Contractor's Choice

What is contractor's choice?

Contractor's choice works on the same principle as free type, but with one important difference: the items you create are saved to your database permanently for reuse in future jobs. Think of it as a personal product library — a place to store items that are not in the standard Ensign database but that you use regularly.

Any items you add to contractor's choice are available to every user who shares your database, so the whole team benefits from the entries.

Creating a contractor's choice item

1. 1

   Click the Contractor's Choice button on the left-hand side of the takeoff screen.

2. 2

   Select a category for the item. As with free type, this determines the markup group on the summary table.

3. 3

   Create a main index and sub index to organise your item. This follows the same hierarchical structure as assemblies — the main index is a broad grouping (e.g. "Trunking") and the sub index is a more specific classification (e.g. "Dado Trunking"). Choose names that make the item easy to find when browsing.

4. 4

   Enter the item details — description, unit material cost, and unit labour hours.

5. 5

   Press Save to store the item permanently.

The item is now stored in your contractor's choice library. You can browse to it at any time by clicking the Contractor's Choice button and navigating through the category, main index, and sub index structure.

Using a contractor's choice item

To add a saved contractor's choice item to a job:

1. 1

   Click the Contractor's Choice button on the left-hand side of the takeoff screen.

2. 2

   Browse to the item using the category, main index, and sub index hierarchy.

3. 3

   Enter the quantity and press Confirm to add it to the current section.

When to use contractor's choice

Contractor's choice is ideal for:

• Products from manufacturers not in the database — if the Ensign team cannot add a particular manufacturer or range to the main database, you can store the products in contractor's choice instead.
• Bespoke items you use frequently — specialist fittings, sundry allowances, or company-specific products that appear on many of your projects.
• Standard allowances — if your company always allows a fixed cost per point for certain sundries, store those allowances as contractor's choice items so every estimator uses the same values.