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Integrated Builder Series for Windows

(Version 12.XX)

User Guide

Pharaoh Information Services, Inc.

Phone: (949) 296-0560 Fax: (949) 296-0567

www.IBSWIN.com

IBSWIN Quick Set Up – User Guide

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Suite 150, 15707 Rockfield Blvd, Irvine, CA 92618 Phone: (949) 296-0560 •••• Fax: (949) 296-0567

Departmental E-mail Contacts:

Sales: [email protected] Customer Support: [email protected]

General Information and Assistance: [email protected]

Visit our website for free software updates, FAQ’s, full customer and technical support,

and the latest developments in our IBSWIN line of software.

www.IBSWIN.com

This manual and any examples contained herein are provided "as is" and are subject to change without notice. Pharaoh Information Services, Inc. and Davis Technologies Company make no warranty of any kind with regard to this manual, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchant ability and fitness for a particular purpose. Pharaoh Information Services, Inc. or Davis Technologies Company shall not be liable for any errors or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this manual or the examples herein. The software described in the documentation is furnished under license agreement or nondisclosure agreement. The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the term of the licensing agreement. IBS for Windows User Guide Copyright � 2001 - 2006 Pharaoh Information Services, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide Document No. IBS-8.7-061299 Printed and bound in the United States of America Restricted Rights: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the US. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(l)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause of DFARS 2252.227-7013 or subparagraph (c)(l) and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights at 48 CFR 52.227-19. IBS for Windows and IBSWIN are trademarks of Pharaoh Information Services, Inc. All other product names and any registered and unregistered trademarks mentioned in this manual are used for identification purposes only and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners. All other product names are copyright and registered trademarks/trade names of their respective owners.


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Table of Contents

Introduction 5

Getting Started 5 Installation Instructions 6

Setting Up Common Database Files 7

Setting Up Divisions 8 Setting Up Projects 9 Setting Up Phases 10 Setting Up Sequence Sheets 11 Setting Up Subcontractor Trade Codes 13 Setting Up Subcontractors 14

Customization and Configuration 15

System Configuration 15 Users (Security) 16 Reindex 16 Buyer Options Specific Setup 17

Setting Up Options Groups 17 Setting Up Buyer Options 18

Processing Option Orders 20 Customer Service Setup 23

Setting Up Customer Service Representatives 23 Setting Up Request Types 23 Setting Up Service Discrepancies 24 Automated Letters 24

Processing Customer Service Requests 25

Buyer Information and Service Request Screen 25 Adding and Deleting Service Requests 26

Sales & Marketing Specific Setup 29

Setting Loan Rates 29 Loan Types, Lenders, Brokers, Sales Agents & Escrow 29 Traffic Sources 30


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Processing Sales & Marketing 31

Prospect Entry and Qualifying 31 Buyer Information and Escrow Status Tracking 32 Traffic Entry, Release New Lots, Cancellations 33

Flooring Specific Setup 35

Setting Up Room Descriptions 35 Setting Up Product Types 36 Setting Up Measurements and Take Offs 37 Setting Up Supplier Prices 38 Setting Up Installer Prices 39 Setting Up Standards and Totals 40 Setting Up designer Commissions 41 Setting Up Material Cuts 41 Setting Up Flooring ‘Master’ Phases 41

Processing Flooring Orders 42

Ideas and Order Finalization 44 Construction Scheduling Set-Up and Processing 45

Defining the Working Schedule 45 Setting Up The Lots 45 Setting Up the Construction Stages 46 Tailoring the Construction Stages for each Phase 46 Entering the Lot Start Dates 47 Printing the Initial Estimated Scheduling Report 48 Maintaining Actual Completion Dates 49 Purchasing Set-Up and Processing 51

Indirect/Offsite Contract Categories 51 Subcontractor Pay Points 52 Selecting Onsite Trade Codes 52 Entering Offsite Bids / Contracts 54 Creating an Offsite Contract 55 Entering Onsite Bids / Contracts 57 Creating an Onsite Contract 58

Appendix A - Processing Letters 61


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Introduction Congratulations on your decision to invest in the IBS for Windows software products. This product represents the evolution of over 10 years of developing, improving, and simplifying the software for homebuilders like your company. Using the latest software tools, Microsoft Visual FoxPro, it provides the user with a very simple interface and yet provides management with extremely powerful reporting capabilities. By using our IBSWIN line of software solutions, your company will benefit significantly by having better control of the information flowing through your various operational departments. Providing management with reports they require will be a simple button push rather than a full day ordeal. We hope you enjoy your experience using these software products. To insure a successful experience, we offer an extensive Customer Support Plan that will assist you in your transition, by providing ongoing updates, along with ongoing support and training for your staff. Please feel free to contact us for more information.

Please Note: This User Guide is intended to be a general overview of each of the modules. It is not suitable to be used to implement your system. Please refer to our module specific expanded user guides.

Getting Started This User Guide is brief, due to the simple design of the product, and we are confident that you will be able to quickly grasp the concepts of the system. Since it uses very standardized WIN95 keyboarding conventions, the learning curve should be rather easy. Once you have grasped the basic concepts and the flow of the system, you will see the power and sophistication of the products. The IBS for Windows (IBSWIN) currently consists of the following modules: 1) Options Plus, 2) Customer Service Plus, 3) Scheduler Plus, 4) Sales Manager Plus, 5) Flooring, and 6) Purchasing Power. Since it is an integrated system, there are common set-up functions for all these modules. This User Guide will take you through these “common” data set-up functions, the set-up functions specific to each application (if any), and finally the day to day usage of each module. Since data is shared between the modules, there is a significant reduction in redundant data entry and everyone in your organization can share consistent reporting. If your company has taken advantage of implementing multiple modules, you will be able to take advantage of the power of sharing information among your operational departments. One common and consistent database shared by all your departments will make everyone’s job easier.


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Installation Installing IBSWIN is designed to be simple and easy. The installation program runs from any IBM compatible PC running any version of Microsoft Windows. Using the CD you received from Pharaoh please follow the instructions below. To install IBSWIN: Insert the IBSWIN CD into your CD-ROM drive. Windows should automatically detect the CD and then automatically run the installation program. If this does not happen, or the automatic detection feature is turned off, click on the Start button and select Run. Click on the Browse button to select your CD-ROM drive (see below). Double click on the Setup.exe file to run the installation program. Then follow the installation instructions.

Installation on networked computers: To install the software on a network drive (so that information may be shared by others) click on the Change Directory button during the installation process and specify an alternative network location or drive where you wish to install the software (for example, F:\PROGRAMS\IBSWIN) IBSWIN is a truly multi-user network-ready relational database system. When installed on a network, many users can access information from the databases at the same time. It is also fully compatible with Windows 98/ME, and the Windows NT operating systems. Please contact Pharaoh regarding any special network installation questions or requirements.

Note: Each additional network user must be licensed to access the IBSWIN database. Starting IBSWIN Once installation is complete, you are ready to select the IBSWIN program icon from your Start menu located in Programs: IBSWIN.


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Setting Up Common Database Files When you run IBSWIN you will initially see the Login screen. It is here that each user will enter their Login ID and Password.

Note: The system comes with the default name and password of Admin to help you get started, or if you have a demo the user id and password is: Demo. You can choose to have any level of security you want for each individual user. If you choose to have security, select Setup: Users and create a user ID and password for each user. You can add additional users and security rights in this same manner. We cover security setup and rights in greater detail on page 16.

Now that you have entered the IBSWIN desktop you can access the various software modules and options that you have purchased through the menu at the top of the screen. The current subheadings on the menu is: Sales, Flooring, Options, Service, Scheduling, Purchasing, Punchlist, Reports, Setup, Tools, Edit, Exit. The first six represent the modules that are currently available for IBSWIN. You can access any of these selections using your mouse (or by entering ALT and the underlined letter for each selection). This will display a pop down menu showing the options available under each selection. Any modules not purchased will be grayed-out and you will not be able to access it. To begin setting up your database, select Setup: Inventory from the main menu. The key foundation for all applications is found under the Inventory menu. Here you will find the following selections: 1) Divisions, 2) Projects, 3) Phases, & 4) Sequence Sheets. The following sections will outline the setup of these common database files.

Note: By starting at the top setup menu item and proceeding down menu, you will be able to complete the entire customization and setup of your database and software. Any menu item that has an arrow pointing towards the right indicates that there is a sub-menu, or further menu options as part of that selection.


