Documentation

Cost Impact — Configuration & reference

Cost Impact configuration: toolbar controls, region factor (city multipliers), imperial vs metric units, custom cost items, CSV import/export, and the legal disclaimer.

Cost Impact — Configuration & reference

Toolbar Controls

Key / Control	Action
▼ Expand	Show/hide the breakdown panel with line items, confidence dots, and scope chips
Live ON/OFF	Toggle automatic recalculation when markups change
↻ Recalculate	Manually refresh the cost summary from the database
Export PDF	Formatted PDF report with header, summary box, itemised table, and disclaimer
Export CSV	Spreadsheet with all columns including confidence, scope_type, manual_override
Clear	Delete impacts; prompts whether to keep manually-overridden rows

Region Factor (City Multipliers)

The region factor is a blended multiplier covering material, labour, and equipment cost indices for your location. Labour costs vary significantly by province and city — the composite factor accounts for this. Select your city from Costs → Cost Library.

Key / Control	Action
National Average	1.00×
Toronto, ON	1.18×
Vancouver, BC	1.24×
Calgary, AB	1.10×
Edmonton, AB	1.04×
Montreal, QC	1.06×
Ottawa, ON	1.05×
Halifax, NS	0.93×
New York, NY	1.35×
San Francisco, CA	1.42×

Tip: Region factors are composite indices derived from RSMeans, Statistics Canada, and the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics. They are a blended multiplier — material and labour costs are not split separately. For projects where labour is the dominant cost (MEP, structural), consider applying a manual adjustment via a custom library item.

Imperial vs Metric Units (Per-Project)

Each project has a unit system: Metric (m, sqm) or Imperial (ft, sqft). The toggle is in Projects → Project Settings → Unit System — and there's a quick segmented switch on the Cost Impact toolbar so you can flip the display while reviewing.

Tip: Switching unit systems only changes how numbers are displayed — your quantities aren't rewritten. That means you can flip back and forth freely with no rounding drift, and teammates who prefer different units can collaborate on the same project — each sees their own.

Unit costs convert the same way: a library item priced at $65/sqm displays as $6.04/sqft in imperial mode. Cost reports and CSV exports use whichever unit system was active when they were generated — the file's header notes which one.

Custom Cost Items

Open Costs → Cost Library, click + Custom Item, and enter the item code, description, unit, and material/labour/equipment costs. Custom items are saved to the local SQLite database and persist across sessions.

Import / Export

The library can be exported to RSMeans-style CSV for editing in Excel, then re-imported. Cost reports export as CSV or PDF from the toolbar or the Costs menu.

Legal Disclaimer

Important Notice:
All cost figures generated by LocusBIM are rough-order-of-magnitude estimates intended solely for early-stage planning, design comparison, and budgetary reference. They are not quotations, bids, or contractually binding prices.

LocusBIM does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any cost data. Actual construction costs depend on market conditions, supplier pricing, labour agreements, site conditions, code requirements, and numerous other variables beyond the scope of this software.

Always engage a licensed quantity surveyor, professional estimator, or qualified contractor to obtain formal pricing for budgeting, tendering, or contractual purposes. LocusBIM Technologies Inc. assumes no liability for any loss, damage, or dispute arising from reliance on these estimates.