Welcome to the Buildertrend Glossary! This guide is designed to help you navigate the key terms and features within Buildertrend. Whether you're a new user or looking to deepen your understanding, this glossary will clarify common terminology, helping you make the most of your Buildertrend experience.

Accept Payments Online

Enables the ability to collect payments from clients and send payments to subcontractors through Buildertrend’s integrated payment system.

Aging Invoice Report

Displays outstanding invoices across all jobs, organized by aging periods (e.g., 30, 60, 90+ days past due).

Allowances

Predefined budget amounts tied to selections or estimates, allowing flexibility in actual client spending.

Attached Documents / Photos / Videos

Files added to various features for organized, feature-specific access and documentation.

Baseline View

Displays original scheduled timelines alongside current progress to show scheduling variances.

Baseline vs. Actual Duration by Job (Report)

Compares planned durations to actual completion times to analyze schedule performance.

Bid Packages

Grouped requests for pricing from subs and vendors, including plans and documents for quoting.

Bids

Requests for pricing sent to subcontractors or vendors, used to gather competitive estimates.

Bills

Records used to track and record payments to subcontractors or vendors.

Breaks

Designated pauses during a Time Clock shift, allowing users to resume the shift afterward.

Budget

Tracks internal costs in real time using data from Buildertrend’s financial tools.

Builder Cost

The internal expense your company incurs for a financial item.

Builder's Risk Insurance (BRI)

Insurance coverage available through Buildertrend Insurance Services, designed to protect against losses during construction.

Buildertrend Learning Academy

Free, course-based learning to help users understand and use Buildertrend effectively.

Buildertrend Marketplace

Central hub for discovering Buildertrend add-ons, integrations, and premium services.

Catalog

Stores standard cost items tied to cost codes, streamlining estimates and budgeting.

Category

Organizational labels used in Selections to group related items (e.g., Cabinets, Appliances).

Change Order Profit (Report)

Monitor profits generated from approved change orders.

Change Orders

Out-of-scope work requests added to the project scope, initiated by the builder or client.

Checklist

Grouped to-do items that can be assigned individually or collectively to team members.

Claim#

Unique identifier for warranty claims, used for tracking and historical reference.

Client Activation

The process of granting clients access to their Client Portal, allowing them to actively participate in their project within Buildertrend.

Client Cost

The total amount billed to the client, calculated as the Builder Cost plus any applied markup.

Client Information

Contact details and identifying information for a client, captured when creating a lead or job to ensure accurate records and communication.

Client Invoices

Billing records issued to clients that track payment schedules, amounts due, and outstanding balances for a job or project. (Also referred to as simply "Invoices)

Client Notification Preferences

Determine how clients receive communications from Buildertrend, including email, text messages, and mobile push notifications.

Client Options

Customizable settings that define how clients interact with the Client Portal, allowing you to tailor visibility and access based on your preferences.

Clock In Users

Time Clock functionality allowing a team member to clock in multiple users simultaneously.

Cluster Map

Visual display of lead distribution by location, highlighting geographic business opportunities.

Comments

Message threads tied to specific features, used for internal and external communication.

Company Settings
Where account-wide settings, integrations, custom data points, and feature defaults are configured. Only available to administrators.

Compose New Message

Tool for drafting and sending new Buildertrend messages, similar to standard email.

Copy to Standalone Template

Function for saving an existing job as a reusable template with all current data.

Cost Category

Organizes cost codes into logical groups for better financial structure.

Cost Code

An unique identifier, often numerical or alphanumeric, used to categorize and track financial expenses related to a project or activity.

Cost Inbox

Central hub for incoming financial data, integrated with job costing tools.

Cost Type

Label used to group and analyze financial items in estimates and reports.

Current Weather

Real-time weather data tied to a job’s ZIP/postal code, used in Summary and Daily Logs. The weather information is pulled from Aeris Weather.

Custom Fields

User-defined data fields used to track job-specific or company-specific information.

Client Contacts

Database of past, current, and prospective clients.

