It's supposed to be automatic, but actually you have to push this button. 

-John Brunner, Stand on Zanzibar

If only the work of assembling a complex design document could be that simple, yes? After you have entered specification data, placed objects in rooms, assigned costs and prices and done the myriad things needed to complete a project, there remains that one nagging question: "Did I get it right?" Fortunately, FF&EZ can eliminate a lot of the guessing about this, because you know that if you got it into the FF&E Worksheet, it will appear in the reports. If you entered the room count, the object quantities in each room, the product quantities needed to create a finished object and the costs, then the math will be done for you. If one document shows the data one way, you can be sure that another will show the same data. So that leaves you with a smaller set of questions:

• Did I use all the specs that I created in at least one object (except "alternates")?
• Did I mark the proper shipping destination for each product?
• Did I place all the objects that I created in at least one room?
• Did I enter a quantity for each component?
• Did I enter a quantity for each object in each room?
• Did I assign each spec to a vendor?
• Do I have cost quotes verified by the vendor? Have any expired?
• Did I enter a cost for each product?
• Did I enter a correct room count for each prototype room?
• Have all specifications been approved by the client or by the designer?

In many projects, it is quite normal to have specs and/or objects that were not used (especially if the design went through budget-related changes), but you will still want to be sure that all the products that you expected to use are actually in the FF&E Worksheet. 

In the case of leaving a component quantity or object room quantity zero, this could be a serious mistake that would underestimate the job cost (although it is also common to have a zero object quantity for finishes that are to be estimated by a contractor). 

Making a mistake on any of these can compromise your design or your orders, whether you are using FF&EZ or a simple spreadsheet, so here is how to check what you have done:

Did I use all the specs that I created in at least one object?

From the Specifications List screen, select Print, then select the "Specification Usage List" report. This report shows all your specs (used or not), which objects they were used in and where those objects were used (or not). The "Scope of specifications to include" report option lets you print only specs that were either not used in an object or were used in an object that was not placed in a room.

Did I mark the proper shipping destination for each product?

This is especially important if you have the Design/Purchasing system or if you plan to print the "Ordering Worksheet" to transmit to a procurement firm, because separate purchase orders must be generated if shipping destinations are different.  In versions 4.2 and later, the Specification List screen includes a column on the right side that tells you where an item will be shipped:

In addition to this column, the "Specification Usage & Shipping Review" report on the  Specifications and FF&E Worksheet screens includes details about shipping destinations.   

Did I place all the objects that I created in at least one room?

The Object List screen includes a "Typ'l Use" (typical use) column. If any objects have not been used in at least one room, this column will tell you so. Also, on the same screen you can select Print, then select the "Object Usage List" report. This report shows all your objects and where those objects were used (or not). This report's "Scope of objects to include" option lets you print only objects that were not placed in a room.

Did I enter a quantity for each component? Did I assign each spec to a vendor? Did I enter a cost for each product?

From either the FF&E Worksheet or the Object List screen, run the Setup Check utility. This will create a special query that looks for these specific conditions and shows you all the objects that match (meaning, for which these questions are not true). Of course, it is possible that some projects need to include "TBD" as a vendor, but now you have a list to check for those that shouldn't. 

Do I have cost quotes verified by the vendor? Have any expired?

This has the prerequisite that you have entered vendor quote IDs (or “V” for “Verbal” in the Vendor Quote status fields on your specs. If you have done this, you can use the Status Check utility on the Specification Screen to display all specs without a vendor quote entry. If you also entered a quote date and an expiration period (in days), the utility can also display those that have expired or will soon do so.

Did I enter a quantity for each object in each room? 

From the FF&E Worksheet, run the Setup Check utility. In addition to the checks described in the previous paragraph, the setup check on this screen also looks for worksheet entries with a quantity of zero. You can enter a quantity correction directly into the "Quantity" column on the worksheet. Again, in some projects, a zero quantity is expected ("quantity take-off by others").

Did I enter a correct room count for each prototype room? Does the total number of rooms match the expected total (e.g., room keys in a hotel)?

A room count of zero isn't allowed, but since there is no way for FF&EZ to know if a count of "1" is correct or not, the way to verify this is to simply double-check the Room List's "Qty" column. If you find a room quantity that is incorrect, simply enter a correction directly into that column.

In addition, if you want to check the room counts against an expected total (for instance "keys" in a hotel), mark each room you want to total with the "Include in room count total?" option on the Room List screen. The room count of each room with this "flag" will be totaled beneath the room list on that screen (and subtotaled by area).

Normally, most of the conditions described by the questions above are also highlighted in red on the screen involved, so be looking for that visual flag as you review your data, both in the main list and in any summary areas below. A red-flagged item is not necessarily a problem, but it does make it easier to verify that it is not.

Please keep in mind that this tool is supplied to help flag possible problems with your project setup. You must use your own judgment as to whether the items it finds are problems and whether there are other problems that may or may not need to be addressed. We cannot guarantee that this function will find every problem, especially those that are simply oversights or data entry errors in the descriptions or values in your data. After all, even spill check doesn't always wok perfectly.

Have all specifications been approved by the client or by the designer?

The "Status Fields" on the specification screen can be displayed using an option on the status bar at the bottom of the screen. The client and designer approval fields are date fields that can be used to note when a specification is approved. If you have created objects that use more than one product spec, you may want to know if all specs for that object have been marked as approved. To do this, you can use the Status Check utility on the Specification Screen to search for "No design approval date" or "No client approval date". 

You can also use the Query command from either the Object Screen (simplest) or the FF&E Worksheet and add a filter condition using either "Design has approved" or "Client has approved" and select "is false" as the comparison. This will produce a list of objects that have at least one component that has not been approved. If you want to mark the spec as approved, simply double-click it in the component list at the bottom. This will let you edit the spec and add an approval date. 

Note: When you save the "approved" spec, that record may disappear from the list of "problem" items, since it may no longer have non-approved specs as components. It will appear again when you use the Show All button at the top right of the list.

Finally, the Specification screen's Print command includes several "Specification Status" reports that list all status-related fields and their current value.

Variations on using Setup Check

Printing a check list: Since Setup Check and Status Check use the query system to create its list of possible problems, this means that you can also print that list with any report format found under the Print function on that screen.  This gives you a printed check list that can be passed to another person.

Simplifying what is checked: The Setup Check function on the FF&E Worksheet and Object screens is preset to look for all possible problems. As mentioned above, some "problems" may not be a concern for some types of projects or even entire firms. For instance, you may only be writing specifications, not pricing them, so missing costs and prices would not be something you want to check (in fact, this would put all your FF&E on the "problem list"). 

To make Setup Check function more useful for your work in this situation, deselect (or if applicable, add) check selections before you run it. 

Alternatively, you can remove conditions or add conditions of your own: After running the utility, click on the Query button to access the query that it has been built for you. Since the queries have a "plain English" description, find the conditions that you do not wish to use, highlight them, and use the Delete button on the right to remove that condition. You can use the "New Condition" section to add your own conditions just like a regular query. When you click on the Run Query button, a new search will be performed based on the currently active conditions. For more, see "Using Queries."