Master Purchasing Activity

Setting up a master purchasing activity provides the mechanism to maintain costs in one place for the same detail item used in multiple purchasing activities. The cost for the detail item is managed within the Cost Management application only; when the cost changes, it is automatically updated for that same item throughout purchasing activities where that item is found. Take caution when setting up master purchasing activities, as they are intended only for those using detailed takeoff items, not for those using the standard models/options database structure. It is critical that all of the required rules listed below are met in order for master pricing to work correctly.

 

Required Rules for Using Master Purchasing Activities

  1. Master purchasing activities can be assigned only when using detailed takeoff or unit price items.
  2. Item numbers in Sage Timberline Estimating are a maximum of four digits, completely numeric, and separated by five (for example, 5000, 5005, 5010, etc.).
  3. No duplicate item numbers exist within the same material class (i.e., there are no duplicate item numbers within the same purchasing activity). The unique item number must be consistent across other purchasing activities that also link to the master.
  4. Purchasing activities cannot contain a mixture of detailed takeoff items and model/option items.
  5. As stated previously, for master purchasing activities to work, it is critical that the item number is the same in all phases as it exists in the master activity, and there are no duplicate item numbers within the activity. Additionally, for consistency, the items should have the same description in all phases as the master activity. The only difference between the items should be the phase number and material class.

 

Once the above criteria is met, the process for setting up master purchasing activity pricing is to:
  1. Set up the master activity
  2. Assign the master activity to a purchasing activity (or activities)
  3. Enter cost information in the master item in Cost Management

Once an estimate is imported into WMS, the cost appearing within that job originates as a result of the lookup hierarchy.

 

Setting Up a Master Purchasing Activity

Assigning a Master Purchasing Activity

Master Purchasing Activity Cost Hierarchy