Organization-level Estimate Settings allow admins to define how estimates (formerly known as Material Lists) are generated and adjusted across the account. These settings control default markup, tax, template pricing, financing options, and promotions - so estimates are consistent, compliant, and faster to configure.
Note: You must have a Hover admin account to update the default settings for Estimates.
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Open Estimate Preferences
Tap your initials in the top right corner
Tap your initials in the top right corner
Select Estimate preferences from the drop down
From this page, set the default values for Profit Margin, Opening Calculations, Markup, and Tax.
Profit Margin settings
Profit Margin settings
Orgs can set both the minimum, and maximum-allowed profit margin percentages. Once these are configured, any estimate that is generated will automatically fall within the specified threshold.
Orgs can also use the toggle to decide whether users can go above or below the profit margin limits.
Calculations for openings
Calculations for openings
Hover's template calculations are based on best practices we've seen in the industry. You may require different preferences to match how your organization orders and installs siding and trim.
Use the toggles on this tab to determine whether the automated calculations should:
Include small opening areas for siding, or other walls
Include siding opening trim sqft for siding, or other walls
Include siding trim sqft for siding, or other walls
If the calculation preferences are not set up from the Estimate Preferences page, the default for all estimates will be 10% for areas with openings less than 33 SQFT.
Markup and tax settings
Markup and tax settings
Orgs can apply pricing rules across all line items, template-wide. Perfect for speeding up bulk-updates!
If you enter a custom Markup percentage from this tab, it will apply to all templates as the default value.
Enter custom tax rate percentages for the separate Material, Labor, and Other sections across all your saved templates.
Note: You can override these default values later on, from the Templates tab.
Line items and pricing
Tap Line items and pricing from the left hand menu:
From this tab, an org admin can manage all line items across the entire organization in one place instead of updating each template individually.
See which template a line item belongs to
See which template a line item belongs to
Below each line item name is also the template name that it belongs to.
Tip: Click on the template name to open the template itself.
Update units of measurement, unit costs, markup, and tax rates
Update units of measurement, unit costs, markup, and tax rates
If you need to make line item updates across many templates at once, doing so from this tab will be more efficient.
Financing
On the Financing tab, admins can build a library of approved financing options. If someone adds an active, org-approved financing option to an estimate they've generated, the system will:
Calculate monthly payments based on term, and APR
Allow entry of a down payment
How to create financing options
How to create financing options
Select Add new, then fill in:
Name
Term length (months)
APR (%)
Use the toggle to set it as the default financing option (if applicable)
Tap Save
You will see the new financing option on the main Financing tab. Use the toggle to activate it.
How to remove a financing option
How to remove a financing option
Click the trash can icon beside the financing option you want to remove
Select Remove from the prompt
Promotions
Promotion settings allow orgs to create a library of approved discounts that can be applied to estimates.
Allowing custom promotions
Allowing custom promotions
Orgs can choose whether users are allowed to create custom promotions.
If enabled, users can create a promotion during the estimate configuration
If disabled, users can only select from org-approved promotions
To enable:
Select the Custom options disabled button
Use the toggle to enable
Tap Save
How to create or remove a promotion
How to create or remove a promotion
To create a promotion:
Select Add promotion
Name the promotion
Use the drop down to select whether it will be a percentage-based, or fixed dollar discount
Tap Save
You will see the new promotion option on the main Promotions tab. Use the toggle to activate it.
To remove an existing promotion:
Click the trash can icon beside the promotion you want to discard
Select Remove from the prompt
Templates
From the Templates tab, you will see all active, saved templates for your organization.
Active saved templates will appear in the Custom template library when building estimates.
Inactive saved templates will not appear in the Custom template library when building estimates.
How to manage templates
How to manage templates
Click on a template's 3 dot menu to view the activity history, duplicate, or edit a template.
When editing a template, you can:
Update the template name
Update the template description
Use a toggle to make a template activate, or inactive
Use a toggle to apply or remove custom markup and tax percentages
How to edit template line items
How to edit template line items
From the same template details page, scroll down to see every line item associated with that particular saved template.
Use inline editing to adjust the Unit of measurement, Unit Cost, Markup, and Tax Rate for any particular line item.
Adjustments made at the line-level will override preferences set at the template-level.
How estimate settings affect the estimate experience
Individual estimates will automatically pre-populate using the org-level settings. You can make adjustments, where permitted, with the Manage view.
Tap Manage from the Financials panel:
Markup adjustments
Markup adjustments
Org-level defaults will apply first, but if permitted, you can override the Markup percentage defaults.
Choose how markup should be applied:
From the line level
By Group
Set the markup percentage separately for Material, Labor, and Other
By Template
Tax adjustments
Tax adjustments
Similar to Markup adjustments, you can specify if you want your estimate's tax rate to be applied:
At the line level
By Group
By Template
From this tab, you can also use the toggle switch to exclude tax in the estimate view. It is still applied, but won't appear on the estimate.
Cost visibility
Cost visibility
The Cost tab is for reporting and visibility only.
Cost is shown:
By material, labor, and other
Broken out by template
Costs cannot be edited in this view.
Financing and promotions
Financing and promotions
If active org-approved financing options are available, select them from the Manage view Financing tab. The system will:
Calculate monthly payments based on term and APR
Allow entry of a down payment
Also, if custom financing is enabled at the org-level, you will be able to add a custom option from this tab as well.
Similarly, on the Manage view Promotions tab you can select from active org-approved promotions - if they were set up at the org-level.
Promotions apply discounts directly to the estimate total
Multiple promotions can be applied at once
If custom promotions are enabled, users can add a custom promotion during estimate configuration
You can apply multiple promotions at once.
Common Questions
Can I create a custom finance option for my estimate?
Can I create a custom finance option for my estimate?
Yes. If custom financing is enabled for the organization in Estimate Settings, you can add a custom option during the estimate configuration. If this feature is disabled, you can only use approved financing options.
Why are tax fields blank?
Why are tax fields blank?
If your org has not set tax defaults in Estimate Settings, tax values will appear blank in the estimate configurator.
Review this collection for answers to additional common questions.