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Setting Up Divisions

The IBSWIN system has the capability to track buyers, service requests, service request items, and option orders for multiple divisions in your company. To setup new divisions select Setup: Inventory: Divisions and click the New button to add a division. You will then be prompted, to type in the Division Code. The division code is a two-character code that identifies each unique division in your company. Fill in the contact information as completely as possible. This address information will be used on various forms and reports.

Note: The Export Enterprise, Export Entity, and Payment Enterprise fields are only used if you are exporting information (Purchase Orders and Contracts) to external systems.

When you have completed entering all of the information for each of your divisions, Save your changes or Exit if you do not want to save it. If you want to Delete an existing division, you must first make sure that the appropriate division is selected, and that you do not have any valid project/phase data under that division as all data will be lost.


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Setting Up Projects

Multiple projects can be setup for each division. To setup projects select Setup: Inventory: Projects and choose the division that you wish to maintain projects for. Click the New button to add a project and assign it a Project Code and Name. Use the Active column on this screen (shown above) to denote whether that the project is still active (A) or no longer active (leave blank) for certain customer service reporting purposes. Continue filling in the remaining project information as completely as possible. The Phone Numbers, Partnership Name, and Designated Lender columns will be used on various reports throughout the system. The Option GL and Export Project columns are used for exporting Purchase Orders (PO’s) and contract information to various accounting systems. The various tax percentages are used for calculating taxes in the Options Plus and Sales Manager Plus modules. The Costs button to the far top left of the projects window is used to enter project related costs for the Lot Cost and Profit Summary report in the Options Plus module.


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Setting Up Phases

Multiple phases (jobs) can be setup for each project/division. To setup phases select Setup: Inventory: Phases and choose the division and project that you wish to add or maintain phases for. Click New to add a phase and assign a unique phase Code and Name to each phase.

Important Note: The phase number must be unique across all your projects. For example do not use just 02 use 02MULH or as above SJE01 to uniquely identify each project phase.

The City, State and Zip fields are optional and are used to automatically fill in the buyer’s street address when a new buyer is added to this phase. Fill in this information as completely as possible. The Cost Cd, Option GL, Export Phs, and BudgeTrac Project fields are used only if you are exporting information to an accounting system. Flooring Master Phase is used to denote the master pricing phase used in the Designer Plus (Flooring) module. The Const Stages button allows you to set up the construction schedule for a specific project/phase. By entering the days to complete by each active cutoff stage in selected phase, a schedule will be created when the construction sequence (lots) are entered. It is a very simple scheduling system that assumes each cutoff stage is consecutive, and part of the schedule critical path. You can modify, add, or delete the construction stages provided by default under Setup: Construction Stages (see page 46 for more details).


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Setting Up Sequence Sheets

To setup sequence sheets, choose Setup: Inventory: Sequence Sheets: Maintain Sequence Sheets under the Main Menu. After choosing the phase that you wish to review sequence sheets for, click the New button to add a new lot to the sequence sheet.

Note: Use leading zeros in the Seq and Lot columns to insure the proper sorting on reports. Seq is an optional feature used for spec builders. It must be entered for Construction Scheduling setup.

The street address field is optional and is used to automatically fill in the buyer's street address when a new buyer is added to this phase. Fill out the information on this screen as completely as desired. By double clicking on the Color column, a note field will open up so that you can fully describe the color scheme for the home placed on that lot. This will appear on selected reports. The Delete button allows you to completely delete a lot from the sequence list, including all buyer information, options, and service requests for the lot selected. So be careful and make sure your cursor is positioned on the desired lot. To change the lot number assigned to each sequence use the Replace Lot button. You can print the sequence sheet by clicking on the Print button. The Sequence Sheet shows all the lots in the phase together with plan and elevation information. The system summarizes the number of lots for each plan. There are several other special buttons on the sequence sheet screen that provide special access and capabilities. Each will be reviewed briefly on the next page.


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Schedule This allows you to review, maintain, and print the construction schedule for homes in this sequence. This can only be done if you have the Construction Stages setup (see pages 9). You can also enter the actual stage completion dates under this screen. The system will automatically recalculate all the schedule dates to reflect these changes. Please refer to the Scheduler Plus section on page 45 for further information.

Subs This provides you with the capability of assigning the subcontractors (by trade) that will be involved in this specific phase. To do this you must setup your subcontractors and assign them to a trade (refer to page 13 for further information). Subcontractors are assigned to a job by first selecting the desired trade after which all available subcontractors will be displayed. By double clicking on the desired subcontractor they will be moved to selected status (select OK to save). This subcontractor link affects both the Options and Customer Service modules.

Docs Provides you with Contract Document Tracking capability. All the key information updated here will print on the Contract Status Report. As contracts are created in the Purchasing module the Doc# will be updated.

Plans Allows you to setup the basic plan information and square footage. These are mandatory for all modules. Only alpha numeric characters can be used for the plan code.

Revs Provides the ability to track revisions to the construction sequence sheet and enter notes to print on the sequence sheet.

Costs Found on the far top left of this screen this is used to enter project related costs for the Lot Cost and Profit Summary report in the Options Plus module.

Please note that by scrolling the main screen to right you see the following fields that are used in the Sales module; 1) Base Price, 2) Lot Premium, 3 ) Preplot Options. Enter the Save or Exit button to get back to the main menu depending whether you want to save your changes or not. Another option under the Sequence Sheets menu is Review Change Log. This allows you to review and maintain the log which tracks the changes for all the phases on one screen.

In the plan screen you will find:

Rename a Plan – will go through the entire database and update information with the new plan code. Delete a Plan – This will go through the entire database and delete all options and flooring information with this plan code. Print – print a plan information report with the expanded plan marketing information entered on the screen to the right. Expanded Plan Marketing Info – by selecting the gray box next to the plan code you will get to the expanded plan marketing information screen as pictured to the right.


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Setting Up Subcontractor Trade Codes

Before you setup subcontractors you will need to setup trade codes. The system comes with a default list of suggested trade codes which can be customized and changed according to your needs. Trade codes are used to describe each subcontractor’s functions and are utilized extensively in the Customer Service and Options modules. To add, change, delete, or list all the trade codes on file, choose Setup: Subcontractor Trade Codes. Select New to create or add a new trade code. The trade Code should be a short 4-6 character alpha-numeric abbreviation to describe that trade. The Description is the 50 character long trade description and this will appear on different reports. The Cost Code columns are designed to provide a cross reference to your construction accounting cost code and can be up to 6 characters alpha-numeric. As you scroll to the right you will see the Pay point descriptions and percentages. These are used with the Purchasing module to create onsite contracts. We allow up to 5 pay points per trade code. The last column Homeowner Report is used to specify those trades that you might what to isolate on the special customer service Homeowner Report. The Contract Spread button allows you to enter the payment increments (or payment points), by percentage, over the duration a contract. Use the Print button to print a simple Trade Code list.


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Setting Up Subcontractors

IBSWIN allows you to create a database of subcontractors with whom you do business with. These can either be entered in manually or it is possible to import the subcontractor information from an existing spreadsheet or word processor (please contact us for more information). Each subcontractor entered into the database will appear in the pick list of available subcontractors by the specific trade it was assigned to. To add, change, delete, or list all the subcontractors on file, choose Setup: Subcontractors and select whether you want it sorted by Name or Trade sequence. New Adds a new subcontractor based upon you assigning a code of up to 10 alpha numeric

characters.

Copy Allows you to duplicate the selected subcontractor to assign it a different trade code.

Note: A unique number must be assigned to the same subcontractor if they are contracted for multiple tasks.

Find Enter a portion of the subcontractor name to do a search.

Delete Deletes a specific subcontractor record.

Notes Attach special notes to that vendor. This will print on various vendor lists.

Print Print the subcontractor listing reports in one of the many formats offered.

Exit Return to the main Setup menu. Flooring Setup

Allows you to enter certain variables related specifically to flooring subcontractors for integration into our Flooring module.

Contract Spread

Allows you to enter the payment increments (or payment points), by percentage, over the duration a contract.


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Customization and Configuration Under the setup menu you will find many selections that are specifically related to customizing and configuring IBSWIN to suite your requirements and administer the database.

Note: It is recommended that after the initial setup of your software that these areas be accessed only by system administrator as they can adversely effect how the program operates. If different users are setup (see section below) the administrator can restrict access these areas.

