The item database
The item database is on the left-hand side of the takeoff screen. It contains eight material categories that organise the entire product range:
- Cable
- Cable Management
- Distribution
- Equipment
- Fire/Security/Emergency
- General Accessories
- Lighting
- Sockets/Switches/Spurs
These categories are designed to point you in the right direction from the outset. When you select a category, the database opens filtered to that group, though you can still switch categories from the left-hand panel.
Browsing by category, manufacturer, and range
- 1
Highlight the section where you want to place items in the sectional structure. Items are always added to the currently selected section.
- 2
Click the relevant category on the left (e.g. Lighting). This opens the database filtered to that category.
- 3
Select a manufacturer from the list. The database displays all manufacturers who supply products in the selected category.
- 4
Select a range, then a sub-range to drill down to the specific products you need.
- 5
Enter quantities against the items you want. You can see the trade price, discount, and net rate for each item alongside the installation time (shown in decimal hours).
- 6
Press Confirm to add the items to the selected section.
Press Confirm and Reselect instead of Confirm to immediately reopen the database browser. This is faster when you need to add items from multiple ranges in one go — you save a click each time.
Setting up favourites
If you regularly use the same manufacturers, you can mark them as favourites and filter the database to show only those. This keeps the list short and speeds up browsing, particularly when the full manufacturer list is long.
To set up favourites, select the manufacturers you want and mark them using the favourites option in the database browser. Once configured, enable the favourites filter to hide manufacturers you do not commonly use.
Decimal hours
Installation times in the database are displayed in decimal hours. To convert to minutes, multiply by 60. For example:
| Decimal hours | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 0.25 | 15 |
| 0.50 | 30 |
| 0.75 | 45 |
| 1.00 | 60 |
If you have a time in minutes and need to enter it in decimal hours, divide by 60. For example, 20 minutes = 20 / 60 = 0.333 decimal hours.
Adding manufacturers
The database is constantly expanding. If you need a manufacturer or product range that is not currently in the system, contact the Ensign support team with the manufacturer's details. The team will reach out to the manufacturer directly and work to add their products to the database. If a range cannot be added to the main database, the support team can help you set up the products in the contractor's choice section instead.