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Setting Up PM Firms

PM Firms creates and maintains firms used across Project Management (owners, architects, engineers, inspectors, government agencies, vendors, subcontractors, suppliers). Each firm typically has a firm type. Contacts go on the Contacts tab or PM Firm Contacts (double-click a contact row). Firms/contacts associate documents and records on projects (drawing logs, RFIs, change orders, and so on via Create and Send).

Before you start​

  • Optional but recommended: firm types in Setting Up PM Firm Types (mainly for reporting).
  • For AP/AR bulk load: vendors in AP Vendors and/or customers in AR Customers.
  • For Our Firm contacts from payroll: employees in PR Employees.
  • Know which firm will be Our Firm (procedure: use firm number "1", then set Our Firm on PM Company Parameters Info tab).

Steps​

  1. Optional: create firm types in PM Firm Types.
  2. Open PM Firms and create/maintain firms (F1 in any field for help):
    • Firm Number — Initialize from AP Vendors uses the vendor number. Manual: six-digit number, or New / N / + for next number. F4 lists existing. Lookup by first characters of sort name. (Help also requires Our Firm as "1", which is not six digits — follow the Our Firm convention.)
    • Vendor — AP vendor number when this firm is an existing vendor (filled by initialize); otherwise blank. Linking defaults vendor data and speeds buyout/procurement entry.
    • Firm Name (up to 80; initialize defaults AP vendor name).
    • Firm Type (enter or F4).
    • Sort Name — used in PM instead of vendor number (example: bryan vs 10042 on PM Subcontracts). New record defaults to first 15 characters of firm name.
    • Mail and Ship address blocks; Phone, Fax, Email (Outlook), Internet (Web); AP/AR Contact; Exclude From Lookups (hidden from F4 but still typeable).
  3. Set your company as firm "1" and enter it in Our Firm on PM Company Parameters → Info.
  4. Load other firms manually, or File → Initialize Vendor Firms (PM Vendor Range) / File → Initialize Customer Firms (PM Customer Range).
  5. Add contacts in PM Firm Contacts (or Contacts tab). For Our Firm, import from PR Employees via PM Employee Range.
  6. Associate firms/contacts to projects in PM Project Firms (optional File → Copy Project Firms). Create and Send can then email/fax drawing logs, RFIs, change orders, and similar.

Country: Mail/Ship Country required when the address is outside the active company’s Default Country (HQ Company Setup). State is validated against Default Country in HQ Company Parameters; invalid state can still be entered, then a valid country is required.

AP sync​

If Allow Add from PM and/or Allow Update from PM are checked on AP Company Parameters → Audit Options, firm adds/changes can update AP Vendors. Field defs describe a Yes (update AP) / No (PM only) prompt; the form overview and About Firms and Contacts phrase it as updates “based on” those checkboxes. AR import changes do not update AR Customers.

Notes​