System Configuration This screen is where you can review your standard company information. This can be found under the Setup: Company Config. It is here you can setup your company’s address, select if you want display the splash logo screen or not, and determine if you want to print the division name and/or address on the various documents produced by the system. The company name and address fields are checked by default. The tabs at the top of this screen are used to setup various options for each module. Your Pharaoh trainer will review the pertinent ones with you at your initial training session.

Note: Your company name cannot be modified as this is part of our license control and will print on many the reports.


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Users

If you wish to add greater security to your data you can do this by creating different user accounts with individual User ID’s and passwords. This then allows you to restrict the accessibility to various parts of your IBSWIN software. To do this select Setup: Setup Users and change the various security options for each section of the software defined by the tabs as pictured above. Some of the selections within each application allow only read only access to parts of the database, allow accessibility by project only, and any combination thereof. You will only be able to access the applications purchased. Your Pharaoh trainer will review this with the person responsible for monitoring user security. Reindex Found under the Tools menu this is a special house keeping function should be run on a regular basis to keep the database operating as efficiently as possible. Since IBSWIN is a relational database, this function corrects any data or index problems and optimizes the application. We recommend that this process is run weekly for larger builders (more than 5 active projects) or bi-monthly for smaller builders.


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Buyer Options Specific Setup This section will take you through the special setup requirements needed for Buyer Options. This section assumes that you have completed the common database setup (as outlined in the previous sections of this manual) and will walk you through the simple steps required to process a buyer option order.

Setting Up Options Groups The first thing you will need to do is make sure the Options Groups are set up correctly. Options Groups are the main categories under which you will assign and group your various options. Although we provide a default list of Options Groups with the system, you may want to modify them to meet your specific requirements. Select Setup: Options: Options Groups and the following screen will be displayed:

Select New to setup a new option group. Each group has an alphanumeric code that precedes each option number in that group. We suggest using a consistent four-character code.

Note: The Account No. field is only applicable if it is used for exporting data into your accounting system. In this Options Groups screen you can enter in the default profit margin for that group and also the required deposit. These values will be carried forward to the Options setup screen and order processing. The Options Type for this group can also be defined here. Current valid option types are O for standard options, BH for base house costs, and X for custom options.


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Setting Up Buyer Options From the main menu select Setup: Options: Buyer Options. Buyer Options are setup by Project Phase and can be copied from one phase to another. Pick the phase that you would like to set up the options for by clicking on the side arrow.

Note: by typing a portion of the phase name and/or using the down arrow key, you can quickly get to the phase desired.

The main options setup screen will now open. All the options setup is done from out of this one screen. Listed will be options that were previously setup (if any). Please refer to the table below for explanations of each button appearing in this window: Color Found on the top left of the first column, this button allows you to enter a color selection for

each option. Just click the desired option, under the color column, for the Color button to appear and to be prompted to enter a color selection..

New This button will allow you to setup a new option. Initially you will be asked to select the Options Group for the new option. Click on the side arrow to see the groups and select the desired group followed by the Add button to proceed. The system will automatically assign the next available sequence number in the options group.

Note: the option number will be combination of the option group description and the number assigned.

The margin will now be pulled from the options group table or you can override it at this time. This is the percentage profit you want for this option item. The system calculates this based on the cost that is entered and will calculate the price to be charged to the homebuyer. You can then enter the description for this option (up to 50 characters).

Note: Use the notes button to attach additional descriptive information for each option.

Find Helps you find options for specific Options Groups or categories.

Delete Allows you to delete the selected option from this phase.


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Items Provides the ability to add the cost items for each option. This is how the Purchase Orders for each option is generated. The subcontractor(s) assigned to each trade for this phase will get the POs that are generated. Select New to add a new item, pick the Trade, and then type in a short description to describe the work to be performed by this trade. Select Delete to delete a line item. Select Costs to enter the costs for this line item for each plan. You can pick Prices at this point to enter the retail price for each option. Prices are entered by Construction Stage. This gives you the ability to have different pricing for different construction cut-off points. (see Construction Stages on page 10 for setup instructions). If you entered a Margin previously the system will calculate the price for each plan, however you can override it here. Select Exit when you are finished entering the line items.

Special Note: To exclude an option for a specific plan, enter $1.00 for the option price - This allows you to enter $0.00 price options for standard option selections.

Prices Allows direct access to the pricing information to make changes and add new pricing items.

Notes Provides the ability to add additional descriptive notes for each option that will print on the appropriate reports.

Print This selection takes you into a secondary screen where you can print the following reports; 1) Summary Listing, 2) Detail Listing, 3) Sales Manual, & 4) Profit Analysis. You also have the option to display any of these reports without printing them.

Plans Go directly to the plans and add or modify the plan information. Copy This is an especially helpful function that will allow you to copy options to a new phase of a

project. The following copy functions should only be used when copying options from phase to another phase in the same project where the plans are the same:

Copy All Options From This Phase To Another. Copy One Option, All Plans, To Another Option. Copy One Option, All Plans, To Another Phase. Copy One Option Group To Another Phase.

The following 2 copy functions can be used to copy between project / phases where the plans are different. They simply copy the header descriptions and items and allow you to enter the costs and pricing information:

Copy All Option Headers and Items to Another Phase. Copy One Option Group - Headers & Items Only.

Subs Here you can assign a subcontractor to a specific trade for the current phase. You can also assign the same subcontractor to other phases using the copy subs button

Save Choose the save button when you are finished.


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Processing Option Orders Now that you have completed the set-up of your options database you are ready to start entering option orders. From the main menu select the Options pull down menu. As you can see you can select an existing buyer option order in five different ways; 1) Find By Buyer Last Name, 2) Find By Project - Lot Number, 3) Find By Phase - Lot Number, 4) Find By Street Address, and 5) Find By Option Order Number. The first time around you will obviously have to select the New Homebuyer option.

The New Homebuyer selection allows you to add a new homebuyer to the system and make their options selections. Upon selecting this function it will authorize the projects you have access too. Select the phase by clicking on the side arrow.

Note: By typing a portion of the phase name and/or using the down arrow key you can quickly get to the phase desired.

The sequence list of homes in the selected phase will now appear.

Note: If a lot has been sold previously the buyers last name will appear. Pick the homebuyers lot and click on the OK button the display the buyer option screen. Start by entering the buyer’s last name, full name and other pertinent buyer information. Once you have completed this you are now ready to make the buyers options selections. The selections on the following page are used to process an order:


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New Order Allows you to add a new option order. Once selected you will see the list of options available for that specific phase and plan. Use your mouse to select which items are to be included in the option order using the Buy It! check box. The PrePlot column designates options included in a lot prior to a buyer being assigned.

As you select items the Total of the order will start on the bottom right. You also have the ability to order additional non-standard options at this point. The Extras and the Custom buttons give you this capability. Use the Extras button to add an additional option where a single subcontractor is involved. For more complex custom options, use the Custom button. This will take you into a setup screen where you can add multiple items.

You can even print an Options Price Request to fax or mail to your subs for pricing information. Click on the Add button to complete the order. The items selected will now appear on the order screen and an order number will be assigned (note the bottom left corner of the screen). From this screen you can change Qty (quantity) to other than the standard 1.

Delete Delete a specific item from the order. Make sure your mouse is on the line that you want to delete. A record in the ChgLog will be created. In addition, if a PO has been printed, the system will prompt you to print a Cancellation Notice.

Items Allows you to review the purchase order line items behind each option. Shows you the Trade, description of the work to be performed, and the subcontractor code selected.

Notes Allows you to add any special notes or additional description for each option line item. The Note button will turn red if there are notes for a specific line item.

ChgLog Provides a simple way to log changes to the option order that will print on the Buyers Option Contract. The ChgLog will turn red if changes exist. Option deletions will automatically update this change log.


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Paymts Allows you to log buyer payments for the options ordered. Select New to enter the Payment Date, Payment Type (click on right arrow to select type), check number, and amount. These payments will print on the Buyer Option Contract.

Print This is where you will print the key option order reports. In addition, it is here where you generate and print the purchase orders. The following reports can be printed; 1) Buyers Option Contract, 2) Superintendent Report, 3) Subcontractor Purchase Order, 4) Subcontractor Cancellation Notice, 5) Subcontractor Price Request, 6) Escrow Amendment, 7) Start Order Document, 8) Profit Analysis, 9) Custom Requests Status, 10) Purchase Order Summary 11) Lot Cost & Profit Summary 12) Options Cancellations and 13) Ordered Options with Cost. As with all reports you can either Print or Display and select the number of copies.

