Search - User Guide

Import files from Electrika Desktop

Organizing files » Import files from Electrika Desktop

If you have been using Electrika Desktop for years you may have hundreds of files on your local machine. To use them in Electrika Cloud you need to use the Electrika Uploader. How do I import or bring files from Electrika Desktop? First upload files using Electrika…

Changing shared folder permissions

Organizing folders » Changing shared folder permissions

When a folder is shared it is set with ‘Can Edit’ persmission by default. Users with ‘Can Edit’ access to a folder can open and edit any file within that folder. Users with ‘Can Read’ access cannot open the files but can view PDF…

Searching for files

Organizing files » Searching for files

Searching could be particularly useful once you have a lot of files and folders. How do I search for a file? Select the field to search by from the list as marked in blue. Type in the search terms and click on ‘Search’ button. To clear the search…

Using the clipboard

Working with parts » Using the clipboard

The clipboard is useful for checking parts that were copied or cut earlier. If you have copied a lot of parts but wish to paste only a selection of them, then this can be done using the clipboard. How do I use the clipboard? Click on the ‘Clipboard’…

Searching for e-Catalogue parts

Working with parts » Adding parts » Searching for e-Catalogue parts

How do I add a part to a quote, local data or kit while staying on the parts list? Start typing a part number in the Cat Number Search edit box. As you start typing the part number, the system will suggest the relevant parts. You can select any one of the…

Searching other tools for parts

Working with parts » Adding parts » Searching other tools for parts

The search bar at the bottom of the parts list is very powerful and it is worth spending some time familiarizing yourself with how it works. It not only allows you to search the Electrika e-Catalogues but also lets you search any other tool. How do I search the…

Searching for parts by description

Working with parts » Adding parts » Searching for parts by description

How to add parts by description search? Type in the search terms in the description search edit box. This will display a dialog box with the ten most relevant search results. Click the button to add a part to the parts list.

Editing the labour type

Working with parts » Using different labour types » Editing the labour type

How do I edit the labour type? Click on the labour type ‘Name’ or ‘Rate/Hr’ you wish to edit. This will display a dialog to edit labour type ‘Name’ or ‘Rate/Hr’.

Customizing the email signature

Creating and managing reports » Organizing reports » Customizing the email signature

How do I add an email signature? Click on the ‘Email Signature’ link. This will display a dialog box where you can enter your email signature. How do I add logos to my email signature? Click on the ‘Add footer logo’ link in the…

Updating prices for cat / local parts

Working with parts » Updating prices for cat / local parts

How do I update e-Catalogue or local data trade prices? Click on the ‘Update Prices’ button. This will display a dialog with two options whether to update e-Catalogue parts, local data parts or both. Click on the ‘Update’ button…

Customizing the header with logo

Creating and managing reports » Organizing reports » Customizing the header with logo

How do I add my company logo to the cover page? Click on the ‘Company logo’ link to browse for an image file and add to your cover page. Click on the ‘Preview’ tab to preview the cover page How do I add my company address to the cover…

Adding a Kit to the Kit library

Working with parts » Using kits (assemblies) » Adding a Kit to the Kit library

You may create a kit in a quote and want to reuse it for other files in the future. How do I add or copy a kit to the kit library and active kit folder? The kit library is way for you to organize your kits and make them available to other tools such as the local data…

Organizing folders

Managing hundreds of quotes or “files” can sometimes be a difficult task in itself, Electrika gives you a powerful way to take control of your workflow and help with folders. Folders work the same throughout the whole of the application including Quotes,…

How to create a local database

Your local database » How to create a local database

How do I create a local database? Select the “Local Data” button on the top bar and then use the folder navigation on the left to break your database of products into smaller chunks e.g Lighting > Emergency Lighting With the preferred folder…

Organizing files

All of your Quotes, Orders, Invoices, Local Data, Kits and Contacts. are held as files and are stored in the pre-mentioned folders. Some options may or may not be available depending on the type of file you are working on. The example images in this guide or be…

Using different labour types

Working with parts » Using different labour types

Labour comes in many forms, and Electrika gives you the ability to create as many labour types as you wish, this could be for a group of people like apprentices or even for an individual. Assigning labour to a part Adding a new labour type Editing the labour…

