How to See the Cost Breakdown of a Quote in EDGEBIC

To see the cost breakdown of a quote in EDGEBIC by User Solutions you open the simulation results window and read the work-center allocations grid, which lists each work center's hours, rate, and cost. This shows exactly how the estimated labor and material cost was built, so you can verify a number before it reaches a customer. The window opens from the 📄 (Details) action on a simulated quote row.

For the mechanism behind these numbers, read quote simulation explained. This task is documented behavior of EDGEBIC, and the full task library is in the how-to hub.

Before You Start

• The quote has been simulated. The breakdown reads the simulation output, so a never-simulated quote shows only a preliminary estimate. Run the delivery-date simulation first.
• Your work centers have rates set, or the labor lines come back at zero.

Preliminary Estimate vs Simulation Cost

Two different cost numbers can appear on a quote, and knowing which you are looking at prevents a false read. Before simulation, the grid shows a preliminary, routing-based estimate: the sum of setup and per-unit hours across the routing steps times the quantity, priced at the step or work-center rates, plus material. It assumes infinite capacity, no queue time, and no schedule gap, so it scales linearly with quantity. It is a quick sanity check, not a promise.

After simulation, the cost comes from the finite-capacity run: it walks the actual allocated hours, accounting for setup, queue time, lot streaming, multi-shift work, and real capacity. The breakdown window shows this simulation cost. A large gap between the preliminary estimate and the simulated cost usually means setup time is dominant, steps overlap through lot streaming, or parallel work centers multiplied hours across instances. The breakdown is where you see which step drove the difference.

Step 1: Open the Details Window

In the Quote grid, click the 📄 (Details) action on a simulated row. If the quote has not been simulated, the system reports that no simulation data is available. The Quote Details - Simulation Results window opens with two tabs: Resource Allocations and Summary.

Step 2: Read the Work-Center Allocations

On the Resource Allocations tab, the Work Center Resource Allocations grid lists, per work center: the name, Start Date, End Date, Assigned Hours, Rate in dollars per hour, and Total Cost. Each row's cost is its assigned hours times its rate.

The rate is resolved in order:

1. The per-step labor rate on the routing, when it is above zero.
2. Otherwise, the work center's own rate.

Step 3: Understand Labor vs Material

Work centers marked as material type contribute their cost to Estimated Material Cost; every other work center contributes to Estimated Labor Cost. If the material rollup comes out at zero, the simulation substitutes the product's unit cost times the quantity as a material fallback. The two combine as:

Estimated Total Cost = Estimated Material Cost + Estimated Labor Cost

Step 4: Read the Margin Block

On the Summary tab, the Cost and Profit Analysis block shows Total Cost:, Sales Price:, Profit:, and Profit Margin:. Profit is total price minus effective cost, and margin is profit divided by total price, times 100.

Step 5 (Optional): Set a Manual Cost Override

When the labor-plus-material rollup understates true cost (tooling amortization, freight), enter the all-in figure in Manual Cost Override. From then on, effective cost, profit, and margin compute from your number, while the calculated split is kept for later variance reporting, which is what comparing quoted hours against actual hours draws on once the job has run. Click Save.

Worked Example: Reading a $9,230 Breakdown

Open the details window on the documented Widget-A quote and the Work Center Resource Allocations grid reads three labor rows: Saw-1 at 20.5 hours and $40 an hour for $820, CNC-Mill-1 at 101.0 hours and $60 an hour for $6,060, and Assembly-1 at 30.0 hours and $35 an hour for $1,050. Labor totals $7,930. The routing has no material step, so material falls back to the product's unit cost of $6.50 times 200 units, which is $1,300. Total cost is $9,230, and the Summary tab shows it against the sales price for a profit of $7,770 and a margin of 45.7% at $85 a unit.

Two things jump out that this grid makes visible. First, CNC-Mill-1 carries 101 of the 151.5 hours: it is the cost driver and the bottleneck. If a customer pushes on price, that is the step to attack with a capacity scenario. Second, the material line is a single fallback number, not a component list, because the routing models no material steps. For a multi-component product you would model each component as a material-type work-center step so this line breaks the material down instead of pricing only the end product's own unit cost.

If instead the CNC-Mill-1 row had shown a rate of $0.00 and a cost of $0.00, the fix would be immediate: both the step's labor rate and the work center's rate are zero. Set one and re-simulate, and the $6,060 reappears. A missing rate is silent, which is exactly why reading this grid before sending a quote catches margins that are too good to be true.

What Changes When You Save

Saving from the results window persists a manual cost override if you entered one, and the quote's margin fields recompute against it. The converted order carries the override forward for its own cost estimate. Nothing touches the production schedule. If you clear the override, the quote reverts to the calculated labor-plus-material cost.

How to Check It Worked

Sum the Total Cost column across the work-center allocations grid and confirm it equals the Estimated Total Cost on the Summary tab (allowing for the material fallback). If you set an override, confirm Profit and Profit Margin now reflect that figure rather than the rolled-up cost.

Common Mistakes and Gotchas

• A zero rate hides labor. A rate column reading zero means both the step rate and the work-center rate are zero, so that step prices at nothing. Set one of them and re-simulate.
• The material fallback prices only the end product. With no material step, material cost defaults to the product's own unit cost times quantity, missing a component list. Model components as material-type steps for a true breakdown.
• The breakdown is a snapshot. The window reads the schedule captured at simulation time. If capacity has changed since, the displayed dates may no longer match reality. Re-simulate to refresh.
• Assigned hours are work, not clock time. A weekend-spanning job costs only its real work hours. Do not read the calendar span as labor.

Once the cost is verified, price the quote with markup so the customer-facing number tracks the cost you just confirmed.