When you are finished printing reports for the buyer you should click on the Save button to save the order. The save button will not exit you from the system. Enter Exit to exit this specific buyer order. Upon exit, you will have one more chance to save the order if you forgot. You can go to Reports to print additional option reports. This will be reviewed later in this User Guide.


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Customer Service Specific Setup This is section will review the additional setup items required for Customer Service. In addition, it will walk you through processing service requests and printing the reports provided. Setting Up Customer Service Representatives You can create a database of customer service representatives that work with the buyers to resolve service requests. Each representative that is on file in the representative database will appear in the pick-list of available representatives when inputting Service Requests found on the Buyer Information and Service Requests screen.

To add, change, delete, or print all the representatives on file, choose Setup: Customer Service: Reps from the main menu. Select New to setup a new representative. You can enter their phone, fax, and cell phone. Setting Up Request Types The system defaults to three types of Service Requests. Service Request, Walk Through, and Emergency. If you need to categorize your service requests in more detail then you may add other types of service requests to the list. Each request type that is on file in the request type database will appear in the pick-list of available request types when inputting service requests. To review the service request types choose Setup: Customer Service: Request Types from the Main Menu. Select New to add new request types.


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Setting Up Service Discrepancies The system provides a way to classify problem types in customer service by various categories. We provide a set of default Service Discrepancies with the system, but you can add or modify them.

To review the Service Discrepancy choose Setup: Customer Service: Service Discrepancies from the main menu. This will display a list of the existing categories. Select New to add additional service discrepancies.

Note: You can attach a trade to each service discrepancy. This will create a short list during service request item entry.

Automated Letters The Automated Letter feature provides a way of scheduling letters to be sent out to new homebuyers. Automated letter processing is scheduled based on the buyers close of escrow date. To setup automated letters select Setup: Customer Service: Automated Letters and setup the desired letters. When you login the system will remind you if there are letters scheduled to be sent out. Select Service: Warranty Letters to print out the desired letters. See Appendix A (page 61) for further information on the letter setup features. The first step is to setup your letters using MS Word. We have provided some templates that can be used to help create your letters.


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Processing Customer Service Requests You can find buyers and their service requests in a number of different ways; by last name, by project-lot number, by phase-lot number, by street address, or by service request number. However, if you're entering the initial service request for a new homebuyer you will first have to enter the new buyer. This can be done by selecting Customer Service: Buyers And Service Requests: New Homebuyer. The New Homebuyer selection allows you to add a new homebuyer and make their options selections. You will only be able to edit the projects you have been given access to through the security setup. Select the desired phase by clicking on the side arrow.

Note: by typing a portion of the phase name and/or using the down arrow key, you can quickly get to the phase desired.

Buyer Information And Service Request Screen

The Buyer Information Screen displayed above is showing the buyer information and any service requests for that buyer. This screen provides all pertinent information about the buyer including address, phone numbers, color scheme, and their warranty expiration date. Each buyer can have an unlimited number of Service Requests. Each Service Request can have an unlimited number of Items.


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Adding and Deleting Service Requests When in the Buyer Information Screen (as pictured on the previous page), you add a service request by clicking on the New button. A new service request number will automatically be assigned and today’s date will be appear as the request date. Enter the Type code to designate whether the request is a (W)alkthrough, (S)ervice, (E)mergency or any other type of request that you have designated. You will be able to select reports by this type code. Next, assign the Rep who will be responsible for this request. The Enter column is used to designate whether the homeowner will require their permission to enter their home to fix the problems. Enter either a Y or N. You now can select the Items button at the bottom of the screen to enter the specific items for this request. The following screen will appear:

Entering Items using the Items Button

By selecting the New button an item number will automatically be assigned. Start by selecting the Trade if applicable (it is not mandatory). The subcontractor assigned for this trade in the phase record will be displayed in the Sub column. This is the subcontractor that will get the work order for this item. Select an alternative subcontractor if desired. Then select the Category this item belongs to. The Category is optional but is used for analysis and reporting of the items. If applicable, the B/CHG column is used to create a back charge PO to the subcontractor if they caused the problem.

Note: If there is a back charge the Amount column can only be filled in by entering the amount in the back charge screen.

Enter a Schd Dt (schedule date) if you want to print a schedule report for your subcontractors. You will enter the Compl Dt (completion date) when the item has been completed by that sub. This is the key to the systems reporting and determines whether items are open (active) or not in most of the aging reports.


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The final information that you will enter is the Item Description. This can be up to 100 characters in length and is used to describe the nature of a problem. This will print on the work order and other detail level reports. The Notes button can be used to add additional descriptive information if required. There are several other buttons in this Items screen that you need to be aware of.

Delete Allows you to delete a line item from the request.

Add Sub Allows you to add a new subcontractor on the fly.

W/O Allows you to print a work order for the specific line item that you have highlighted. Normally you will print work orders from the service request screen so that all the items for the same sub will be included on the same work order.

Save or Exit Either of these will take you back to the main service request screen. Use the appropriate button depending on whether you desire to save your changes or not.

Upon exiting the Items window you will be return to the main Service Request screen. Here you will notice that the computer has automatically counted the number of items for the service request in the Items column. If all the items have been given a completion date, upon exiting, the system will prompt you to enter a completion date for the request. All the items for one service request can be marked as completed by keying in a date in the Complete column on the service request screen. Byr Note This button is used to enter any buyer notes. Select this button to either view or to add

new notes.

Note: This button will turn red if any buyer notes exist.

W/O By highlighting a particular service request and selecting this button you can print the Subcontractors’ Work Orders. The computer will find all the subcontractors that this service requests items have been assigned to and print (or display) the WO’s for each of them. You have the option to print, display, or fax these WO’s. In addition, you can customize the verbiage for each WO and save up to 3 types of verbiage.

Print Provides the ability to print several different reports including buyer follow up letters. The reports are: 1) Buyer Detail Report, 2) Buyer Request Sheet, 3) Service Inspection Form & 4) Form Letters. Print options include printing all or one specific service request; completed, incompleted, or all items; with or without buyer notes or requested item notes; and to print or display the selected report.

Survey This button is designed to enter answers to a customer satisfaction survey that can be tailored to your company. Different analysis reports can be prepared.

Letters Allows you to view which letters and the date they were sent this buyer.

Save Once finished with this buyer, save your changes.

Exit Returns you to the main menu.


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Sales & Marketing Specific Set-up The following chapters will assist you in the basic setup of the Sales & Marketing module. This module allows you to enter and track prospects, provides buyer loan qualification, allows you to easily convert prospects to buyers, provides traffic reporting, and finally buyer escrow tracking.

Setting Loan Rates If you want to do prospect qualifying in the Sales & Marketing module you will need to setup the various loan programs that you have available. This can done by selecting Setup: Sales: Loan Rates from the main menu. The following Loan Rate screen will appear:

To enter a new loan program click on the New button. The first thing you will be required to choose is the Type of loan program. The current options are: 1) Conforming, 2) Government and 3) Jumbo. You will then be required to enter the Term of the loan from the available options. Enter the current loan rate type, loan rate, and points. If you selected ARM as the rate type then you will need to enter the Margin and Cap for that loan. Finally complete the balance of the fields remaining as required. The various loan programs will be available for selection in the prospect qualification screen.

Loan Types, Lenders, Brokers, Sales Agents, Escrow Companies These can be found individually under the main Setup: Sales menu. Each are used to setup the various types of information which is used to update the Sales Escrow Tracking screen. Use these options as needed and fill in the information as completely as desired.


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Traffic Sources The next setup screen required for Sales & Marketing processing is the Traffic Sources (Advertising Media) setup. Select Setup: Sales: Traffic Sources the Main Menu and the following screen will appear:

Simply create the various traffic sources that you would like to track by project/phase. During the prospect entry stage these traffic sources will automatically default in for traffic entry.


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Processing within the Sales & Marketing Module By selecting the Sales from the main menu at the top of the screen you will have the following selections; 1) Release New Lots, 2) Prospects, 3) Buyers, 4) Traffic, 5) Transferred Buyers, 6) Cancellations, and 7) Purchase Orders. These selections allow you to take a prospect through the qualifying cycle, change to a buyer, and finally track the buyer through the escrow cycle. This buyer information is automatically made available to the options and customer service departments. Prospect Entry and Qualifying Under the Sales: Prospect menu you have the opportunity to find a previously entered prospect by either Last Name or Project/Phase Lot Number.

