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Item Worksheet Manual

Item Worksheet is used to bulk-upload Construction Items that you are already using in your business, but outside of Business Central/ HomeBuilder and you want to bring them in.

You can also use the SuiteEngine Construction Items database as a reference point, or use it as a starting point and modify it (add, delete, and modify Construction Items) to suit your needs better. In this case Item Worksheet can be used to bulk-adjust existing Construction Items.

Important

If you already have (Base) Contract Items in Business Central Tenant and just want to copy them to a New Production or Template company, do NOT use the Item Worksheet. (You still can, but it is more time-consuming) Instead:

  • Search Construction Items, then from the Actions Menu select Copy from Another Company. On the Select Company screen select the Company that will be your source (Company you get the Construction Items from). Click okay and then select the Items you want to bring and follow the prompts.
    • This process will easily bring Construction Items to the new Company.
    • If you want to edit your construction items in bulk, now you can easily (as the Construction Items are already in the system) edit them using the Item Worksheet.

To start the process of importing your Construction Items from a legacy source, search Item Worksheet Templates.

  • Hit New and think of a Code and Name that would identify your Template. (Or just call it Code: Base Contract, Name: Base Contract).
  • Click Edit.
    • It will bring you to a page where you select which fields are going to be included in your Item Worksheet.
    • When in doubt, include all fields.
  • Click Batches, and provide the Code and Name for your Batch (Or just call it Code: Base Contract, Name: Base Contract again).
  • Click Item Worksheet.

Now you have the Item Worksheet ready to be populated. If you only have a couple of Construction Items, you can work on the Item Worksheet directly in the system. (Manual input)

However, when multiple Construction Items are to be imported, you can follow this process:

You must be able to export the Item Worksheet into Excel. To enable this:

Option A:

  • On your Item Worksheet, click the Add from Items button.
    • On the following page select 1 Item and click Add to Worksheet.
    • This will move you back to the Item Worksheet.

Option B:

  • In case you do not have any Construction Items in your Database
    • On the item Worksheet click New and create 1 Test Item. Fill in all the usual fields like it is an actual Construction Item.

Once you have followed options A or B, click Export to Excel. This action will open an Excel Template with the 1 Construction Item you have previously added to the Item Worksheet. They will be used as a point of reference as you start adding your Construction Items to the Template (In other words, since you have added 1 Construction Item, the first row of your table will be pre-filled with information, making it easier to populate your Excel Template).

  • Populate the Excel with all the Items. If any Items are in the category Construction Items, the Base Contract Field must be set to Yes.
  • Click Import from Excel.
  • Hit Validate.
    • Validation will provide warnings. Warnings are something you should consider, but the system will let you import data if you ignore warnings. They are more like reminders. However, if there are any errors, they must be cleared.
      • In case you have Fields in the Item Worksheet that are empty because you have no information on them and the lack of information creates an error, you must create another Item Worksheet Template that does not contain these Fields.
  • Now click Apply Worksheet. You will receive a message: Applying Item Worksheet to Construction Items has been completed.

To verify, in HomeBuilder, search the type of Item that was included in the Item Worksheet (e.g.: Construction Items) and compare them to your Item Worksheet.

Note
  • The Item Worksheet will add new Construction Items or change existing ones (if the Item code is the same) but will not delete existing Construction Items from the database.
  • You can put the Price only if the Item is Designated as a Color Chart.
  • The Item Worksheet and your Base Contract Items in the HomeBuilder system are independent. You can populate the Item Worksheet, and only after clicking Apply Worksheet will the Construction Items be created. If you delete any Construction Item afterward, the Item Worksheet will still contain it.
  • When populating your Excel Template, in the Bolean type of question (Yes, No) write exactly “Yes” and “No”. It is case-sensitive. “NO”, “no”, “YES”, and “yes" will generate an error when you import the Template. In this case, you can NOT use True or False as well.
  • The cell format in the Excel Template mustn't be changed. When the numbers are formatted as text, they must remain formatted like that. When you export the Template, all cells will be formatted properly. When in doubt, export a new template from the system.
  • Sometimes your Construction Items are incorrect in the System, e.g. you set them up as Type Inventory- and they must be of Type Service. If the worksheet does not perform the desired changes, you might have to delete these Construction Items (or anything that exists when you search Items.) first from HomeBuilder, then apply the Item Worksheet again.