Working with parts

To build a quote you can either add parts directly from our 160,000 parts database, add your own parts or import data from another source such as a manufactures trade price list. Adding parts Deleting parts Using cut, copy and paste Using the clipboard Using…

Working with Sections (Items)

Most projects are divided into different sections with a subtotal for easier reading for the client. For example, a new housing electrical rewire might consist of sections with following names – living room, kitchen, landing, bathroom, bedroom 1 and bedroom…

Adding parts

Working with parts » Adding parts

There are many ways to add products to a quotation, this section will guide you through this process. Adding your own parts Adding parts from e-Catalogues Searching for e-Catalogue parts Filtering e-Catalogues Adding parts between tools Searching other tools…

Using kits (assemblies)

Working with parts » Using kits (assemblies)

Kits are a very powerful tool that allow you to combine items together to allow for quick creation and scalability to your quotations. for example – switch back box, faceplate and wiring x 5. Creating a Kit Expanding and collapsing a Kit Adding a Kit to the…

Creating and managing reports

Electrika has powerful and customizable reporting tools for quotes, invoices and orders. These reports give you the option to track e-mail and it for you once your report has been read. Organizing reports Printing and exporting reports Emailing…

Managing different currencies

For the benefit of our international users, we have included the ability to use Electrika in any desired currency. If you would like to use any currency other than GBP you would first need to setup your preferred currency. In the following links you’ll find…

Organizing reports

Creating and managing reports » Organizing reports

Customer and internal reports Excluding certain pages Including or excluding prices Changing page size Customizing the header with logo Adding project site details Customizing footer logo and text Customizing the email signature Adding Terms &…

Organizing companies and contacts

Companies and contacts can be linked with projects and are organised in very much the same Quotes, Orders, Invoices, Local Data, and Kits. A company can have multiple contacts, as well as contacts having multiple links to different companies. Adding a new…

Price buildup

Understanding the breakdown of your quotation is important to ensure accuracy. Electrika gives a breakdown of material, labour, overhead and profit as well as preliminaries. Understanding price buildup Cost prices Overhead and profit Preliminaries, extras and…

Getting started

In this section will cover the basics of setting up a project, assigning companies and contacts, attaching project files and adding internal and external notes. Starting a new quote General project details Linking companies to a project Adding contacts to a…

Your local database

Although the Electrika product catalogue is fairly comprehensive, you may many reasons want to build your own product database. You can do this in Electrika by creating a local database and either adding parts manually or by importing from excel. How to create a…

Emailing reports

Creating and managing reports » Emailing reports

Sending reports using Electrika, allows you to track click thoughts to your quote, invoice or order to gauge interest. When you send your e-mail from Electrika it will in fact look as if it’s from your own email address, and any replies will come directly back…

Import from excel into a local database

Your local database » Import from excel into a local database

How do I add parts into a local database section? Parts can be added as Blank Specials, from Catalogues, Local Data and Kits using the search tools or by importing from Excel. How do I import from excel into a local database? Importing from excel is the…

Setting up install times and discounts

In the section will cover setting up and sharing of installation times and discounts. Applying install times and discounts Sharing install times and discounts

Welcome

Introducing Electrika Cloud Welcome to Electrika Cloud, providing you with powerful and flexible cloud-based tools for estimating, invoicing and ordering. You can now produce your quotes on any device and easily share quotes, orders, invoices, local data, kits and…

Sharing folders

Organizing folders » Sharing folders

You can share your folders with any Electrika Cloud user, and you can give them ‘Can Read’ or ‘Can Edit’ permissions. How do I share folders? To share a folder highlight it and click on the ‘Share’ button. This will bring…

Copying files

Organizing files » Copying files

Electrika Online has two ways of copying a file: Copy as new revision or Copy as new quote. Copy as new revision will automatically increment a reference on the filename, to easily keep track of updated revisions of the same quote. Copy as new quote will create a new…

Adding your own parts

Working with parts » Adding parts » Adding your own parts

How do I add my own parts? If the Electrika e-Catalogues are not suitable for your industry, or they do not have all the parts you require, there are a number of ways to add your own parts. In the longer term you should build your own local database. In the short…

Setting a default labour type

Working with parts » Using different labour types » Setting a default labour type

The default labour type is used whenever a part is added from the Electrika e-Catalouges. How do I set default labour type? Click on the radio button on the labour type row.