To enter a new prospect select Add New Prospect followed by the project/phase. Once the prospect qualifying window opens, select the applicable lot from the available selections.

You can start by entering the pertinent information on this prospect including, name, address, and phone numbers. The Sale Price previously entered for this lot will be displayed (it cannot be modified in this screen). You can enter the lot premium, if any, in this screen. The Cash Options and Fin. Options are filled in based on the options that are ordered. These are done using the Options button and will be discussed in greater detail on the following pages. This screen allows you to qualify your prospective home buyer with your various loan programs. The first column calculates the Total Price of the home they are interested in including the various options that they have selected. You can enter or modify the Down payment amount (by either a percentage or total dollar figure), or the Loan Amount (desired or calculated). Any of these variables can be modified and the others will be affected.


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The middle column will calculate the prospects monthly payment. You can change the Loan program and rate by selecting the side arrow next to the loan data field. You can modify any of the amounts except the calculated property tax amount. Any changes will affect the monthly payment. The third column calculates the one time initial costs to qualify for the loan program. All the amounts in this column can be modified except for the Loan Fee which is pre-calculated. Save Use this button after you have completed your changes and you want to save the prospect

information for the future.

Notes Allows you enter unlimited notes for each prospect. Options This is a complete options ordering system that will allow you to select various options

for this prospect. Select New to add options for this prospect. For more detailed instructions please refer to the options ordering section on pages 20-21.

Loan Allows you to see the details on the loan program selected and enter prospect income and debt information for loan qualification.

Buy Select this button if you want to convert this prospect to a buyer. Print Allows printing of various prospect and loan reports. Exit If you do not want to save your changes use this button.

Buyer Information and Escrow Status Tracking The buyer screen illustrated below brings forward the prospect qualifying information. After selecting a specific buyer or entering a new buyer the following screen will be displayed:

In this buyer section of the system you now have a different set buttons that will allow you to track the buyer through the sales process. Each of the buttons are described on the following page:


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Save Use this button to save the changes you have made.

Contingency Provides a way to track all information on contingent properties.

Buyer Info Provides the ability to enter buyer demographic information for up to three buyers.

Options Allows you to view the ordered option by this buyer and print several reports.

Escrow Takes you into another screen showing you the Escrow Status Information. See sample below.

Print Use this to print the Buyer Agreement and other sales reports.

Transfer Allows you to transfer a Buyer (inc. their personal information) to different phase or lot.

Exit Use this key if to return to the main menu.

Traffic Entry

This feature provides a simple way of recording weekly traffic in the system for reporting purposes.

Release New Lots

This feature allows you to release lots for sales by selecting specific lots to be released.

Cancellations

This feature allows you to enter cancelled buyers for sales reporting purposes. This system creates a sales cancellation record for each buyer.


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Flooring Specific Setup This section will take you through the special setup requirements needed for Flooring. It will then walk you through the simple steps required to process a Flooring Option order.

Start by selecting Setup: Flooring and the following menu selections will display; 1) Room Descriptions, 2) Designer Commissions, 3) Measurements and Take-Offs, 4) Standards and Totals, 5) Suppliers’ Prices, 6) Installers’ Prices, 7) Product Types and 8) Material Cuts. The following sections will outline the setup of these common database files.

Flooring is setup by Project Phase and can be copied from one phase to another. Before starting, it is very important that you have all measurements and take-offs for each plan by individual room, along with suppliers prices list by square feet or square yards. Additionally, you must know what your standard selections are and allowances are for flooring.

Note: The allowance is figured per room and should be based by price per square foot or square yard. Follow the set-up in the sequence as outlined in the following sections to get the best results. For example, your Product Types must be defined before you enter the Measurements and Take Offs. Although we provide you with the standard Product Types, you might want to add some other special product types that you are providing. Setting Up Room Descriptions From the main menu select Setup: Flooring: Room Descriptions. Choose the Division and Project the room descriptions pertain to. You will now get the Room Description setup screen. All room descriptions are setup in this screen. Normally the rooms are setup in the sequence that the designer will take the homebuyer through the house. To add a room simply type its name in the Room Description column. When you have completed the entering the new rooms, hit the Save button to save your changes or Exit if you do not want to save your changes. If you want to change the name of an existing room, you must first make sure you have selected the room you would like to change and delete/type-over the room description. The Copy button allows you to copy room descriptions from one project to another.


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Setting Up Product Types

From the main menu select Setup: Flooring: Product Typespes. You will now see the screen above. All Product Types are setup in this screen. The software comes with standard set of product types that have been setup previously. To add additional product types select New, then type in unique 3 character (maximum) code for each Product Type. When you have entered the code then type in the Product Description.

Note: The code is used in a drop down box when processing a flooring order and will be reviewed on page 39 of this User Guide.

When you have completed the entry, hit the Save button to save your changes or Exit if you do not want to save your changes. If you want to change the name of an existing product, you must first make sure you have selected the product you would like to change and delete/type-over.


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Setting Up Measurements and Take Offs

Choose Setup: Flooring: Measurements and Take-offs from the main menu and select the phase that you wish to review. After the screen above opens, change the Current Plan (bottom left corner) to the applicable plan type using the arrow key. The Room Areas set-up previously in the Room Descriptions screen will now be displayed. The Seq column is for assigning a two digit number to each room (eg. 01, 02, 03…) which will sort and rearrange the order in which the rooms are displayed in other windows. Start by selecting the standard material Mtrl for that area and clicking the right arrow key. Enter the square yardage and/or square footage for each room area as needed.

Note: If you are not expecting a customer to want carpet in the entry, then it is not necessary to fill in that measurement. However, you will want to put in square feet for Tile or Marble, and square yards for Vinyl.

The Allowance column is used for the flooring allowance for that particular room. Example, if your allowance is $3.00 Sq. Ft. you will enter your amount using $3.00 X the Sq. Ft. measurement to get your allowance for the entryway. The Std Deduct column primarily effects carpeting. Here you will enter the square yardage that will be credited to the homebuyer in the event that they wish to deviate from the standard flooring specs of the house. For instance, if they wish to have a room tiled in stead of carpeted the buyer would receive a credit as less carpet will now be used to carpet the entire house. Use the Copy button to copy the current plan information to another phase and/ or plan and the Extra button to add room extras. These extras are items that need to be either automatically included or optionally included at order entry time. Use the Print button to print the Flooring Measurements report for all plans in the current phase. When you have completed the entries, hit the Exit button to save your changes. If you want to change the quantity of an existing room you can type-over the quantity manually.


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Setting Up Supplier Prices

Start by choosing Setup: Flooring: Supplier Prices from the main menu. Choose the phase that you wish to select by using the drop box. This is where you will setup your various suppliers’ products and pricing. The Auto Markup percentage displayed in the bottom left of the screen is used to calculate the retail pricing for your buyer. This comes from the Subcontractor file, but can be updated in this screen. Start with the New button to add a product, then type in an alpha-numeric Product Number. If it is the standard item you should use STD01 (for example) to identify your standard material that will be supplied. When you have completed the Product Number in the Mfg. Name followed by the Private Label Name. A drop box is used for Product Type. Material Cost and Installation Cost is based per sq. ft. or sq. yd. You can manually type in the Retail Price if you do not use mark-up percentages.

Special Note: For the flooring product(s) that you will be providing as the Standard for that material type (i.e., carpet), you need to have STD or Standard in the first positions of the Manufacturer Name. In addition, the Retail $ column should be setup as 0.00. This product choice will automatically be selected as the standard when you initially enter the homebuyer’s initial order.

Some of the buttons defined Extras Where additional cost are involved, (e.g. installing tile in an upstairs bathroom where the

tile installation will need a wonderboard). This allows you to put in the cost for material and the install cost for the wonderboard installation.

Print This selection takes you into a secondary screen where you can print a Supplier Pricing Report. You have the option to print or display any of these reports.

Delete Allows you to delete the line item from this phase.

Copy Allows you to copy supplier prices from one phase to another.

Exit When you have completed the entry exit to save your changes


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Setting Up Installer Prices The Installer Prices screen is used to set-up the installers for each of the flooring materials being installed. It also allows you to set-up the various carpet pads and pricing using the Pad Products button on the bottom left. From the main menu select Setup: Flooring: Installers Prices’ses. Select from the Material Types using the drop box arrow key and select the type of material. Enter as many types of material for this contractor as you like. If the supplier is installing carpet (‘C’ type) then, use the Pad Products button (on the bottom left) to enter the Thickness, the Weight, and the Cost Sq. Yd of the pad (see screen below).

