill in the depth, density or factor it shows.
To bring in an agency list instead, click Import CSV and choose the file.
Check the detected columns in the confirmation, then click Import.

Attach bid items while creating a condition

Click Area, Linear or Count on the Takeoff ribbon and type a condition name.
Click Bid items next to Simple pricing if it isn't already selected.
Tick each pay item this condition feeds; type in Filter items… to narrow a long list.
Pick a method for each ticked item: Direct, Volume (CY), Weight (TON) or Rate/Factor.
Enter the depth, width, density or rate it asks for, plus any waste.
Click Create & start drawing.

A new area condition switches from Simple pricing to Bid items, pay items are ticked from the library, and each gets its method and depth.

Change bid items on an existing condition

In the Conditions panel, click the ⋮ menu next to the condition, then Edit condition.
Under Bid items, pick an item in Attach bid item from library… and click Attach.
Change an item's method, depth, width, density, rate or waste; each value saves when you leave the field.
Click ✕ beside an item to remove it from this condition.

Choose a calc method

Direct converts units, such as square feet to SY. Volume (CY) multiplies area by a depth in inches; a linear condition also needs a width in feet. Weight (TON) multiplies SY by depth and a density in lb/SY·in, then divides by 2,000. Rate/Factor multiplies by a rate per unit, such as gallons per SY. Waste applies last.

Check the totals on the Estimate page

Click Estimate at the top of the Conditions panel. Its Bid Items table sums each pay item across every condition that feeds it and multiplies the total by the item's unit price.

Limits and checks

Library edits to an item's method, depth, width, density, rate or waste don't reach conditions that already use it; they keep the values copied at attach time.
An item's code, name, unit and unit price are read live from the library, so editing them, or re-importing a CSV with the same codes, changes every project using it.
Deleting an item from the Item Library detaches it from every condition and template that uses it.
A ⚠ next to an item's quantity means a number its method needs is missing. That item adds nothing to the total until you fill it in.
Volume (CY) and Weight (TON) stay at ⚠ on a count condition; use Direct or Rate/Factor for counts.
With Bid items selected, saving the condition clears its own depth, waste, Cost Each and Markup %, so the condition is not priced twice.

Questions

Can I import a DOT pay item list?

Yes, from a CSV file. Import CSV on the Item Library reads the header row to find the columns and needs a name or description column. Rows whose code already exists update that item instead of adding a duplicate.

If I change a depth on one project, does my library change?

No. Depths, widths, densities, rates and waste you set on a condition stay with that condition, and the Item Library keeps its defaults.