Adding a blank special

Working with parts » Adding parts » Adding a blank special

A blank special is a custom part that you can add if the part is not present in any of the Electrika e-Catalogues or your local data. For a blank special part all the columns can be edited including the trade price. How do I add a blank special part? Click on the…

Adding a new company

Organizing companies and contacts » Adding a new company

In Electrika Cloud you must first create a company and then add contacts to that company. In this way you can have multiple contacts grouped together under the same company. How do I add a new company? To add a new company, click on the ‘New’ button, to…

Importing & exporting parts

Working with parts » Importing & exporting parts

If you have a parts list in Excel format you can import them into the active parts list. How do I import parts? Click on the ‘Import Excel’ button. This will display an upload dialog. Browse for the Excel file to import and click the…

Sharing install times and discounts

Setting up install times and discounts » Sharing install times and discounts

How do I share install times and discounts? Click on the ‘Share Install Times & Discounts’ button. This will display a dialog box where you can type in the email address of another Electrika Cloud user and click ‘Share’ Once the…

Setting up a default address column

Organizing companies and contacts » Setting up a default address column

You can add upto six lines for the address details. To keep the contacts list short and clear only one address column is displayed when you are browsing the companies, and this is called the ‘default address column’. The default address column is also used…

Deleting files

Organizing files » Deleting files

How do I delete files? To delete files, select one or multiple files and click on the ‘Delete’ button. These files are then moved to the ‘Recycle Bin’ folder. To delete the files permanently select files from ‘Recycle Bin’…

Moving folders

Organizing folders » Moving folders

To organize your folder structure you may want to move your folder to a new location i.e. under a different parent folder. How do I move a folder to a new location? Select the folder you wish to move and then click on the ‘Move’ button. A message…

Adding, renaming, deleting folders

Organizing folders » Adding, renaming, deleting folders

Adding a folder How do I add folders? To add a folder, select the folder called ‘General’ or any subfolders and click the ‘New’ button. You cannot add folders to ‘All Files’, ‘My Files’, ‘Recycle Bin’ or…

Removing users from shared folders

Organizing folders » Removing users from shared folders

How do I remove a user from a shared folder? Click on the shared folder to select it and then click on the ‘Share’ button. This will show a dialog with the list of users sharing the folder. Click to remove a user from the shared…

Copying companies

Organizing companies and contacts » Copying companies

How do I copy a company? Select the companies you wish to copy and click the ‘Copy’ button. Select a folder where you wish to place the copied companies. If you wish to cancel the copy simply click on the ‘Cancel’ button. *If you wish to…

Moving files to different folders

Organizing files » Moving files to different folders

Sometimes you may want to move a file to a different folder to organize your files. How do I move files? Select a file and click on ‘Move’ button. Then select a destination folder of your wish and the selected file will be moved in the destination…

Repositioning folders

Organizing folders » Repositioning folders

How do I move folders up or down? Click on the folder to select it and then click on the ‘Up’ or ‘Down’ buttons to move the folder up or down.

Moving companies

Organizing companies and contacts » Moving companies

How do I move a company to a different folder? Select the companies you wish to move. Select a folder where you wish to move the companies. If you wish to cancel the move simply click on the ‘Cancel’ button.

Starting a new quote

Getting started » Starting a new quote

How do I start a new quote? New quotes are created in the folder that is highlighted in the left hand window To start a new quote, click the ‘New’ Quote button. After clicking the ‘New’ button you will be redirected to the Project Details…

Assigning a supplier to a part

Working with parts » Assigning a supplier to a part

How do I assign a supplier to a part? Click on a cell in the ‘Supplier’ column. This will display a list of Suppliers. These suppliers are the list of companies in the ‘Suppliers’ folder in your contact manager. To assign a…

Preliminaries, extras and MCD

Price buildup » Preliminaries, extras and MCD

The preliminaries, extras and Main Contractors Discount are spread across all the material and labour to form a unit rate for every part and create a Schedule of Rates. For each of the costs you can choose whether to spread them over material, labour or both. The…

