This site doesn't seem to support the direct uploading of .wmv files, so I've uploaded a 20 second demo to a free file host. You can get it here:-
Download Independ Calc.wmv from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way
The spreadsheet isn't pretty but very quick and functional.
The highlighted cells are as follows:-
Yellow- Input cells
Green- Default settings
Red- Calculated figures
Black- Cells that do the various calcs.
In this example, the input data returns a job requiring 1159m galv tube, 743 couplers and 96 boards (total weight of 7538 kg) and with a suggested cost to the customer of £2922.52 for 4 weeks hire and £88.55 per week extra hire thereafter.
The default settings and all of the hidden settings can be adjusted to enable the user to mimic his preferred method of pricing. For example, some folk seem to make little differentiation between the length of time it takes to erect 10 lineal metres of lift 2, 3 and 4 respectively. In reality, there is a subtle difference and my settings reflect that. However, the sheet can be set to equalise productivity assumptions for lifts 2, 3 and 4 if the user so requires.
Similarly, some users might prefer to treat transport as an overhead and not, as I preferred, to class it as a direct cost. My preference was arrived at to limit the amount of work that I won at distance.
So, after an initial one off tweak to force the sheet to create figures which mimic your current pricing policy, it will create error free calcs in seconds.
Version 2 of the sheet which is nearly completed generates a detailed load list and can cope with four separate elevations (connected or not) on one sheet.