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LOTS IN HOMEBUILDER

Learn how to set up Lots for complete construction project management and tracking.

In this Article:

Lots Overview | Lot Card | Lot Customers & Contacts | Import Lot Purchasers

General Overview of Lots in HomeBuilder

Lot Management is essential to your operations.

Lots are used to control the ownership, Budget, actuals, and Scheduling and Task Operations of the Lot upon which the Model is to be built. Once everything is set up in the HomeBuilder database, the Lots system functionality collates all this information and becomes a hub for construction management and tracking.

Note

Because the Lot page is central to the whole system, it links to many more areas than other parts of the system.

It is also one of the last things to be set up, as it requires all the "Related" areas (shown below) to be set up to be used properly.

From the business perspective, a Lot represents the following:

  • For Low Rise: the piece of land where one house (or townhouse) will be built, and the house itself.
  • For High Rise: the unit in a condominium and/or the floor itself.
 

Buttons available on the Ribbon

Search for Lots. Your first available area on the ribbon is called Home, and it has submenus called Actions, Related, Related\ Other, and Reports. The buttons available are:

  • Home

  • Actions

  • Related

    • House Areas - provides information about individual house areas, like Bedrooms 1, 2, Basement or Backyard.
    • Closing Dates - provides options for inputting Lot Closing Dates and Adjustment names.
    • Customer and Contacts- these buttons will bring you to Customers and Contacts assigned to the highlighted Lot. (this is in addition to Customers and Contacts - both are searchable using the magnifying glass and part of the standard Business Central functionality.)
    • Sales Log - Provides Lot Sales History with Sale Status, Date and Customer names.
    • Job Cost Ledger Entries - opens up a table containing Ledger Entries posted on that Lot.
    • Workflows - This page will bring you to the Lot Workflows page. See Construction Workflow Templates for general information.
    • Key Dates - see Lot vs. Phase Key Dates , or for setup and general information, go to Key Dates
    • Comments - provides options for inputting Lot Comments and associated Monetary Values.
    • Posted Adjustment Entries - see Lot Closing.
    • Dimensions- will bring the Dimensions for the Project, i.e., your Lot.

  • Reports

    • Cost Detail (Excel) - exports a structured report containing detailed financial reporting information pertaining to that specific Lot (per Cost Detail). For summary information for all Lots in one place, select, Lot Cost Summary Report.

Lot Card FastTabs and Field Definitions

This part of the article describes areas on the Lot Card that can be minimized or expanded. They are called FastTabs.

Lot Fasttab - General

This section contains general information about the Lot, including Phase and Lot Codes, Address details, Sales Status, and other information related to the state of the Lot. Most of the field names explain their function as well.

Field Name Purpose
Model Code Specifies the model which will be built on the lot. On changing the Model Code the Lot Budget will be re-populated from the Model Budget of the selected model.
Sited The action of siting adds all the 'Base Contract' planning lines created based on the Model Code (from the Model Items) of the Lot. This boolean flag indicates if siting has been executed for the lot.
Released If set to Yes, means that the 'base contract' planning lines of the Lot are released for construction.
"Sales Status", "Sited", and "Released" Informational only and Non-editable fields that are updated when you perform one of the actions from the Actions button on the ribbon
   

Lot Fasttabs Purchaser and Purchaser Contacts

Shows information related to the purchaser of the Lot.

Field Name Purpose
Customer No A lookup to the Customers in Business Central. This means that before assigning to a Lot, the corresponding Customer record should be created using standard Business Central functionality.
Name, Phone No. & E-mail Information fields that are automatically added from the Customer information
   
 
Note

You can only change the purchaser ("Customer") if the "Sales Status" is not "Sold Conditional" or "Sold Firm".

These statuses are both considered legal contract conditions between the purchaser and Home Builder, that require a change of sales status before allowing the sale to another purchaser.

Lot FastTab - Land

This section contains non-mandatory, informational-only fields related to the land of the Lot.

Enter whatever makes sense to your business.

Lot FastTab - Sales

This section contains information related to lot pricing and deposits.

 
Note

A user can only see this section if this user has the Functional Permission 'Lot prices'.

Assign this permission under the Functional Roles in page 'User Card. Search Users, then select a User Card.

Field Name Purpose
Model Price The price associated with the combination of Model and Lot Type (Model Lot Types). It gets retrieved from the most recent "Model Lot Type" record on assigning Model Code to the Lot.
Original Price The original price of the Lot. Normally, it is the same as the Model Price.
Premium Amount An additional price (over and above the Model/Lot Type price) related to the premium conditions of the Lot, for example, lake view, ravine lot, etc.
Offer Price Sum of Original Price and Premium Amount.
Amendment The total price amount including taxes of Lot Selection Packages, i.e. upgrades and extras.
Total Price Sum of Original Price and Premium Amount.
Deposits The sum of the Posted Lot Installments which are not invoiced.
Outstanding Amount The Total Price less Deposits.
   

Lot Fasttab - Budgeting

This is a system-calculated Budget Summary page.