The Retail Price will automatically calculate a mark up price as per the Auto Markup percentage. You can change this total manually by deleting/typing over the calculated price if you do not use mark up percentages. The Copy function on the Material Types screen allows you to copy from one phase to another. When you have completed your entries hit the Save button to save your changes or Exit if you do not want to save your changes.

Note: make sure that you have setup at least one installer for each type of flooring material you are supplying.


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Setting Up Standards and Totals

This screen is used to select your Standard Suppliers for each material, to input your total quantities for the standard materials, and to add allowances for padding and other special builder budget allowances for flooring, tile, and shelving. These will be used on various management reports. Select Setup: Flooring: Standards and Totals from the main menu. Since Standards and Totals are phase specific you will need to select the phase you wish to work with. Make sure that you have the appropriate Plan selected (bottom left) and start by selecting the standard Supplier from the drop box designated for each of the five different flooring products. Repeat this procedure with the Material code and Installer as well. The Allowance fields are used for any additional builder allowances over and above the allowances input under Measurements and Take-offs. When you have completed all entries, click bottom left corner of screen and select the a new Plan and repeat the above steps, or you can copy from one plan or phase to another using the Copy function. Exit will automatically save all information.

Note: The Area measurement required for all rooms field in the carpet column refers to the optimal carpet cut required for that particular plan. This may be less than the total square yardage or footage of the actual rooms being carpeted as off cuts may be used for smaller rooms like closets etc.


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Setting Up Designer Commissions

This screen is used to setup the commission rates that will be used in calculating commissions for your designers. From the main menu select Setup: Flooring: Designer Commissions and choose the Division and Project you wish to review the Designer Commissions for. Start with Flooring Commission by typing in the desired percentage and repeat for each product and type (in percentages) accordingly for Windows, Shutters, Soft Window Coverings, and Option commissions.

When you have completed all entries, Save your changes or Exit if you do not want to save your changes. The Copy function will copy the commissions from one Division or Project to another. Setting Up Material Cuts The purpose of this feature is to allow you to setup material cut factors that can be used during order processing time. For example, if you need to order 10% more tile if you do a diagonal cut, then you setup a material factor of 1.10. See the screen below for other examples: Setting Up Flooring ‘Master’ Phases One of the time saving features offered within the flooring module is the ability to select up to five Master Phases that can be used as templates for determining the pricing within new phases. This feature can be found under the Setup: Company Config: Flooring. Once you have assigned the Flooring Master Phases you will then be able to selects these from a drop down list found in the column of the same name in the Setup: Inventory: Phases window.


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Processing Flooring Orders Now that you have completed the set-up of your flooring database you are ready to start entering flooring orders. Under Flooring in the main menu you can select an existing order in five different ways; 1) Find By Buyer Last Name, 2) Find By Project - Lot Number, 3) Find By Phase - Lot Number, 4) Find By Street Address, or 5) Find By Flooring Order Number. If this is your first order you will obviously have to select the New Homebuyer option. This option allows you to add a new homebuyer to the system and make their flooring selections. You will first select the phase by clicking on the side arrow.

Note: By typing a portion of the phase name and/or using the down arrow key you can quickly get to the phase desired.

The sequence list of homes in the selected phase will now appear.

Note: If a lot has been sold previously the buyers last name will appear.

Pick the homebuyers lot and click on the OK button to display the buyer option screen. Start by entering the buyer’s last name, full name and other pertinent buyer information. Once completed you are ready to make the buyer’s flooring option selections. The first time you do a flooring order for a specific lot the following message will appear “This is the first time a flooring order has been created for this lot. Please select the floor plan from the list of available floor plans” Underneath this message you will see the list of floor plans that have been setup in the sequence list previously. Click the OK button to continue to the main order screen displayed below:


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The screen (on the previous page) is in the room sequence that you have determined. Starting at the Supplier column for the first room and choose the supplier for the material in that room. You can either type the first few letters of the Supplier Name or select the down arrow to pick the supplier in the list from the drop down menu that will appear. Next select the desired Product and Color from the appropriate column. The Vn column is used to specify either 6’ or 12’ vinyl if applicable. Factor is used to specify any special cuts or installation (i.e.: diagonal cut, berber carpet, etc). Repeat this for all rooms as necessary.

Note: For each individual room area you need only to select your supplier names and products. Refer to the explanation of the Copy button below to see how you can expedite the order process.

The system defaults the remaining information allowing you to quickly select all flooring selections for each room without additional data entry under these columns: Qty, Price, Gross, Allowance, and Totals. Below is an explanation of the buttons used to process an order, Pad/Ydg This is to select the Pad for the buyer. It allows you to offer individual types of carpet

padding that are available and will be added to the flooring order. In addition, it allows you to specify the actual quantity of carpet to be ordered by displaying both the Standard carpet measurement and the Cumulative by carpeted room areas. This will give your designer the information needed to make the right quantity decision.

Extras This is where additional costs are involved for the installation of carpet in a room. E.g. additional material costs for the color and extra installation fees. These Extras can also be setup using the Supplier Setup screen if desired.

Copy This is a very useful feature that allows a quick way of copying the flooring details of one room to either all the rooms applicable or to selected areas. For example, carpet, after a specific grade has been chosen for a particular room you can use the copy button to either copy this selection for all other carpeted areas, or (if you choose not to do this) you will be given a second option to select your desired rooms.

Notes Used to add any additional detail needed for that particular room which will also print on the Buyers Flooring Contract and Purchase Orders. The Note button will turn red if there are notes for a specific line item.

Paymts Allows you to log buyer payments (deposits) for the options ordered. Select New to enter the Payment date, Payment Type, Check Number, and the Amount. These payments will print on the Buyers Report.

Delete This selection will allow you to delete an entire ordering idea.

Print This is where you will print the key option order reports. In addition, it is here where you generate and print the purchase orders. The following reports can be printed; 1) Buyers Flooring Contract; 2) Subcontractor Purchase Order; 3) Purchasing Order Summary; 4) Superintendents Repot; 5) Profit Analysis. As with all reports you can either Print, Display, and select the number of copies.


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Ideas and Order Finalization

IBSWIN allows you to create various flooring schemes or selection Ideas for the same lot. To do this use the small arrow to the right of the Order Number field and select New from the drop down menu to create a new idea. This provides you and easy way to work with your client/homebuyer by having multiple ideas displaying the buyers flooring preferences and pricing

information. You can toggle between these Ideas using the Order Number field box and selecting the appropriate order number. The Copy function allows you to copy the displayed idea on the fly to create a new idea based on the original one. This saves having to recreate a new

idea from scratch if the homebuyer only wants to change a few options. Upon exiting this screen you will be asked if you wish to finalize the order. If you do not wish to finalize (i.e. a final selection or purchase has not been made by the buyer), all the ideas will be saved however the order will not be finalized and purchase orders cannot be generated. If you choose to finalize all ideas will be permanently deleted except for the final order.

After you have completed all entries Save your changes. If you select the Exit button without saving you will be prompted to save.


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Construction Scheduling Set-Up and Processing The Construction Scheduling (Scheduler Plus) module provides a very simple way of setting up an initial schedule by each home and then updating it on a regular basis. It is designed for production builders that want to track multiple homes with multiple construction stages. It allows you to design your construction stages by product type (phase), and assumes that each of your construction stages are on the critical path and that each stage is dependent on the prior stage. By keeping the scheduling assumptions simple, we are able to provide a link to the options system so that critical options cut-offs can be tracked in real-time. It provides immediate feedback to the options ordering staff as to the stage of construction and whether specified options can still be ordered at the standard price. It also provides an excellent working Construction Schedule report that provides an updated status of all the homes under construction.

Defining the Working Schedule Step number one is to set up your working schedule. This is done under the Setup: Company Config: Edit. This step involves eliminating the non-working days from the schedule. Choose the ConSched tab and then the select the Holidays button and indicate all the holidays that you like to eliminate from the working schedule. In addition, if you want to include Saturdays and Sundays in your working schedule, check the Construction Works Sat & Sun box on the above screen. The system default will eliminate Saturdays and Sundays from the schedule. Setting Up The Lots To set up the lots to include in the schedule you must have your basic Common DataBase Files set up and operational. These can be specifically found on pages 10-12 in the general set-up manual which focus on setting up Phases & Sequence Sheets.

