How to Validate Your Estimate

Sigma provides a way for you to validate your estimate for selected conditions. For example, Sigma can find and alert you to components with a unit cost of zero, or components with a profit margin below a specified percentage, or components that do not have a category. And in the validated tab, all the items that match the validation filter will be shown, and you can double click on an item and be taken directly to that item in the estimate.

The Validation button is located in both the Home ribbon and the Summary ribbon. F6 will open the Validation window from anywhere in Sigma.

Step-by-step:

Step	Action	Screenshot

Step	Action	Screenshot
	Example: if an item in your estimate is missing a unit cost (cost = 0) it doesn’t matter how many of them there are, the total cost will still be zero. To make sure all unit costs are included, search for No unit price in component.
1.	Open the validation window (F6)
2.	Check the box at No unit price in component, and click update at the bottom of the validation window.
3.	After clicking Update, Sigma will switch to the Validated tab.
4.	In the center of the window will be a list of items that do not have unit prices (costs). A very nice feature is that yo can double click on any of the items and be taken directly to that line in the estimate to correct the problem.
5.	The note at the bottom merely tells you there are conditions that are not being searched for.
	Example: Sigma uses categories to add markup and overhead to the estimate, so if you have, for instance, concrete in your estimate but it is not categorized as a material it will not have the markup for material added to it.
1.	To search for this condition, check the box next to No category in leaf component. And click the Update button at the bottom of the window.
2.	As before, the Validated tab is activated and you can double click on any of the items to be taken directly to that line where you can add the category, assuring your markup and overhead.