It includes a Cost, Revenue and Profit matrix by Estimated, Planned, Actual, Outstanding values and Completion %.

 
Note

  • A user can see this section only if this user has the Functional Role 'Exceed Budget'

  • You can assign this permission on the Function Role in page 'User Card' Search Users, then select a User.

Lot Fasttab - Milestones

This is a quick overview of your Construction Schedule for the Lot. It is an automatically created (reduced list) of Lot Key Dates showing only those marked as a Milestone.

Lot Fasttab - Closing

This is a quick view, summary of the key Closing Dates containing only original and current closing dates with the current Adjustment Type.

For a full list of Closing Dates click on the Lot ribbon, select Related, then select "Closing Dates".

Lot Fasttab - Legal

This section contains non-mandatory, informational-only fields related to the legal information for this Lot. Enter whatever makes sense to your business.

Lot Fasttab - Construction

This section contains non-mandatory, informational-only fields related to construction specifics (e.g., Noise Impact Report, Positioning on the Lot, etc.) that could be of use to retain for future reference. Can be used to suit an individual Home Builder's business needs.

Portal Integration

Displays the status of your HomeBuilder System connection to the HomeBuilder Portal. The Portal enables your Team to interact with home purchasers and document change orders or Color Chart selections agreed to. There are also ways for Vendors to interact with your admin team. More information after you log into our HomeBuilder Portal.

 
Technical Note

Lots are represented by the Business Central table, "Jobs."

Lot Card

The page "Lot Card" allows users to enter a new Lot or edit an existing one. To access, search Lots, then click on the Lot that you want to adjust.

The page is broken down by the following FastTabs. Each Fasttab has multiple fields. We have explained the most relevant fields in each FastTab:

FastTab General

This section contains general information about the Lot, including Phase, Lot Code, Address, Sales Status, and other information related to the state of the Lot. Most of the fields are self-explanatory.

  • Job No.
    • "No." of the job which represents the Lot. This is a standard Business Central field. It is shown when the flag "Lot Code same as Job No." in the HomeBuilder Setup is set to 'Yes', otherwise it is hidden and assigned automatically using "Job Nos." (number series) defined in the "Jobs Setup" page.
  • Lot Code.
    • When the flag "Lot Code same as Job No." in the HomeBuilder Setup is set to 'Yes', the "Lot Code" gets populated from the "Job No." after entering "Phase Code".
  • Model Code.
    • Specifies the model which will be built on the lot. On changing the Model Code the Lot Budget will be re-populated from the Model Budget of the selected Model.
  • Sited.
    • The action of siting adds all the 'base contract' planning lines created based on the Model Code (from the Model Items) of the Lot. This flag indicates if siting has been executed for the lot.
  • Released.
    • If set to Yes, it means that the 'base contract' planning lines of the Lot are released for construction.
 
Note

Fields "Sales Status", "Sited", and "Released" are non-editable. You cannot just click on them to change, but perform one of the Actions described here.

FastTab Purchaser

Shows information related to the purchaser of the Lot. The Field "Customer No." refers to Customers in Business Central. This means that before assigning to a Lot, the corresponding Customer record should be created using standard Business Central functionality.

The Field "Customer No." is editable if "Sales Status" is set to 'Unsold/Available'.

The rest of the fields in this section are read-only. They get retrieved from the corresponding Customer record. (Search: Customers and select the relevant Customer to open a Customer Card)

FastTab Land

This section contains informational fields related to the land of the Lot.

FastTab Sales

This section contains information related to the Lot pricing and deposits. A user can see this section only if this user has a functional permission 'CAN SEE LOT PRICES,' which can be assigned through a function role in the page 'User Card'(First, search Users, then select a User Card. You will need proper permissions to assign new permissions.)

  • Model Price.
    • The price associated with the combination Model/Lot Type (see Section "Model Lot Types"). It gets retrieved from the most recent "Model Lot Type" record when assigning a Model Code to the Lot.
  • Original Price.
    • The original price of the Lot. Normally, it is the same as the Model Price.
  • Premium Amount.
    • Additional price related to the premium conditions of the Lot, for example.: lake view, ravine lot, etc.
  • Offer Price.
    • Sum of the Original Price and the Premium Amount.
  • Amendment.
    • The total price amount, including taxes, of Lot Selection Packages, i.e., Upgrades and Extras.
  • Total Price.
    • The sum of the Original Price, the Premium Amount, and the Lot Selection Packages with taxes.
  • Deposits.
    • The sum of the posted Lot Installments that are not invoiced.
  • Outstanding Amount.
    • Total Price less Deposits paid by the Customers.

FastTab Budgeting

Contains Budget Summary. It includes a Cost, Revenue, and Profit matrix by Estimated, Planned, Budget, Actual, Outstanding values, and Completion %.

A user can see this section only if this user has a functional permission 'CAN SEE LOT BUDGET', which can be assigned through a function role in the page 'User Card'.

FastTab Milestones

Reduced list of Lot Key Dates showing only those marked as a Milestone.

