Automatic Markup is accomplished in Sigma by applying a percentage to a category (labor, materials, etc). These percentages can be set by clicking on the Summary tab, and then in the toolbar clicking on the Automatic Markup button.
With an estimate open, click on the Summary tab in the tool bar. Your estimate will be shown grouped according to the WBS you developed in the Content tab when building your estimate. You will also note that the WBS on left is greyed out – Sigma shows your entire estimate in the summary view. In the tool bar, click on Automatic Markup and the following window opens:
To set the automatic markup for Profit, click on the Profit tab, make sure the Use in estimation box is checked, and enter the percent Profit you wish to use for each category.
To set the automatic markup for Overhead, click on the Overhead tab, make sure the Use in estimation box is checked, and enter the percent Overhead you wish to use for each category. The Overhead tab has an added feature not found in the Profit tab. Perhaps you want to add an Escalation percent to your labor. If you click on Settings in the Automatic Markup window, the following dialogue box opens:
You can click on Add and a new column will be added to the Overhead view. Name the column as you wish, give it a default percent value if you like, and click ok. This has added the Escalation column to the Overhead view, and you can now manage the escalation by assigning a percentage to a category.
These additional columns could be used for contingency, fee, insurance, etc – any factor that can be expressed as a percentage.
Sigma also allows you to have as many custom categories as you need. Many users have multiple material categories to allow them to vary the markup depending on the discount they may, or may not, get from a certain supplier. This greatly increases the flexibility of your setup and allows you to take advantage of whatever overhead and profit scenarios gives you the best outcome.
