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Author Topic: Rates for new installs? John Walsh Film God Posts: 2490 From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way Registered: Oct 1999 posted 11-22-2005 08:51 AM                     QUOTE: "Allow 2 days per-screen for the install with a couple of extra days added for cushion, so 3 weeks is plenty for 8 screens." Just my own opinion, but three weeks is too much time for eight screens. This is assuming that both the racks and projectors are shipped prewired/mounted. Of course, there will always be issues that crop up, so one rule will not fit all. As others have noted, you really are at the mercy of the electricans.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 11-22-2005 09:00 AM                        In Fall of 2004, I had one job where the electricians were understaffed and the owner had 3 weeks of additional work added on; another job where the electrician just stopped showing up and I ended up doing the electrician's work including conduit in the booth; another job where no one on the job including the architect had ever seen a theatre before; another job where I ended up supervising all wall covering and finish in the auditoriums. What these jobs had in common is that a flat rate for BOOTH INSTALLATION was quoted, but many (hundreds) of additional hours were spent on the job at the owners insistance. All but one of these has finally paid us from last year. THAT is why I no longer do flat rate quotes. Louis  |  IP: Logged Brad Allen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 688 From: Evansville, IN, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 11-22-2005 01:35 PM                     Like an architect that designs a theatre with the booth floor LEVEL with the auditorium floor? And no one caught the problem until I arrived, and drywall had already been hung? A quoted per hour labor + expense's charge sounds good to me.  |  IP: Logged Richard Hamilton Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1341 From: Evansville, Indiana Registered: Jan 2000 posted 11-22-2005 02:11 PM                     Again, thanks for the input. I have done so many installs, they all become a blur. I know all of the obstacles along the way. I was just curious how the flat rate was handled. My last install, after 7 days of sitting in my hotel room waiting for the screen guys to finish, I finally left. But I was paid for those 7 days of coming in and yelling at the workers!!! Don't get me wrong, It is good money, just not the way I like to earn it. As a said before, 8,000 for 3 weeks seemed a little low, because I know the estimated 3 weeks will be more like 6. I know how to handle this now. Thanks for the input, Rick  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-22-2005 07:31 PM                     Quickbooks is okay for many things...it sucks as an inventory program.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-22-2005 09:23 PM                     quote: Steve Guttag Quickbooks is okay for many things...it sucks as an inventory program. I think it really just depends on how you aproach using the inventory system it offers. You have to be dead accurate in using it from day one or all hell can break loose and you end up with a big mess. Inputing inventory data during an actual inventory is also a breeze if done with a laptop or computer not on the network system, Just do the inventory and then do a Quickbooks data transfer update fomr that computers data...... Its a breeze, not that its not time consuming as any inventory is. But done right its not any more time consuming that doing it the manual paper route. Again, Its meant to be a paperless book keeping system although it is certainly capable of generating any sort of paper output you might need. There are even better programs out there but they cost as much as the profit you make in a year! Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-23-2005 12:24 AM                     Nah, we have had to abandon it for inventory and purchasing. We might have three different vendors for the same part...each vendor may have a different part number for the part yet we will stock it under our number...which may be a Simplex or Century number...Quickbooks can't handle that...the part number is the part number. You order a widget this year and it is $10.00 net...you order it next year and it is $11.00 net...does Quickbooks update the price on the PO or on the Invoice? Nope...you have to go back and update both prices eventhough you had to update the price during the receiving and payment process (and Quickbooks is keeping tabs on your average price). That is just plain dumb. I will agree that most accounting packages cost a lot for what they do. Accounting packages also somehow have been accepted as something you have to continually pay for to keep it supported...that is...tech support is not a given without paying some sort of fee. It is not like these programs are bug free. Quickbooks has many sterling qualities to it but you can have its Inventory and PO modules...they need much work. There was a program that I thought had an EXCELLENT PO and Inventory modules but the other accounting modules sucked real bad...Cougar Mountain Software. It handled everyone's part numbers just fine...kept tabs on what you paid and how you wanted to sell it, based on your last cost or by a fixed number you wanted and even had pricing levels based on quantity...You could even have aliases so one part could have two names...Want to have one bing for a bearing but it can be called a BG-259 or P-3368 in Simplex and Century vernacular? No problem! It did a decent job with sorting everything so when inventory counting came...the sheets corresponded to where the part(s) are stored. Right now we are working with an augmentation program to Quickbooks called "Fishbowl"...it has many of the features that we liked in CMS' Inventory and PO program but allows Quickbooks to contine to handle everything else. The problem I see with most accounting programs is that they are written based on the author's ideas on accounting...it isn't based on your ideas or needs. The key seems to be to find one that is a best fit and then work around the rest (and try to pursuade the software company to put in the features you need). With larger companies like Intuit (Quickbooks), your voice is a bit smaller than with smaller companies that really depend on word of mouth.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-23-2005 12:28 PM                     Steve, Again I think it all how you approach doing it. All dealers have several vendors for alot of the part numbers. We simply specify a W for Wolk or a S for strong after the PN in our inventory. For some parts I oprefer one vendors over the others so it makes pricing them quite easy on service tickets and invoices. Designating them this way makes it easy to have multiple vendors for one part on the same inventory. I agree on the pricing part of it...has to be manually updated every year and there are ALOT of part numbers.... takes one of our staff the better part of a week just to do small parts. the rest of updating can always be ongoing when ever a new price list comes out.... just simply update your prices. Thats pretty easy and not real time consuming either. I can guarantee you when it comes down to audits if its all on QB then the audit will go very fast and more likely in your favor unless there are huge mistakes in taxes or something like that. Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-23-2005 05:14 PM                     Oh, we've been through the suffixes a bit... L, W and S...but that is on top of everything...that is primarily for US to know the quality grade on a particular part. Fishbowl allows that too. However, if you are making say a Mouser order and need some nick nacks...their numbers do not correspond to actual numbers...then again, the next order may be from Digi-key and their numbers are unique. Or to keep it in the Cinema industry...Strong...you really need to have the 81-xxxxxx number on the PO with the P-xxxx number so you have a good cross reference since the person checking in the order may not have a clue as to what it should really be. With Fishbowl working with Quickbooks...we have that...all suppliers see THEIR numbers...we see OUR numbers/names...once the PO is "received" the handoff is made to Quickbooks with just the push of the button and it now is an Account Payable. We gave Quickbooks quite a bit of a try and it just didn't work for our inventory or ordering system very well and was a great set back as compared to the old accounting system (CMS)...however the books are in much better shape with Quickbooks and the accounting people ALWAYS win the arguements!  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 11-24-2005 11:27 PM                       Eh, $500 a day plus burgers and I'm happy. Seriously, the company I worked for in the late 80s was getting $3K per screen, 2 wks. for an 8 plex, all wired on-site. I'm with the others, though. Today, you have to go time and materials. That puts the monkey on the owner's and/or general contractor's backs. Same way with service contracts.. NO unlimited emergencies! It's abused. They expect you to come in and clean the friggin' trash cans when you've got someone across state who's down.  |  IP: Logged

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