An item represents a specific material, equipment, labor, or subcontracting cost. An item converts the takeoff data into the designated purchase unit, which is displayed on reports and estimates. Items can be generic, like Finishing Labor or Primer, or they can be specific, like Douglas Fir 2”x4”x10’.
More on Items and Assemblies
Topics
Glossary Terms
Takeoff: the act of measuring construction plans to determine the material quantities needed for a job; representation of the building condition or material system you are intending to perform work on; provides basic unit measurements (i.e. linear feet, square feet) of the building condition or system
Measurement: the individual polygons, lines, and counts drawn on the plan page; each measurement is associated with a takeoff
Measurement Type: indicates the unit of measure output of a takeoff (i.e. linear footage, square footage, cubic yardage, etc.)
Item Layout
Field | Description |
Item Name | Required, Text. Name of the item |
Description | Optional, Text. Provide a description of the item, how it functions, or any requirements or specifications |
Unit of Measure | Required, Drop-down. The related measurement type output the item is intended for (i.e. lin ft, sq ft, each) NOTE: This field determines which measurement type can be used with this item |
Purchase Unit | Required, Text. The intended unit of measurement, commonly how you purchase from your supplier (i.e. Bundles) |
Coverage Rate* (Unit of Measure) | Required, Numeric. How many units of measure are in a purchase unit |
Coverage Rate* (Purchase Unit) | Required, Numeric. How many purchase units are in the listed unit of measure (commonly a value of 1) |
Cost Type* | Required, Checkbox. Identifies the type of item created, and can be used to organize reports and estimates |
Unit Cost | Optional, Numeric. The default price of the item NOTE: Changes made to the unit cost will update across every project the item is used in |
Accounting Code | Optional, Text. Represents a value from a third-party system that relates to the item in STACK, commonly an accounting code, cost code, part number, or SKU number |
*How Coverage Rate Works
The coverage rate represents the basic conversion the item makes to transition from the takeoff unit of measurement to the listed purchase unit.
Examples:
375 sq ft = 1 Gallon
5 lin ft = 1 5-foot section
1 lin ft = 1 lin ft
500 lin ft = 1 coil
*Cost Types - You can apply multiple cost types to each item.^ Equipment, labor, material, and subcontractor are preloaded options, or you can create a custom Company Cost Type in Account Settings/Company Settings. Check the box next to each cost type that you want to apply to the item. The data for each selected cost type will appear on Item Reports and the Material and Labor Estimate.
^If your purchase unit is a measurement (sq ft, lin ft, etc.) with one to one coverage rate, you can avoid creating separate items by applying multiple cost types like material AND labor to one item.
If your purchase unit is a physical item (board, tube, gallon, etc.), you can apply multiple cost types to the item but it might be easier to create separate items to represent the material, labor, equipment, etc.
Using a STACK Item
STACK Items are a great to get started! With over 10,000 pre-built items, you can quickly add material, labor, equipment, and/or subcontracting costs directly to your takeoff. STACK Items can be found under the STACK Items header.
To add an item to a takeoff:
Click on the three dots next to the takeoff name to get to the sub-menu, and then click "Edit"
Click the green "+ Add items and assemblies" button located at the bottom left of the screen
Click on the "Items" tab
To find your item, click on the Items folder to expand and manually look for the item, or use the search bar at the top
Click the green "+" to the right of each item(s) to select them.
Click the green "Add Items" button located at either the top of bottom of the menu
The item(s) will now populate in the reports and estimates.
TIP #1: The measurement type must provide the item's unit of measure in order to add the item to the takeoff. For example, a linear-based item can be added to a linear or area-based takeoff, but not a count-based takeoff. See How to Master Measurement Types and Working with Assembly Formulas respectively for more details about what data each measurement type provides and what that data represents.
TIP #2: You can add both material and labor items to the same takeoff
TIP #3: You can save your takeoff with the items as a template to your Takeoff Library for future projects
Create a Custom Item
Custom items are a great way to incorporate your unique material, labor, equipment, or subcontracting costs that STACK doesn't provide, you can create your own items under the My Items header.
You can quickly create items for re-use on any project:
Click “Items” in the top right of the main navigation
On the next screen, you will see a folder/list view of your current items on the left under "My Items"
To create a new item, click the ellipse (3 dots) next to the folder you wish to house the item in and select "Create item here" (alternatively, you can also create a new a folder to add items to the new folder)
Fill in the item fields marked above and click “Add” to save or "Create and Add Another" to quickly create similar items.
NOTE: You can edit these fields at any time by selecting the item from the list view. Any changes made to an item will affect all projects that contain that item.