Setting up for your business

Overview

Your business has a particular way of doing things. For example, you might mostly use strings of 280x33 mm but sometimes your strings are 280x42 mm. Your risers are usually 200x19 mm. You have six main types of newels known by particular names, each with its own turning setout. You trench your treads 12 mm into the strings. Some components you buy in as parts and other you manufacture in the factory.

These are just some examples of defaults. They are the dimensions or settings you usually use, but which might occasionally change on a job-by-job basis. They are the initial settings StairBiz uses to process all jobs, until such time as you change them for a particular job if necessary.

The success and accuracy of the StairBiz program depends largely on how you set the program up in the Defaults windows.

• If you haven’t yet told StairBiz what you call things, see Starting StairBiz the first time.

Clearing the existing defaults

When you install StairBiz for the first time, all defaults windows have been set up to reflect a fictitious stair manufacturing company. This allows you to experiment and learn your way around.

Most defaults windows can have their contents cleared window at a time (usually by selecting an item and clicking the Delete button while holding down both Shift and Control keys. Refer to each window for more details).

Do not attempt to start a new project until you have entered new Style and Timber items (it’s not a problem – it just may confuse you).

Note; if you’re ready to get down to work with StairBiz, you might want to also delete all existing projects. The easiest way is to select them in the Directory window and click the Delete button (that way you don’t need to open them first).

Defaults used to Design and Cost Jobs

Most design defaults are created in the Design window and saved as templates. The following does not discuss these defaults – for a full explanation see Design window.

When initially setting up StairBiz for your business, start by working through the following menu-items under the Defaults menu (in order of importance). These are the windows that are most critical for the effective and accurate use of StairBiz by your business. Refer to the relevant topic for more detailed information on each.

Note that windows relating to estimating are not shown if you do not have the Estimate module (see Chapter 1 : How to use this Manual/ The optional “Estimate” module).

Note: before doing anything, see the heading A Strategy for setting up you defaults (below).

1. Language allows you to personalize all terminology used in StairBiz (or do a complete and total translation into another language). See the Terminology section in the Language window.
2. Preferences allows you to set some aspects of the way StairBiz writes and draws in its windows, and choose your preferred measurement system. See Preferences window.
3. Styles holds information about all generic stair components. See Style Defaults window.
4. Timbers holds the timbers, and costs for each timber and size. See Timbers window.
5. Miscellaneous Defaults holds certain default information that StairBiz needs to cost your stairs, or is used for the default terms-of-trade for a new client. See Miscellaneous Defaults window.
6. Setout holds some information about how you set your stairs out (most stair setout defaults are created in the Design window and saved to templates). See Default Setout window.

After you’ve set the above windows, and you’ve had a chance to use StairBiz for a little while to learn your way around and get a good feel for how things fit together, you’re now in a position to tackle the following windows. 7. Extra Lengths sets the default extra length for each component in a stair; i.e. a nominal length added to the exact length calculated by StairBiz. See Extra Length Defaults window. 8. Parts allows you to set a list of parts used in stairs, and information about those parts. A part is a component which is purchased in its finished state at a fixed price. Also note that there is a way to set up all parts, timers, styles and timber themes using a simple import or a Parts spreadsheet. See Parts window. 9. Part Filters allows you to specify which parts are used in what situations in stairs. See Part Filters window. 10. Labour Filters allows you to specify labour cost for every activity in manufacturing, delivering and installing stairs. See Labour Filters window. 11. Timber Themes allows you to restrict timber selections for each style selected in the Components window of a job.

NOTES: The information in these windows (and all Defaults windows) are stored on your disc (in the StairBiz Defaults.mdb file in the Defaults folder). When you start a new project, StairBiz looks in this file for all the settings it will need, and imports those settings into the job. StairBiz then closes the file and will never refer to it again for that particular job. Many of these default settings are then displayed (and are amendable for that job only) in the job’s Process windows.

When you save the job, the default settings you used for that job (or the amended settings if you changed any of them in one of the job’s windows), are saved as part of the job. If you close the project and re-open it at a later date, StairBiz does not refer to the defaults file - it will use the settings saved with the job.

So ... • The defaults are not associated with any one job - they provides the initial (default) settings for all jobs. • Settings amended in any of these Defaults windows will not impact any previously saved job, even if you re-open that job and make changes to it. • Settings amended in these Defaults windows effect only new projects (i.e. jobs started afresh in the future). • Once imported into a new project, settings can be changed for that job only (from within one or more of the job’s window). These changes will not impact the Defaults windows.

