Managing Use Groups in an Estimate

Use Groups categorize different aspects of your estimate based on their intended use (sometimes called asset classes) such as Above or Below Grade Parking, Retail, Condominiums, or Hotels.

With Ediphi, you can leverage Use Groups and access each use group’s associated historical cost data within a single cloud-based platform. That means no more side sheets! This not only expedites the estimating process, but also facilitates effortless cost comparisons between like-for-like uses, even when project details differ (ex. hotel above casino vs. hotel above parking). This also makes it that much easier for you to present clients with costs based on use; particularly helpful if your clients are funding the project by use.

Suppose you want to conduct a cost comparison between building a hotel above a casino versus a hotel above a parking garage. Building a hotel casino is much more expensive than a hotel above a parking garage, but how much more? How do you determine the cost of building just the hotel portion of your project? Better yet, how can you take your past estimate of a hotel and use it to quickly provide clients with pricing for a new project?

With Ediphi, you can leverage Use Groups from past estimates, such as a previously estimated hotel, to easily compare costs across different projects. And, because your data is in the cloud, your historical cost base grows over time, making it faster to provide clients with accurate pricing.

See below for steps on how to add and manage Use Groups within your Estimate.

In this article

• Adding Use Groups
• Editing Use Groups
• Deleting Use Groups
• Applying Use Groups to a Line Item

Adding Use Groups

1. Within your estimate, you'll have three options to begin Adding Use Groups:

   1. You can hover your cursor over the Use Groups tab, and then click on Add Use Groups.

      

   2. If you've already added line items, you can select Add Use Groups to the far right.

      

   3. If you have yet to add line items or use groups, you can select Add Use Groups in the center of the page.

2. A window will appear and you can Select the desired Use Groups from the list of presets (these can be renamed later). Click Save.

Click here for a video on adding Use Groups

Editing Use Groups

1. Within your estimate, hover your cursor over the Use Groups tab, and then click on Manage Use Groups.

2. Click the Label cell to add a custom name to a Use Group. You can also assign a Building (this column will not show if you do not have any Buildings on your estimate), select to Exclude Area, view GSF (Gross Square Feet), Unit Area, and Unit Count.

3. Click Done.

Deleting Use Groups

1. Within your estimate, hover your cursor over the Use Groups tab, and then click on Manage Use Groups.

2. Click on the trash can icon on the Use Group you would like to remove.

3. The platform will ask you to confirm you want to delete the Use Group. Click Confirm Delete.

Applying Use Groups to a Line Item

1. Find the Line Item you'd like to apply the Use Group to and click on either the Gear Icon (if there's a Use Group already assigned to the Line Item), or the new Use Group Icon (if no Use Group is currently assigned).

2. In the Use Groups pop-up window, select your desired Use Group(s) and click Save. If you'd prefer to apply an Allocation Preset, see our article Use Group Allocation in Estimates.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact our support team, and we'll be happy to help!