Note: When setting up your Sequence Sheets you must have an alphanumeric numbering system with leading zeros in the Seq columns. These numbers must be entered correctly for the scheduling to work properly. If you are a non-spec builder leave the sequence number field blank and enter them later as the construction starts for each lot.


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Setting Up the Construction Stages

Construction stages are set up in the system to provide a simple scheduling system that assumes each cutoff stage is consecutive and part of the schedule critical path. Then, each Phase can be set up with days to complete for each cutoff stage. This section sets up the global construction stages. The construction stages play a part in option and flooring ordering to advise the designer when options selections need to be completed. A customizable list is provided with the system and can be found under Setup: Construction Stages. Select New to add stages that will be added in sequence by Stage Num. You can also create a Sub Task under any construction stage that is selected and insert it using the same Stage Num. Use the Delete button to remove any stages not required. This is a master list of the stages to be used for all project/phases. The next step will be to tailor this master list for each project/phase.

Tailoring the Construction Stages for each Phase Tailoring the master list is done by selecting Scheduling: Schedule Days To Complete (or alternatively Setup: Inventory: Phases: Const Stages). You will first select the phase that you are building the schedule for. The screen on the following page displays the master list of Construction Stages (tasks) which will now allow you to enter the number of working days required for each task. If a specific task is not going to be used for this phase leave the number of days at 0 and this task will not be included in the schedule. As an alternative there is a column called Actual Cutoff Date which allows you to enter a specific cut-off date for options cut-offs and will override the calculated schedule date for cut-offs. If you just want a simple way to enter cut-off dates without using the full scheduling capabilities, this is your alternative.


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The Copy Sched button allows you to copy a schedule from the current phase to another. Once completed you can either Save your changes or Exit without saving your changes. The Print will either print or display the Scheduled Construction Stages report to review the changes that you have just made. The Milestone column is a check mark or flag point used to highlight specific stage in the construction of a phase that requires special attention when printing the various versions of the Scheduled Construction Stages report mentioned above. The Trade column is used to assign each stage to a specific trade. This will allow you to print a scheduling report for specific trades or subcontractors.

Entering The Lot Start Dates Once you have tailored the Construction Stages to the specific phases that you are building you now ready to enter the Lot Start Dates. This is found under Scheduling: Lot Start Dates. Again, you will select the phase that you are working on. The lots previously setup for this phase will be displayed. Simply enter the starting construction date for each lot and this will automatically create the schedule for each lot. Use the Save button to save your changes and exit this screen or the Exit button to exit without saving your changes. The Print button is used to print out a lot sequence list and the Revs button allows you to enter lot revision notes if required.


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Printing The Initial Estimated Scheduling Report To see the initial estimated construction schedule for each lot, select Scheduling: Print Construction Schedule and pick the phase that you like to either print or display.

If you use the Select a Lot check box either on its own or in conjunction with the other the options a third selection will appear below the standard print or display options. This option Excel Spreadsheet will allow you to export or view the data in Microsoft Excel.


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Maintaining Actual Completion Dates The scheduling system is a dynamic system that allows you to have construction enter actual completion dates for each construction stage if desired. By doing this, the scheduling system will revise the schedule for all the remaining tasks in the schedule. It will always keep track of where you are on each home relative to the original estimated schedule. To update the schedule actuals, select Scheduling: Update Schedule Actuals. Next choose the phase that you will be updating and the following screen will appear.

For each Stage, in the E/A column enter Act (actual) or Est (estimated) where required for the type of date date that is entered and all following stages will recalculate. Milestone Tasks will appear in red and Sub Tasks in blue. Notice that the lots are indicated across the top so that you can update all the lots in this one screen. Use the Save button to save your changes and exit this screen and the Exit button to exit without saving your changes. The Print button is used to print out the Construction Schedule report if desired, however make sure you Save your data before using this function. The Notes button provides a way of adding notes to the construction schedule report regarding reasons for delays (i.e.: rain delays, labor problems, etc.). That is basically all there is to setting up and maintaining the schedule on the phase of homes you are building. By keeping it simple, we make it easier to use than most other scheduling systems.

Note: Only the critical path items are affected by the actual dates entered. The subtasks do not change.


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Purchasing Power Set-Up and Processing The Purchasing Power module is designed to automate every aspect of your purchasing department. It allows you to enter Subcontractor bids and prepare bid comparison reports. It provides a simple way of generating Offsite Contracts (non-lot specific), Onsite Contracts (lot specific), Option Purchase Orders, & other purchase orders. It has a simple link to Microsoft Word to allow you to create your boiler plate contract agreements without having to retype the Agreements that you already have setup. Purchasing Power simply merges the subcontractor information and contract information with your Agreement document. In addition, it provides simple and concise commitment and purchase order reporting. As with the other IBSWIN modules you will have to setup your Inventory (Projects, Phases, and Sequence Sheets) and Subcontractor information before entering contracts. Refer to the appropriate section(s) in this User Guide for assistance. The only additional setup that is required for purchasing power is the Indirect Offsite Contract Categories for offsite bids/contracts and in the Trade Codes setup for onsites. Indirect/Offsite Contract Categories This table found under Setup: Purchasing: Indirect/Offsite Contract Categories allows you to setup general descriptions for offsite type contracts such as Curbs & Gutters. Since these type of contracts potentially have multiple line items going to various cost codes, these categories allow you to group items together to provide a consistent bidding template for subcontractors.


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Subcontractor Pay Points You will have to make sure that all the necessary trade codes are setup for the trades that you will be issuing contracts for. In addition, we have added pay points and descriptions that can be added to each of the onsite trade codes. The pay points and descriptions can be accessed via the Contract Spread (bottom left) of the Trade Codes screen under Setup: Subcontractor Trade Codes: Subcontractor Trade Codes. These are used to spread the contract amounts to each of the lots and pay points. There will be more detail later in this section. The screen below illustrates the pay point fields.

Selecting Onsite Trade Codes The Onsite Trade Codes are critical to the onsite budgeting features of IBSWIN. Found in Setup: Subcontractor Trade Codes: Select Onsite Trade Codes, it is here that you will be able to checkmark/select which trades should be included in the Onsite Budgeting reports. The Print function allows you to print a list of all the trades and there associated codes. These can be sorted by a selection of variables.


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The Onsite Trade Codes selected (on the previous screen) will appear in the Onsite Budget screen pictured below. All the selected trades are now compiled together to showing the cost of each plan by trade. This important feature, found under Purchasing: Onsite Contracts: Original Onsite Budgeting, gives you an overview of your costs and expenses. From this screen you can also print or display the Direct Construction Budget report (pictured at the bottom of is page), which further breaks down the budgeting, including a cost per square feet figure.


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Entering Offsite Bids / Contracts These are non-lot specific contracts that are linear in nature. An example of an offsite type contract would be for engineering or grading required preparing the land for building. Select Purchasing: Offsite Contracts: Subcontractor Bid Entry to start the bidding process or go directly to Purchasing: Offsite Contracts: Create a Contract. To bypass the bid entry and awarding process go to page 55.

You will first pick the phase that you are setting up the bids and contracts for. We recommend that you setup an offsite phase specifically for offsite/indirect contract entry. Next you will select the Indirect/Offsite Contract Category that you are creating the budget/bids for. After you have made these selections you will come to the following screen:

This screen (above) will display a summary record for bid that has been entered for each subcontractor. The Detail button allows you to see the detail line items supporting that bid. If a bid has been Awarded then it will display in red. An awarded bid will automatically create a contract record for that subcontractor. Before you can enter any bids you must first enter the budget detail line items. This is done by selecting Budget in the lower left section of the screen, then entering New and selecting the Detail button. In the Budget Detail screen, enter New to add budget line items. The Budget Detail screen is illustrated below:


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The Budget Detail Screen allows you to enter unlimited budget line items. Each line item contains the following specific information: 1) Trade Code, 2) Cost Code (tied to the trade code), 3) Quantity, 4) Unit, 5) Item Description, 6) Unit Cost, 7) Total Cost (calculated field), 8) Notes (for more detailed explanation), 9) Item Date (entered by the system), 10) Export Date (if contract is exported to Accounting system). After the budget line items have been entered you can hit the Save button several times to exit each screen and return to the bid entry screen. Definitions of the buttons from the Indirect / Offsite Subcontractor Bids screen are:

Save Save your entry and return to the main menu. New Select this to enter a new bid. Revision Enter a revision to an existing bid. Detail Allows you to enter the detail line item information for a specific bid. Award To award and finalize bid selection for a subcontractor. This automatically creates a

contract record. Delete Deletes the selected or highlighted bid entry for a sub. Print Allows you to either display or print a Bid Comparison report for selected bids. Exit Exits the bid screen and returns you to the main menu without saving.