FastTab Closing

Original and current closing dates with Adjustment Type.

FastTab Legal

This section contains informational legal-related fields.

FastTab Construction

Non-mandatory construction attributes of the Lot having an informational purpose, e.g., Color Scheme, Noise Impact Report, Risers’ types, Positioning on the Lot, etc.

The page has the following Actions:
  • Budget.
  • Lot Installments.
  • Selection Packages.
  • Planning Lines.
  • Task Operations.
  • Inspections.
  • Actions.
    • Change Status.
    • Site Model on Lot.
    • Un-site Model.
    • Populate Adjustment Journal.
    • Release.
    • Un-release.
  • Related.
    • House Areas.
    • Closing Dates.
    • Customers.
    • Contracts.
    • Sales Log.
    • Job Cost Ledger Entries.
    • Workflows.
    • Key Dates.
    • Comments.
    • Posted Adjustment Entries.
  • Reports.
    • Cost Detail (Excel).

Lot Customers and Lot Contacts

Lot Customers

To access, search Lots and select a particular Lot to open a Lot Card. On the Lot Card, select the menu Related and click Customers. To access the Customer List, search Customers. The List contains all Customers available for the HemeBuilder Company that you are working in.

Customers are mandatory for certain functions with Lots.

You can change a customer on a Lot at any time. Whenever you assign or change "Customer No." in the Lot, the system stores a record in the history of the lot customers. This history is shown in page "Lot Customer" which contains a non-editable grid with the Customers who were related to the Lot as home buyers.

Sometimes you will need to start posting transactions to Lots before you have a real paying customer. To allow the system to continue, create a temporary customer. People often use the name “Inventory” for this temporary customer as the Lot is in the inventory of the home builder.

The page Lot Customers has the following Actions:

  • Customer Card.
    • This action opens a standard Customer Card for the selected Customer.
  • Contacts.
    • This action opens the standard page with the Contacts of the selected Customer.

Lot Contacts

To access, from a Customer Card, select Action Contact, or from the Lot Card, select Menu Actions and click Contacts.

TIP:

To access the Contact List with all Contacts, Search Contacts. The List contains all Contacts available for the Company you are working in.

Contacts are optional but useful. This action opens the standard page with the Contacts of the customer currently assigned to the Lot. Here you can add or remove contacts of the customer. To add the Contact, click the Add button.

Import Lot Purchasers

This Help section describes how to use the Export Lot Purchasers and Import Lot Purchasers tools available in HomeBuilder.

Concept behind the Purchaser Export/Import Tools.

What the system will do: Create the Contact using a system-based Contact No. Create the Customer using Lot No. as the Customer No. Link the Contacts to the Customer Link everything to the Lots.

The Process

To start, from the HomeBuilder Role Center, go to Reports/ Exports and select Export Lot Purchasers.

  • Note that you canNOT use the Search tool for that.

In the example, LOT0002 is the first Lot and already has a Customer and a Contact. The LOT0003 and Overhead Lot are Created in HomeBuilder (Business Central) with no Customers assigned to them. Use this Export Lot Purchasers Report as a template to create the Import Lot Purchasers Template.

Step 1 - Create Lots in HomeBuilder

  • This should be done manually. When there are over 50 Lots, Configuration Packages can be considered.

Step 2 A - If the Customers exist in

  • Put their Customer No. and Name in the Import Lot Purchasers (The Template) next to the appropriate Lots.
    • Alternatively, assign them manually to each Lot and then use the Export Lot Customers report(From a Lot Card, go to Customers FatTab and assign a customer to the Lot).

Step 2 B

  • If the Customers do not exist in HomeBuilder, put only their Customer Name (e.g.: from the Legacy System or a list in Excel) in the Import Lot Purchasers (The Template) next to the Lot they belong to. The report will create these Customers and assign them to their respective Lots.

Step 3 - Fill in the Contact Name. Each Lot might have only one Customer, but 1 or multiple Contacts. Fill in their names next to the proper Contact.

  • If they already exist in the system, they will be present in the Export Lot Purchasers report. In this case, do not delete their Contact number. If you do, the system will create a duplicate Contact.

Step 4 - Once per every Lot, you must select "Yes" for every Primary Contact. Each Lot requires 1 Primary Contact.

Notes:

  • The Phase Code for each Lot will be the same.
  • Enter any other information, e.g., phone, address, etc. You can allow the email to be a Hyperlink- it is irrelevant.
  • Remember to save and close your Template before importing.

Step 5 - From the HomeBuilder Role Center, go to Reports/ Exports and select Import Lot Purchasers Action. Select your Template and import it into HomeBuilder.

  • If there are Validation errors, open the Excel and adjust it. The contacts will not be created if there are errors.
  • Once the file is correct, the system will display a message "<No. of rows> were successfully imported".
  • To verify: go to Lots, then highlight a Lot and click on Contacts on the right-hand side Infopane. (or go to Related, then Contacts) New Contacts should be present on the Lot.