Patent ID: 8140959
Filing Date: 2012-03-20
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method, comprising: providing on a display of a computer a spreadsheet template for estimating a quantity of an item used in a building project requiring one or more items, wherein the spreadsheet template comprises a tabbed summary worksheet and a plurality of tabbed input worksheets, each input worksheet relating to a particular subgroup of said building project, wherein a plurality of subgroups are categorized at least according to a floor or an area of said building project, and each input worksheet relating to such categorized subgroups comprising a plurality of cells marked for receiving a plurality of values, each value containing information about at least one dimension related to a particular floor or area of the building project, receiving, in said computer, a user input selecting one of the plurality of tabbed input worksheets relating to a particular categorized subgroup of said building project, displaying on said display the selected input worksheet in response to said user input, receiving, in said computer at least the value of at least one dimension relating to the particular floor or area of the building project inputted by a user in a predetermined marked cell of an input worksheet, calculating, in said computer, the quantity of the item based at least partly on said at least one dimension and a formula for calculating the quantity of the item required for said particular floor or area of the building project, generating, on said display, a list comprising the quantity of the item on the summary worksheet, and displaying on said display the quantity of the item in another cell of the input worksheet in which the formula for the calculation of the item is embedded, and wherein if the selected input worksheet provides that said item has a related component, the method further comprises calculating, in said computer, a quantity of said component related to the item based on the quantity of the item and a formula for the component, adding, in said computer, the quantity of the component to the list on the summary worksheet, and displaying on said display the quantity of the component in yet another cell of the input worksheet in which the formula for the calculation of the component is embedded.