Estimating · Import

Import a construction estimate from Excel

Most estimates start life in a spreadsheet, and retyping them into a project tool is where mistakes creep in. This page walks through the import column by column: what the file has to look like, how the columns are mapped, what the preview tells you before anything is saved and how the imported estimate becomes the project budget once it is approved.

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The Fidrel cost estimate on a laptop, tablet and phone, with groups, line items and totals

What goes wrong when an estimate is moved by hand

Retyping and pasting errors

A price keyed in twice and a quantity pasted into the wrong column are small errors with a large effect. They surface later, as a budget line that does not match the bid.

Headings and subtotals mixed with real lines

A spreadsheet estimate has section headings, subtotal rows and blank spacers. Imported as they are, they turn into lines of one unit at zero dollars, or into totals counted twice.

No way to tell which rows failed

An import that quietly skips rows leaves a total that looks plausible and is wrong. You need to know which rows were not read, by number, before you trust the sum.

How the columns are read

A row with a fixed amount becomes a fixed-price line, and any other priced row becomes a unit-price line. If the quantity cell is empty, the quantity is read as one. The estimate has its own currency, and amounts exclude sales tax. Keep each number in one cell and avoid text such as “approx.” in a price column, since a cell that cannot be read as a number sends its row to the list of unreadable rows.

Cost estimation

The Import estimate dialog with Source and From fields, six column pickers from code to fixed amount, and a preview of five rows

Headings, levels and codes

If the sheet has a level column, Fidrel builds the groups from it: a row without a price that is followed by a deeper row becomes a group heading. Without a level column it reads the codes instead, so a row coded 03 above rows coded 03 30 00 and 03 40 00 becomes the group. The checkbox Build groups from levels or codes lets you switch that off and import a flat list.

A draft baseline estimate with General Requirements and Concrete groups, quantity, unit price and budget columns, and Submit and Approve buttons

From spreadsheet to approved budget

Step 1
Prepare the sheet
Keep one row for each line, with a header row on top. Give every priced line either a unit price or a fixed amount, and keep a description in every row you want imported, because rows without one are treated as subtotals and skipped.
Step 2
Choose the file
Open the estimate, choose Import estimate and pick an .xlsx or .csv file of up to 15 MB. If the workbook has several sheets, choose the one to read under Source, and set From to the first row that holds data.
Step 3
Map the columns
Pick which column holds Code, Description, Quantity, Unit, Unit price and Fixed amount, and optionally a Level. Nothing is imported until a Description column and either a unit price or a fixed amount column are chosen.
Step 4
Read the preview
The preview shows the rows and groups that will be created. Rows without a description are counted as skipped, and rows that cannot be read are listed as Row and a number with the reason, so you can fix the sheet and try again.
Step 5
Approve it as the baseline
Review the imported lines, then Submit for review and Approve as baseline estimate. Every item needs a price first. The estimate is then locked and becomes the original budget, line by line.

Pasting rows instead of importing a file

For a short list, copy the rows from the spreadsheet and paste them straight into the estimate. That is quicker than saving a file when you only have a handful of lines, and you still work in the same line item table afterwards. You can also add line items one at a time.

What the import does not do

Fidrel supplies no template library or estimating database, so every price in the file is one you typed. A file larger than 15 MB is refused, and only .xlsx and .csv files are read. Rows without a description are left out, so a row that should carry a price but has an empty description is skipped.

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