Overview
This article answers the most common questions about Distributed Costs and how they interact with Alternates in Takeoff and Change Orders in Projects.
General
What is a Distributed Cost?
A Distributed Cost is a way to spread an indirect expense — like shipping, freight, or overhead — across multiple products in your project without creating a separate line item for each one. This keeps individual product budgets clean while still accounting for all project costs transparently.
Where do I set up Distributed Costs?
In Takeoff, click the Manage icon in the upper right-hand corner and select the Distributed Cost tab. From there, click Create to configure a new distributed cost.
What information do I need to fill in when creating a Distributed Cost?
You'll need to define three key details:
Name — A clear, descriptive label (e.g., "Shipping").
Cost Type — Either a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of the project total.
Application Type — How the cost integrates with the project (e.g., indirect fabrication cost). This affects tax calculations.
You'll also select a Budget Group and optionally scope the cost to specific locations or products.
How does the Application Type affect taxes?
Whether a distributed cost is classified as a direct or indirect cost changes how taxes are calculated on it. Tax treatment may vary based on your local tax laws, so it's worth reviewing your configuration with that in mind.
Do Distributed Costs update automatically when I make changes?
No. After any change — whether adding, removing, or reassigning distributed costs — you must manually click the Recalculate Distributed Costs and Labor button and refresh your budget view. Automatic recalculation is disabled by design because it is computationally intensive.
Can I apply a Distributed Cost to specific products rather than all products?
Yes. You can:
Edit an individual product and add or remove distributed costs from its Distributed Costs field.
Scope a distributed cost to specific locations during setup, so only products in those locations are affected.
Use the bulk edit feature in the Products tab to apply a distributed cost to multiple products at once.
Alternates in Takeoff
Can I assign a Distributed Cost to an Alternate?
Yes. When setting up a Distributed Cost, you can assign it to a specific budget group — including the budget group for an alternate. This means the distributed cost will only apply to products within that alternate's scope.
Should I use one Distributed Cost for both the base bid and my Alternates?
No. It is strongly recommended to create a separate Distributed Cost for the base bid and for each alternate. Using a single distributed cost across multiple budget groups can cause costs from one scenario to bleed into another, resulting in inaccurate budget comparisons.
How do I compare costs between the base bid and an Alternate?
Once you've set up separate distributed costs for each scenario and recalculated:
Open the Budget View in Takeoff.
Use the checkmark to toggle the alternate on or off to see the cost difference.
For example, switching from wood to Plam cabinets as a Change Alternate might show a fabrication cost reduction (e.g., $319 in savings).
What are the three types of Alternates?
Add Alternate — Adds items or features to the base bid.
Deduct Alternate — Removes items from the base bid.
Change Alternate — Changes the material or specification of existing items.
You can mix these types within a single alternate. Distributed Costs can be created for any of these alternate types.
Can I create an Alternate with a Distributed Cost for internal testing without showing it to my client?
Yes. Alternates can be created purely for internal cost scenario testing. When building your proposal, simply do not select that alternate — it will be excluded from the budget and the client-facing output. Only select the alternates (and their associated distributed costs) that you want to present.
Change Orders in Projects
Can products in a Change Order have Distributed Costs applied to them?
Yes. Products added through a Change Order are treated the same as base bid products in terms of distributed cost application. Open the product's edit view within the Change Order, locate the Distributed Costs field, and add the applicable costs. Remember to recalculate after making changes.
Do Change Order products automatically receive existing Distributed Costs?
No. Products added after the initial distributed cost setup — including those from Change Orders — are not automatically tagged. You must manually assign distributed costs to those products and then recalculate and refresh the budget.
Is there a faster way to apply Distributed Costs to multiple Change Order products?
Yes. In the Products tab of the budget section, use the bulk edit feature to select multiple products and apply a distributed cost to all of them at once. This is especially useful for Change Orders with larger scope additions.
How does an accepted Change Order affect the project budget and Distributed Costs?
Accepting a Change Order updates the contract value and adds new products to the project scope, which can alter the overall budget. To keep distributed costs accurate after acceptance, manually assign distributed costs to any newly added products and run a recalculation to reflect the updated allocations in the budget view.