Cost prices

Price buildup » Cost prices

Material cost The material cost is the total net price after discount for all the parts in the project. The material cost for the project are broken down by product group as shown below. Labour cost The unit labour cost is the unit labour rate (£/hour)…

Attaching your files

Getting started » Attaching your files

Sometimes it can be useful to attach some files with the project for reference. For example, an Auto Cad drawing file, Excel or PDF document. How do I attach files to a project? Click on the ‘Browse for files’ button to browse for files you want to…

Adding internal and external notes

Getting started » Adding internal and external notes

Notes could be crucial to explain certain details, either for customers or other colleagues. Customer notes are printed on the reports, whereas the internal notes are not. To add notes to a project, click on the the memo field for internal notes or customer…

Assigning labour to a part

Working with parts » Using different labour types » Assigning labour to a part

The labour rate is used with the unit hours to work out the labour cost for every part. For example if the labour rate is £25 per hour with half an hour install time then the labour cost will be £12.50 How do I assign labour to a part? Move the highlight to the…

Overhead and profit

Price buildup » Overhead and profit

Overhead and profit markups% can be applied to individual parts or at Item (section) level to material, labour, plant and equipment and subcontract. The accumulated overhead and profit for all the parts is totalled here for material, labour, plant and equipment and…

Applying install times and discounts

Setting up install times and discounts » Applying install times and discounts

How do I apply install times and discounts to a e-Catalogue part? Click on the ‘Disc%’ or ‘Hours’ column for a part you wish to apply an install time or discount. If you click ‘Disc%’ a dialog to edit the discount value will…

Importing and exporting contacts

Organizing companies and contacts » Importing and exporting contacts

You can import from Excel files in .xls or .xlsx format. The companies and contacts are exported in .xlsx format. To import companies with multiple contacts the company details must repeated alongside the contact details for each the different contacts. To clearly…

Searching companies and contacts

Organizing companies and contacts » Searching companies and contacts

How to search for a contact? Select the column you wish to search from the drop down menu. Type in the search terms and click on the ‘Search’ button. To clear the search result click on the ‘Clear’ button to revert back to the orignal…

Inserting a heading

Working with parts » Adding parts » Inserting a heading

It is sometimes useful to insert headings within the parts list to make the layout clearer for your client. How do I insert a heading in the parts list? Move the highlight to the row where you wish to insert a heading. Click on the ‘Heading’ button and…

Attaching files to emails

Creating and managing reports » Emailing reports » Attaching files to emails

How do I attach other files to the report email? To attach other files to the report email click on the ‘Browse for files’ button.

Setting a default labour types list

Working with parts » Using different labour types » Setting a default labour types list

The default labour types list is used whenever a new file is created. Any changes made to the labour types list stays with that file, so the labour rates can be set separately for each project. How do I set a default labour types list? Click on the ‘Save as…

Switching between different views

Working with Sections (Items) » Switching between different views

How do I switch views? Views is a powerful feature that allows you to focus on one part of the pricing at a time and keeps the display clean and simple. This is particularly used for devices such as tablets that have limited screen size. To switch between different…

Managing follow-ups notes

Organizing files » Managing follow-ups notes

Follow-ups are used to keep track of all the follow-ups regarding some quote. It helps you keep notes about particular customers or specific jobs. How do I add Follow-up notes? To add Follow-up notes, click on This will display a dialog where you can get…

Including Tax or VAT

Creating and managing reports » Organizing reports » Including Tax or VAT

How do I include tax or VAT? Click on the ‘Add’ check box as shown below to add tax or VAT to your tender price. You can change the label of the tax type as required by typing in the text box outlined in red below. You can change the value of the tax…

Switching between different views

Working with parts » Switching between different views

Views is a powerful feature that allows you to focus on one part of the pricing at a time and keeps the display clean and simple. This is particularly used for devices such as tablets that have limited screen size. How do I switch views? To switch between different…

Linking companies to a project

Getting started » Linking companies to a project

You can link any number of companies that are related to a project. This can include the main client and also wholesalers for purchasing the materials, sites or any other related addresses. How do I link a company to a project? To link companies to the project,…

Customer and internal reports

Creating and managing reports » Organizing reports » Customer and internal reports

Separate reports have been designed for customer and internal use. Customer reports are designed to include a cover page and / or terms and include only certain columns. The internal reports can contain more detailed information such as overhead and profit markups,…

