Introduction
The Projected Total feature in an interesting and unique tool which appears on estimates, sales, and invoices. When a dollar value is entered into the Projected Total field, it and another new field called “Difference” will appear to the right of the ordinary Total fields in the summary area. The Difference field will display the difference between the Projected Amount and the current Total.
This is useful when proposing a fixed or flat rate amount for a job (like an installation or repair). If the actual total ends up higher or lower than the projected total, the difference is easily seen in the display. Just modify one or more line items to arrive at the projected price promised to the customer.
Example of Use
Imagine you quote a new construction job for $10,000 and enter this value in the Projected Total field. Once you have added in all of the various materials and equipment actually used, your actual Total is $9,200. The builder is still going to pay you the $10,000 quoted price. To make the invoice reflect the quoted price of $10,000 simply look at the Difference field to find that $800 needs to be added to the invoice. Simply adjust the retail price of one or more of the line items to make the actual price $10,000. After the line item adjustments, the Difference field should display zero.
