Hi Everyone,
Can we customize the cost codes suits to our requirements? I am tring to do main trades in 1st level (Prelims, Concrete, Carpentry, Roofing… etc), Main items under each trade in 2nd level (Concrete, Reinf, Formwork, Labour… etc) and sub items under each main items (Concrete - Slabs, Walls, Columns… etc). Please help us how to create them. More detailed in attached spreadsheet 
Hi Hasan,
The cost codes currently only have one level, but to get a similar result to what you’re after I’d recommend having each level as a separate item so that it’s treated as a different cost code (see example below). This will group the cost codes together & allow you to select each level as required.
The easiest way to do this is to export the cost codes list from within the takeoff (via the Cost Codes icon on the main page), open the file & make changes to it, then import the file bask into the takeoff & the list should be updated with the new options.
Example:
BBOQ100 PRELIMINARY
BBOQ100-010 FEES & INSURANCE
BBOQ100-010-001 Site Signage - Plywood - no frame
BBOQ100-010-005 Home warranty insurance
BBOQ100-010-010 Public Liability insurance
etc.
BBOQ100-020 PROFESSIONAL FEES
BBOQ100-020-001 Architectural Design
BBOQ100-020-005 Structural Design
BBOQ100-020-010 MEP Design (Services)
etc.
Hi Grant, is there any relationship between cost codes and tags? I know in the estimate settings there are several ways of displaying the BOQ items including cost code and tag. We are rebuilding our cost codes at the moment, switching to a master format and I am wondering if we should think about changing tags also,
Tags are assigned automatically in most cases but are they following the cost code format? Is it relevant?
How do we change tag auto assign? The “fix out” one as an example I want to change, I have no idea what goes in here automatically and it’s a term I don’t recognize.
Thanks, Gareth
Hi Gareth,
No, there’s no relationship between them. The cost codes list can be edited to whatever you need them to be without the tags being affected.
There currently isn’t a way to auto change tags when a specific tag appears in the software. (i.e. whenever “fix out” appears change it to something else), however there are some methods to change the tags in some areas of the software, which I’ve explained below. Note: Changing tags will affect how the geometry behaves with scenes as each scene is looking for specific tags to turn on/off, so the 
Scene Tool may not work as expected afterwards.
Adjusting Material Tags
Under each material fields there’s an Edit Tag & BOQ Category button which allows you to change the tag of the material (which will affect the geometry it’s assigned to) plus also adjust the category of the material (which changes where it appears in the takeoff). The post below explains what to do & how it works in more detail. Note: This is only for materials.
Layering Section In Dialogs
Some dialogs have a Layering section which allows you to adjust some tags that tool will be using. Note: This is mainly for the tag assigned to the topmost levels of the group/objects.
Manually Change Tags
Note: This method is mainly for components as there’s currently no other way to adjust their tags.
There are two ways this can be done. 1) Go to the Tags section of the Default Tray & change the name of the tag (this will do a blanket change), or 2) Manually clicking into the objects & reassigning the object to a new/different tag. Note: Since these are considered manual changes I recommend only doing this at the end to save any double handling. This is because if the geometry is then adjusted using a PlusSpec tool it’ll revert to the original tag. Also, any new geometry added via PlusSpec tools will also be placed on the original tag.