Customizing footer logo and text

Creating and managing reports » Organizing reports » Customizing footer logo and text

How do I add a footer logo to my cover page? Click on the ‘Add footer logo’ and browse for up to three logo image files. You can remove the logos by clicking on the button. How do I add the footer text to my cover page? Click on the…

Using cut, copy and paste

Working with parts » Using cut, copy and paste

You can copy and paste parts between all files and all tools. For example, you can copy parts from local data or kits and paste them into quotes or vice versa. How do I cut or copy parts? Select parts you wish to cut or copy and click on the ‘Cut’ or…

Currency conversion

Managing different currencies » Currency conversion

If you have set up a currency other than GBP you might want to add parts with trade prices converted to your currency value. Create a file with currency other than GBP Now add parts to the parts list. If your default currency is something other than GBP, a dialog…

Excluding certain pages

Creating and managing reports » Organizing reports » Excluding certain pages

You may not want to print or email all the report pages. For example, you may want to skip the cover page or the terms & conditions page. How do I include or exclude the cover page? Check / Uncheck the ‘Include cover page’ checkbox. How do I include…

Updating or deleting contacts

Organizing companies and contacts » Updating or deleting contacts

How do I update a contact? To update a contact, expand the company that contains the contact you wish to update. Click on the button. How do I delete a contact? To delete a contact, expand the company that contains the contact you wish to delete. Click on…

Creating a Kit

Working with parts » Using kits (assemblies) » Creating a Kit

A Kit consists of parts that you wish to group together, and can even consist of a complete project which represents a typical installation. There is no limit to the number of Kits you can create or the number of parts you can add to a Kit. Kits can be…

Managing email read notifications

Creating and managing reports » Emailing reports » Managing email read notifications

Read notifications are related to email tracking. You will be sent an email telling you that the recipent has clicked the link inside the email to view the report. Unlike email read receipts you do not get an email until the user actually views the report. If you…

Expanding and collapsing a Kit

Working with parts » Using kits (assemblies) » Expanding and collapsing a Kit

How do I view the kit parts? Click on to view the kit menu. Click on the ‘Expand / Collapse kit’ link from the menu to expand or collapse the kit to be able to view the parts. The part marked in red below is the kit header that summurizes the…

Tracking report emails

Creating and managing reports » Emailing reports » Tracking report emails

Once a report email has been sent you may want to know if the receiver has actually viewed the report. This would be particularly useful if you have opted to not send any read notifications via email. How do I track an email? Go to the File manager and click on the…

Setting Sections as optional

Working with Sections (Items) » Setting Sections as optional

Optional Sections are excluded from the total price of the project and can be displayed separately on the reports. They can also be left out of the reports. How do I set optional Sections? Click on the link in the column with the heading ‘Optional?’ the…

Adding project site details

Creating and managing reports » Organizing reports » Adding project site details

How do I add site details to the report? You have to link a company to your project in order to add it as a site. Once you have associated a company with your project click on the ‘Site details’ link. This will display a dialog showing the…

Tender sell

Price buildup » Tender sell

The Tender sell includes all the costs, markups and spread costs. Adjustment Value The preliminaries, extras and Main Contractors Discount are spread across the material and labour to create an itemised Schedule of Rates. This creates a rounding difference because…

Setting a default company or contact

Organizing companies and contacts » Setting a default company or contact

You can link multiple companies to a project but one of them must be set as the default that will appear on the report cover page. Similarly a company can have multiple contacts but only one of them can be set as the default and their details will appear on the…

Renaming Sections

Working with Sections (Items) » Renaming Sections

How do I rename a Section? Select the Section that you wish to rename by highlighting it. Click on the selected Section, this will display an edit box where you can type in the new name. Type the Section name and click or press the ‘Enter’ key…

Linking companies to a project

Organizing companies and contacts » Linking companies to a project

Any number of companies can be linked to your project including customers, sites and suppliers. The companies are linked to a project (not copied) and so any changes made within the project will be reflected in the contact manager and vice versa . How do I link a…