Other Defaults windows

Once again, the following does not discuss design defaults – for a full explanation see Design window.

After you have completed the setup of the main defaults windows above, finish off by working through the following six windows (not including the first one, which you should be familiar with but does not require a setup). Refer to the relevant topic for more detailed information on each.

12. My Data allows you to create user fields for your jobs (fields in which you can store any and all information not provided for by StairBiz). See My Data Defaults window.
13. Colours allows you to personalize the colours you see in StairBiz. See Colours window.
14. Job Numbers is where you set the initial next-in-sequence job and quote numbers (these numbers can then be incremented automatically for each job). See Job Numbers window.
15. Folders allows you to create folders within which you can save stair, unit, well and bullnose templates, and also projects. See Folders window.
16. Building Codes allows you to set minimum and maximum values for various aspects of a job’s design which, when exceeded, generates an alert. See Building Codes window.
17. Print Settings allows you to specify which Job sheets you would normally print for each job (these can be modified for each individual job as required). See Print Settings window.
18. Custom Editor is where you design your Custom sheets (user designed quote and job sheets). This is actually a separate application which resides in the StairBiz Folder and can be booted from this menu. See Custom Editor window.
19. Custom Menus allows you to set which of the Custom Sheets currently in your Custom Sheets folder will show up in the Custom menu, and in which order. See Custom Menus window.
20. Export Templates allows you to create templates for exporting tab delimited fields from a StairBiz job to the clipboard, from where you can paste them into any application (word processing, databases etc.) See Export Templates window.

A strategy for setting up defaults

There is no one way to set up StairBiz. Businesses very enormously in their approach, particularly in the areas of parts and costing, and they vary enormously in the level of sophistication required.

However, there is one piece of advice we would offer to all businesses – start simple, then get a good feel for the way StairBiz works before adding complexity.

So how do you do that in a way that doesn’t require any back-tracking later?

1. Do a lot of “playing” before you start to set up. Get a feel for the way StairBiz works. Read this manual, particularly the topics How StairBiz costs jobs, Blank items and Parts, and Part and labour cost filters.
2. Forget about part filters. This is perhaps the most complex aspect of StairBiz (only because of its power and flexibility). It is not an area to work on until you understand what you’re doing – a change of strategy mid-way through the process can cost you a lot of time. You do not need part filters to use StairBiz effectively, even if you take an entirely “Parts” approach to stairs. For example, if you set up your Styles and Timbers, you can start to process jobs that will give you a perfectly legitimate Cutting List. If you take a parts approach to stairs, initially you can do quick and accurate take-offs (generating a parts list based on the Cutting List) manually. After you’ve got a feel for this, you can set up your part filters to do this automatically.
3. To what extend you need to set up timber costs in the Timbers window will depend on the extent to which you use parts, so it may make sense to stay simple initially (unless you already have spread sheets or databases which contain all you timbers and costs, in which case setting these up using the Import feature is very quick). A temporary simple alternative is to set each timber’s cost method to Cubic Meters All or Super Feet All or Base Percentage (in which case a single cost will cover all sizes).
4. Once again for those who take a parts approach to stairs: In the Styles window there are two ways you can assign a part to a particular style (Part Is and Part From Filter). If you select Part Is, you will need to have a separate style for every part associated with that style (e.g. a separate style for each combination of style/size/timber). This could lead to quite massive lists of styles. This is one reason for part filters – they allow you to have just one style/size without regard for timber (the timber can be selected from your timbers list in the Components window of a job), and the part filter checks the match between the style and the timber and comes up with the correct part.
5. There is a way to create your entire Parts window, Timbers window, Styles windows and Timber Themes window from a single import from a Parts spreadsheet. If you use this method, then don’t waste time setting up these windows individually. See Parts window – Import Parts.

Error checking

When amending or adding to the default settings, in many cases StairBiz won’t allow you to accidentally set an absurd value, but at the same time it’s impossible for StairBiz to cross check every combination. So it doesn’t try to. The rule is this: If the values you set are values that have been working for you before you started using StairBiz, then StairBiz should be able to work with them. If the values you set wouldn’t work outside of StairBiz, then StairBiz won’t be able to make them work either. The responsibility is yours to ensure that your default settings are workable in real life, and in the combinations of them that you impose upon StairBiz. If they are not, then StairBiz may operate erratically, or may give you incorrect results.