Chapter
Three: Making Changes
Changing
the program: Temporarily or Permanently
The main feature of Quick Quote is that it is completely changeable. It is ready to use "out of the box", yet it can be customized to the shop's own specifications. There are two kinds of changes within the program: temporary and permanent.
Temporary changes are used when you'd like to make a change on a specific vehicle's estimate. For example, a car with major rust damage comes in and you need to boost a job up by .5 to make up for the extra work. Another example is for overlapping repairs, where you can change the time on the combination job, but not make it permanent.
Permanent changes come into play when you decide you need to add or reduce the time on a job every time. The program will ask you for the password each time you make a permanent change:
NOTE: The PASSWORD throughout Quick Quote is the letter Q.
Changing
the Flat Rate Times
In Quick Quote, the flat rate times can be changed, after
bringing up a repair, by pressing F2. The
highlighted bar will move to the flat rate time column.
Make the change by typing in the flat rate time you desire.
Be sure to use decimal points for tenths.
A pop-up box will appear and ask if the change is permanent.
If so, press the password, Q. If
temporary, press ESC for this time only. To
make a global change of all the flat rate times by a percentage, go to settings
in the opening screen.
Any time you make a permanent time change in Quick Quote or in the File Maintenance utility program (see Chap 6, File Maint.), it will be marked with a tilde (~) on the screen only. This will indicate which prices and times you have changed for your shop. These marked items will not be changed by future upgrades, so the program will, in a short amount of time, be your shop's prices.
Changing
the Parts Prices
You can also change the parts prices in Quick Quote. The parts prices can be changed in either of two ways. First, you can change them on an individual basis, by changing the dollars and cents. Second, you can change all of the parts prices in the program in one action, a global or mass parts price reduction or increase. This is done on a percentage basis.
An individual parts price change can be done on a temporary or a permanent basis. After bringing up a repair, press F3. You then have the option of calculating a price based on your cost. Answer "Yes" and enter the item's cost. You will be shown a list price based on a percentage markup and also using a profit margin. The percentage markup price is the cost of the item plus the markup percentage (cost plus 30%). The profit margin price calculates a price to reflect a profit margin of that percentage (30% profit). The default 30% can be changed. Insert the parts price you desire in the estimate, and press the ENTER key. Be sure to use decimal points for cents. A pop-up box will appear and ask if the change is permanent. If yes, press the password Q. If temporary, press the ESC key. The change will remain for this estimate only, and will return to it's original price for the next estimate.
Making a permanent parts price change marks the item with a tilde (~). Parts prices marked with a tilde will not be changed by future upgrades, but they WILL be adjusted for inflation, so that your parts database does not become obsolete over time.
Again, prices can be altered in both Quick Quote and in the File Maintenance program. In File Maintenance, you may also mark (and UNmark) the amounts without changing them. This will indicate which prices and times you have either changed or just approved for your shop. (See: "File Maintenance" in Chap. 6.)
To change all of the parts prices, a mass parts price reduction or increase can be done in the program. To do this, Press F3 before entering a vehicle. The parts prices may be reduced or increased by up to 99%. This is done by selecting to reduce by -99 to +99%. A negative reduction is an increase. Selecting -10 will increase all parts prices by 10%. Experiment to see what is right for your area.
Adding
Additional Repairs to a Quote
To add an additional item to an estimate, simply press the F1 key to bring up the next Repair Category and select additional items to add to the estimate. A total of 100 repairs fit into an estimate.
Using
f4 - Extra Items
The Extra Items is for add-on items to a specific quote. To access the extras menu, after selecting a repair, press F4. The last menu from the Generic section, "Extra Items", is displayed. Select one or more of the items in the menu.
Deleting
a Repair from a Quote
To delete a repair from an estimate, move the cursor, using the up or down arrow keys, and position it on the line you wish to remove. Press the "DELETE" key and the line will be removed, and the repair totals will automatically be recalculated. (Note: if you decide to put a repair back into an estimate after it has been deleted, simply re-enter it from the categories again.)
Changing
the Repair Categories
The repair categories in Quick Quote are one of the few things in the program that can not be changed. There are 20 categories of basic mechanical repair needs, and all repairs can be placed into one of these categories. (For more detail on categories, see Chap. 5.)