Copying discounts to multiple parts

Working with parts » Copying discounts to multiple parts

Highlight a part whose supplier or discount you wish to copy. Click on the ‘Copy Disc’ button. Now select if you wish to copy supplier text and/or the discount%. Select if you wish to copy the supplier or discount to any number of parts, to all…

Opening a Section and adding parts

Working with Sections (Items) » Opening a Section and adding parts

How do I open a Section to add parts? Click on the ‘Open’ link on the Section you wish to open. The section will be opened and become the Active section. You will be taken to the Active tab where you can then proceed to add…

Switching to a different Item

Working with parts » Switching to a different Item

You may want to switch between different Items or sections while staying on the parts list page. How do I switch to a different Item or section? Click on the active Item drop down to display the list of Items in the file. How do I start a new Item or section…

Locating cat / local parts

Working with parts » Locating cat / local parts

Locating parts can be useful if you wish to see where the part is located within the e-Catalogues or local data. How do I locate a part from the quote? Select an e-Catalogue or local data part that you wish to locate. Click on the ‘Locate’…

Filtering e-Catalogues

Working with parts » Adding parts » Filtering e-Catalogues

You may want to restrict or filter the suggestions to certain manufacturers only. How do I filter search suggestions to certain manufacturers only? Click on the button, to display a list of manufacturers and un-select the ones that you wish to exclude from the…

Adding parts between tools

Working with parts » Adding parts » Adding parts between tools

How do I add parts between quotes, local data and kits? Here we will assume that you want to add parts from the local data to a quote. Select the local data parts that you wish to add to a quote. Click on the ‘Add to Quote’ button to add the selected…

Changing cat / local parts to specials

Working with parts » Changing cat / local parts to specials

If you change an e-Catalogue or local part to a special you can then change the trade price to any value. *If you change a part to a special then its price will no longer be updated when you use the Update Prices feature. How do I change an e-Catalogue or local part…

Adding a new contact to a company

Organizing companies and contacts » Adding a new contact to a company

How do I add a contact person to a company? Click on the button on the company that you want to add the contact. At any time you can click on the Grid Expand button to see the contacts associated with the company.

Adding, copying and deleting Sections

Working with Sections (Items) » Adding, copying and deleting Sections

How do I add a new Section? Click on the ‘New’ button to add a new Item to the end of the list. How do I copy a Section? Select the Section that you wish to copy by highlighting it and then click the ‘Copy’ button. How do I delete…

Adding parts from e-Catalogues

Working with parts » Adding parts » Adding parts from e-Catalogues

How do I to add parts to a quote, local data or kit from the catalouges? Select the parts that you wish to add to your quote, local data or kit from any of the catalogues. Click the ‘Add To Local’, ‘Add To Kit’ or ‘Add To Quote’…

Adding notes to a part

Working with parts » Adding notes to a part

How do I add notes to a part? Click on icon. This will display a dialog where you can type in the note regarding the part. Once the note is added, the icon will change too To view the note hover your mouse over the icon.

Moving contacts between companies

Organizing companies and contacts » Moving contacts between companies

How do I move a contact to another company? Click on to expand the company and view their contacts. Select the destination company where you want to move the contact. Click on the button on the contact that you wish to move.

General project details

Getting started » General project details

How do I enter general project details? To edit the details, click on the blank space and the edit box will appear. After typing the details you want, press Enter or click on to submit. To cancel, press Esc or click on .

Changing project status

Organizing files » Changing project status

Project status lets you know the status of the project whether it is won, lost, in-progress etc. How do I change status? Click on the status button. A dialog will appear where you can choose from and change the status.

Understanding price buildup

Price buildup » Understanding price buildup

The final tender price is made up of material, labour, plant and equipment, subcontract and spread costs. Material, labour, plant and equipment and subcontract costs can all have overhead and profit markups. Spread costs are made up of preliminaries (eg.…

Updating or deleting companies

Organizing companies and contacts » Updating or deleting companies

How do I update a company? Click on the button. How do I delete a company? Select the company you wish to delete. Click on the ‘Delete’ button. Note *If the company is linked to one of the projects it cannot be…

Including or excluding prices

Creating and managing reports » Organizing reports » Including or excluding prices

How do I include or exclude price or discount? You can choose whether to display Item prices and / or part prices and also whether to show the tender price on the cover page by ticking the check boxes as shown below.