Skip to main content
Packages
A
Written by Ashok P
Updated over 4 months ago

A Package is one type of "package" in SI and they are managed in the Package Explorer. These behave differently than the three other types of packages in SI: Allowances, Bundled Cable, and Solutions.

A Package is a grouping of Products and/or Labor Items. Packages provide a quick way to add multiple Items to a Project. They also provide flexibility on how labor is charged for the Package. If the items you add to the Package contain Accessories, you have the option to include or exclude them.

Packages can be something as simple as a wire assembly or as complex as a complete system with every bit and piece accounted for within the Package.

Packages can be created in your Catalog or they can be created "on the fly" within a Project. The Package Explorer allows you to manage the Packages in your Catalog.

A Package created within a Project is not stored in the Catalog. It will only exist in the Project in which it was created unless you use the Update to Catalog feature.

  • Packages cannot be added to Purchase Orders, Tasks, Service Orders, or Service Plans. The individual Items within the Package can be added to these "entities."

  • Packages cannot be transferred to QuickBooks on Estimates or Purchase Orders, rather the individual items within the Package are sent as Items to QuickBooks.

The following are the tabs in the Create Package form.

General

The General tab displays basic information about the Package. This includes a Name, Group, Description, Image and Options.

general.jpg

The following are the fields in the General tab.

Field

Description

Name

The name of the Package.

Category

The Package Category assigned to the Package.

Click the Package Categories button on the ribbon to manage your groups.

Abbreviation

This allows you to set an abbreviation for the package that can be used in the Component ID format for the Package.

Description

The Description of the Package.

Click the Check Spelling button to check the spelling and add to the dictionary.

You can change the case of one or multiple words at a time. Make multiple selections by holding down Shift (to select a series) or Ctrl (to select outside of a series.) Your options are Upper, Lower, Title, and Sentence.

You can also insert an existing Snippet or add a new Snippet.

Part Number

Here you can enter a Part Number for the Package if desired.

Image

Here you can add an image to a Package. You can use the Add, Paste, and Clear functions or you can drag and drop images directly into the field.

The Options section allows you to specify how this package will behave when added to a project.

Prompt Accessories

This setting applies when adding Packages to a Project via the Package Explorer within a Project.

This will prompt you for any accessories when adding the Package to the Project vs. automatically adding them.

Note: For this feature to work, you must also check "Include Accessories."

Ignore labor in products (Calculate labor only from labor items in the package)

This setting will ignore all Phase/Hour labor rates for all Products in the Package.

Labor for the Package will only be calculated based on Labor Items that have been added to the Package. See Labor Considerations.

Summarize in Client Reports

This will hide all details for the Package in Client reports.

All that will display by default are the Name, Description, and Price for the Package.

Include Accessories

When checked, the accessories for any Item added to the Package will be included in the Package.

Accounting Item Name

This field does not apply to Packages.

Approved

Indicates whether a Package has been approved for use.

Price

All pricing and labor hours for a Package come directly from the prices of the items added to the Package.

price.jpg

The following are the fields in the Product section of the Price tab.

Field

Description

Unit Cost

This displays the sum cost of all Products in the Package. Read-only.

Unit Cost (With Tax)

This displays the sum cost with tax if a Use Tax is set for any/all Products in the Package. Read-only.

Unit Price

This displays the sum price of all Products in the Package. Read-only.

Margin

Margin =(1 - (Unit Cost / Unit Price)) x 100.

This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price.

This behavior varies based on your Price Settings. Read-only.

Markup

Markup = (Selling Price - Product Cost) / Product Cost * 100%.

This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price.

This behavior varies based on your Price Settings. Read-only.

Discount

Here you can enter a discount percentage for the sum price of the Package.

Net Unit Price

This field will show the unit price of the Package after the discount is applied.

The following are the fields in the Labor section of the Price tab.

Field

Description

Cost

This displays the sum cost of all labor in the Package. Both labor from the Products added to the package as well as Labor Items.

You can choose not to have labor from the Products included in this price if you check the "Ignore labor in products (Calculate labor only from labor items in package)" on the General tab. Read-only.

Price

This displays the sum price of all labor in the Package. Both labor from the Products added to the package as well as Labor Items.

You can choose not to have labor from the Products included in this price if you check the "Ignore labor in products (Calculate labor only from labor items in package)" on the General tab. Read-only.

Margin

Margin =(1 - (Unit Cost / Unit Price)) x 100.

This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price. Read-only.

Markup

Markup = (Selling Price - Product Cost) / Product Cost * 100%.

This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price. See "Pricing Settings" below. Read-only.

Hours

This displays the hours from Products and Labor Items added to the Package. Read-only.

Factor

Here you can enter a percentage to increase or decrease the number of hours on the Package.

Net Hours

Here, you can adjust the number of hours on the Package. Editing this field will automatically set the "Factor" field above.

The following are the fields in the Install (Total) section of the Price tab.

Field

Description

Cost

This displays the sum cost of all the products and labor in the Package. Tax is not included in this value. Read-only.

Price

This displays the sum price of all the products and labor in the Bundled Cable. Tax is not included in this value. Read-only.

Margin

Margin =(1 - (Unit Cost / Unit Price)) x 100.

This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price. Read-only.

Markup

Markup = (Selling Price - Product Cost) / Product Cost * 100%.

This field calculates automatically for you based on the Unit Cost and Unit Price. See "Pricing Settings" below. Read-only.

Estimated Installation Price

To see full details of pricing, including taxes, click the Estimated Installation Price link:

This will open a window and display the details of the pricing for the Package based on your default tax rate and Phase Labor Rates.

Taxes and Phase values can vary per Project.

estimated installation price.jpg

Items

The Items Tab displays the list of items in the Package and is where you will add/edit/delete items.

items.jpg

Price Type

The radio buttons will allow you to choose a specific Price Type for the Package items and that will override the Price Type for a Project when added to a Project.

price type.jpg

Shapes and Blocks

The Shapes and Blocks tab will allow you to assign a specific shape or block to a Package for use on Visio and AutoCAD Line and Plan pages.

shapes and blocks.jpg

Add a shape or block for each package item

This is standard behavior for Packages and will drop a shape for every item within the Package when the Package is dragged and dropped onto a Visio/AutoCAD page.

Add a shape or block for specific items in the package

This option will allow you to select which items within the Package will drop shapes when the Package is dragged and dropped onto a Visio/AutoCAD page.

select package items.jpg

Add a single shape or block for this package on Line and Plan views

This will allow you to select a shape for just the Package for Line or Plan pages in Visio/AutoCAD.

single shape for package.jpg

Package Categories

The Package Categories button will display your Package Categories and allow you to manage them.

package categories.jpg

Package Categories allow you to organize your Packages and help with filtering.

package categories list.jpg

Additional Package Fields

Packages have the following additional options when they are added to the Project.

general in project.jpg
  • Package ID - This is the Component ID for the Package.

  • Items in the package can be in different locations and systems - This setting will allow you to assign items within a package to different Locations/Systems within a Project.

  • Optional - This will make the Package optional within a Project.

There is also the Location hierarchy and System list for the Project.

Did this answer your question?