SHOP SUPPLIES
A shop supply charge can be automatically calculated and added to every estimate. Use (F9) Print to go to the Setup Menu (F8) and Shop Supplies (F4). A 0% won't add shop supplies and a 0 limit won't limit the charge. To add a set amount to every estimate, put 99 as the percentage and the dollar amount you want as the limit.
Changing
the Repair Names
The repairs in Quick Quote can be changed to suit your shop's needs. This can be done through either Quick Quote or through File Maintenance. To change a repair name, choose a vehicle and one repair. In Quick Quote, press F5; in File Maintenance, press F6. Choose a repair category and press the ENTER key. You can change these by just typing over existing items, or IF SPACE PERMITS at the end of either of the category menus, you can add an additional item just by typing it in at the end of the column. Use the arrow, insert and delete keys to edit the text. The up and down arrows will allow editing other lines. Press ENTER when finished.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT REARRANGE THE ORDER
OF THE REPAIRS!
The items will appear alphabetically in Quick Quote regardless of the order here. The prices in the program stay with the column, and will not move with the repair. Also, do not delete any repairs from the menus. It will cause problems, as all of the vehicles will be affected by this change. If you need to add additional items to a particular category, and you have no more spaces in the two menus for that category, put these items in either the X-TRA SERVICES or GENERIC menu. Remember, the changes you make to the menu will be for ALL vehicles, not just the make and model you are on.
There are two categories that have a second "layer". These are the Generic and the Automatic Transmission Overhaul (Trans, Auto O/H). On these menu choices, the first menu screen is for the Category, the second for the menu titles, then go to the third screen to add the repair. (For more information on these categories, see: "Repair Categories" in Chapter 5.)
Note:
In the Generic Menu, do not move "A/C Service" from the first repair in "Services" or the two freon types from "Extra Items".
Changing
the Message/Description Lines
The message or description lines in Quick Quote are the sentences or phrases that appear underneath the repair on the screen. These message lines can be added or changed within Quick Quote on a permanent or temporary basis. A select group of repairs already have standard messages in the program. These are there to show what's included in the repair. They also can be edited on permanent or temporary basis. The permanent (saved) message lines will come up any time that repair is selected on any vehicle. Temporary changes are for the estimate currently on the screen, and will not be saved.
These messages can be printed on the forms as well. At the time of printing, you will have the option of printing or not printing the additional messages on the forms (See: "Printing" in Chap 9.)
TECHNICAL
SERVICE NOTES
After one or
more repairs are on screen, you may press "N" for TSN. A window will
open showing information about this vehicle and allow you to enter notes. These
can be flat rate tips, specifications or estimate assistance notes. Anything you
want! This information is stored permanently for this vehicle and it's sister
cars.
Dynamic
Kits
A kit is a grouping of items. Any regular repair item can be made into a kit, even ones you've added. You have a choice of your kit being for the current vehicle only, for every vehicle of that Make or for the entire program. A kit by Make still uses the times and parts for each individual vehicle for everything grouped in the kit. Kits also store quantities. Making one Dynamic Kit can replace hundreds of canned jobs in other programs.
Building
Dynamic Kits
Dynamic kits store groups of items to be recalled in one selection. Quantities and overwritten times and parts can be stored as well. Here is an example in building a dynamic kit. In the Quick Quote program, bring up a '88 Honda Accord for a timing belt. Press "K" or Tools and Modify Kit from the top menu. You are asked if this kit is for the specific vehicle or the entire Honda line. Choose the Honda family. Input a quantity of 1. Then choose "No" to overwriting the time or part price for the Timing Belt. Now select Add. Go to Cooling System and then Water Pump. Input a quantity of 1. Choose "Yes" to overwrite the Water Pump Labor time. Make it .9 or 1.0, your choice. Say "No" to overwriting the Water Pump part price. Save the kit. Quick Quote will now adjust to your kit specifications. The Timing Belt time and part price and the Water Pump part price will be for the '88 Honda Accord. The Water Pump labor will be .9 or what ever you made it. If you delete the Water Pump from this estimate the Timing Belt will remain. If you delete the Timing Belt, the Water Pump will also be deleted.