Creating an Offsite Contract

Upon awarding a bid, you can now proceed to Purchasing: Offsite Contracts: Create a Contract to finish the contract setup and preparation. You will now be asked to choose the Subcontractor that you would like to create the contract for or the one that was awarded the bid. You will now see the Offsite Contracts screen that will display a summary line for each contract and change order that you have with this subcontractor.


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Start entering the new contract by selecting New. This will display the next sequential contract number in the system. At this point you will can simply hit the Add button or type a different contract number and then hit Add to proceed. Select the Project/Phase (in the Phase column) with your mouse. This will provide the list of the phases that were setup in the Inventory setup section. The system will automatically fill in today’s date in the Date field which can be changed with any desired date. Select Detail to see following Offsite Contract screen and where you can enter the detail items for this contract.

You can enter the detail line items by selecting the New button. The system will automatically assign the contract line Item #. Select the Trade for each line item and the Cost Code will automatically appear. Each line item can be coded to different trades and/or cost codes. Enter the Quantity, Unit (i.e.: EA, hr, etc.), Item Description, and Unit Cost for each detail line. The Total Cost (Quantity X Unit Cost) will automatically be calculated. Use the Notes field to enter additional comments or descriptions for this line item. Once again the Item Date will automatically be filled with today’s date and can be typed over if desired. The Export Date field will also be filled in if this contract record has been exported to your accounting system. By clearing the export date a contract record can be re-exported if required. Use the Save button to save your changes, the Delete button to delete a specific line item, and Exit to save your line items and return to the Offsite Contracts summary screen. You are now ready to prepare your contract documents by using the Print button. The contract consists of the addendum or contract detail information and the contract boiler-plate information. Select Contract Addendum to print the detailed addendum information. This pre-formatted document can be tailored for your company. To create the contract boiler-plate document, you will need to merge the appropriate information from Purchasing Power with your contract document (setup in Microsoft Word). You will first have to insert the merge fields into your contract document in order to use this feature. Your Pharaoh support representative can assist you in creating this initial contract document.


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The Revisions button allows you create revisions or change orders to an original contract. After selecting Revisions the process of entering the revision information is identical to the original contract entry. The addendum document adds the revisions to the original contract amount for reporting purposes. You also have the ability to add a Description and/or Comments along with extensive Notes for each contract. This descriptive information will print on your contract addendum document. The Export Date is automatically updated when your contracts are exported to your accounting system. Use Save or Exit to save your changes and exit contract entry. Entering Onsite Bids / Contracts These are lot specific contracts where your costs are typically entered by plan/elevation. An example of an onsite contract would be for cabinets, where the bids are made for each of your plan types. To start entering a bid go to Purchasing: Onsite Contracts: Subcontractor Bid Entry or go directly to Purchasing: Onsite Contracts: Create a Contract if you want to bypass the bid entry and awarding process go to page 58. For information on Original Onsite Budgeting found under the same menu please refer to page 53. After selecting the desired phase and trade that you are entering the bids for the following screen will appear:

This Onsite Subcontractor Bid screen displays all the bids that you have entered for selected phase/trade. Before you enter your bids it is recommended that you setup your budget first. This is done by selecting the Budget button (bottom left corner). When the new window opens, select New and then Details and on this new screen (pictured on the following page) you will be able to enter your estimated budget per plan for the selected phase/trade. This budget will then be used to compare to the bids that you receive from your subcontractors on the Bid Comparison report.


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Enter Save several times to get back to the Onsite Subcontractor Bids screen. Definitions of the buttons from the Onsite Subcontractor Bids screen are:

Save Allows you to save your entry and return to the main menu.

New Select this to enter a new bid.

Revision Use this to enter a revision to an existing bid.

Costs Enter the cost per plan for that specific bid.

Award To award and finalize bid selection for a subcontractor. This function automatically creates a contract record.

Delete To delete the selected or highlighted bid entry for a sub.

Print To either display or print a Bid Comparison report for the selected bids.

Exit To exit the bid screen and return to the main menu without saving. Creating an Onsite Contract

After Awarding a contract you can create the actual contract. To start entering a contract, select Purchasing: Onsite Contract: Create a Contract. Choose the Subcontractor that you would like to create the contract for from the list of subcontractors displayed. This will now display the Onsite Contracts screen that will display a summary line for each contract and change order that you have with this subcontractor.


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Start entering the new contract by selecting New. This will display the next sequential contract number in the system. At this point you will can simply hit the Add button or type a different contract number and then hit Add to proceed. Select the Project/Phase (in the Phase column) with your mouse. This will provide the list of the phases that were setup in the Inventory setup section. The system will automatically fill in today’s date in the Date field which can be changed with any desired date. Select the Cost to see following Onsite Contract Plan Mix screen and where you can enter the costs per plan for this contract.


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The Onsite Contracts Plan Mix screen pulls the plan/elevation information from the sequence sheet for the phase that you have selected. Enter the Plan Unit Cost and the system will calculate the Total Cost based on the quantity mix per plan. After you have completed entering the unit cost for each plan the total contract amount will display in the bottom right corner of this screen. To complete the contract setup, you now will select the Spread button to spread the plan costs to each of the lots in the phase selected. If you have already setup the pay-points in the Subcontractor Trade Codes, then the Onsite Contracts lot spread screen displayed below will appear. If your pay-points have not been setup, you will be prompted to do this at this point.

After you have reviewed the lot spread Save your changes and go back to the preceding screens. You do have the ability to override the lot and pay-point spread in this screen. Hit Save one more time in the Onsite Contracts Plan Mix Screen to return to the Onsite Contract summary screen where the contract documents can be prepared. You are now ready to prepare your contract documents. Selecting the Print button at the bottom of the screen allows you to do this. The contract consists of the onsite payment schedule and the contract boiler-plate information. Select Onsite Payment Schedule to print the detailed payment schedule information. This is a pre-formatted document that can be tailored for your company. To create the contract boiler-plate document, you will merge the appropriate information from Purchasing Power with your contract document that has been setup in Microsoft Word. You will first have to insert the merge fields into your contract document in order to use this Purchasing Power feature. Your Pharaoh support representative can assist you in creating this initial contract document. Revisions allows you create a revision or to change orders to an original contract. The process of entering the revision information is identical to the original contract entry. The addendum document adds the revisions to the original contract amount for reporting purposes. You also have the ability to add Description/Comments and extensive Notes for each contract. This information will print on your contract addendum document. The Export Date is automatically updated when your contracts are exported to your accounting system. Use Save or the Exit to save your changes and to exit.


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Appendix A - Processing Letters in IBSWIN IBSWIN uses Microsoft Word to create letters and then allows you to send these letters to your Buyers, Subcontractors, or Prospects. You are provided with some example templates that are loaded directly into the default IBSWIN folder. The best way to create your own letters is to go into Word and edit these existing letters. You can then use the Save As function rename and create your own. These letter templates already have the merge fields defined so all you need to do is modify the content only. There are three (3) ways to type letters in the IBSWIN System: 1) One letter at a time (only in Customer Service)- this is done from within Service: Buyers and Service Request screen once you have selected the client. With the homebuyer screen open select Print: Form Letters - this will allow you to select one specific letter to the buyer that you have already selected. This is used to send follow up letters acknowledging a request has been processed. 2) Letters to Groups - this is done from the Reports section of the system. Select Form Letters, and then select either Buyer or Subcontractor Letters. (Prospects can be done from within the Sales module). Select Find to display the various letters that you have to choose from. If the letter is for a buyer or prospect, you next select the phase that you want choose the buyer(s) or prospect(s) from. Finally, you can choose to print a letter to one or all of the contacts selected. 3) Automated Letters (only in customer service) - this allows you to schedule letters to be sent to your new homeowners based on a specified number of days after the Close of Escrow (COE). From the Setup: Automated Letters select the project/phase that you desire to setup the automated letters. Enter New and choose the letter that you want to automate. Type in a description for the letter and indicate the number of days after COE that this letter should be sent. The system will prompt you when letters need to be sent out. Select Service: Auto Warranty Letters to process the letters.

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