Daily Log Count by User (Report)

Displays the number of Daily Logs created by each user, with filtering options by date, job, job group, and job status.

Daily Logs

Recorded summaries of daily activity on job sites, including notes, weather, attachments, and photos for documentation.

Documents

A file type, that supports annotations and sharing, that can be attached to features like Daily Logs and To-Do’s

Estimate

A detailed forecast of the job expenses like materials, labor, equipment, and other related costs.

Files

Collective term for Documents, Photos, and Videos, which can be stored in folders and attached to Buildertrend features.

Filters

Customizable parameters used across features to narrow down data for reporting and task management.your company.

Flat Fee

A non-itemized cost amount used in estimating, job costing, or invoicing when cost codes are not applied.

Forward Email into Buildertrend

Functionality that allows external emails to be forwarded into Buildertrend’s Messages tool for centralized storage and reference.

Gantt

A visual scheduling view that displays the flow and timing of scheduled tasks, making it easy to create and manage task dependencies.

Give Feedback

Where users can submit suggestions or comments directly to the Product team for review.

Global Documents

Storage for company-wide files not tied to a specific job, such as internal policies, trade agreements, or templates.

Grid

A customizable table view available in many features that enables sorting, filtering, and reporting based on individual preferences.

Help Center

You're here! This online resource provides self-service articles, guides, and walkthroughs to support Buildertrend users with platform usage and troubleshooting.

Hierarchy

Used to manage relationships between dependent selections, helping structure complex client choices.

ID#

A system-generated or manually entered identifier used to track and organize items like change orders, bills, purchase orders, and invoices.

Internal Notes

Private notes visible only to internal users, used to document job-related details that should not be shared with clients, trades, or vendors.

Internal Users

Employees or team members within your organization who have access to Buildertrend features through web or mobile platforms.

Invoice

A billing document generated for clients to request payment. Invoices support various formats and workflows depending on project and payment structure.

Job Color

A customizable color indicator used to visually distinguish jobs on the Schedule when multiple jobs are displayed simultaneously.

Job Details

Foundational job information including the job name, address, client contacts, and access permissions.

Job Group

An organizational tag that groups jobs by criteria such as project type, development phase, or remodeling category for easier tracking and reporting.

Job Info

Header navigation that opens the Job Details for managing job-specific data.

Job Menu

The primary navigation for creating, managing, and accessing all jobs in the platform, located on the left side of the Summary page.

Job Name

The primary identifier assigned to a job upon creation. Displayed throughout the platform as a reference label for that job.

Job Notes

A freeform text field within the Job Details section used to capture supplemental or internal notes related to the job.

Job Prefix

A custom identifier appended to financial and project management records such as Change Orders, RFIs, Bills, Purchase Orders, and Invoices.

Job Price Summary

A real-time financial overview of a project that includes the contract price, approved change orders, allowances, and selected options to reflect the client’s total cost.

Job Running Total

A dynamic calculation of the job’s financial value, factoring in the base contract amount along with any approved change orders, allowances, and selection choices.

Job Type

A classification assigned during job creation (e.g., new construction, remodel, commercial) that supports filtering and reporting across the platform.

Jobs List

A comprehensive report view accessible from the Jobs tab that displays data for multiple jobs, allowing filtering, sorting, and export for analysis.

Jobs Map

A geographical view showing the location of current and past projects, helping visualize business activity and identify market opportunities.

Lead Activities

Records of interactions and outreach conducted by sales team members to track progress and engagement with potential clients.

Lead Activities by Salesperson (Report)

Tracks and displays the number of recorded lead activities per salesperson over a defined time period.

Lead Activity Calendar

A calendar showing scheduled lead-related tasks and follow-ups for sales team members on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

Lead Count by Salesperson (Report)

Shows how many lead opportunities are currently assigned to each salesperson.

Lead Map

A visual map that displays where lead opportunities are located, helping identify areas of high activity and gaps in market presence.

Lead Opportunities

Potential jobs or projects that are actively tracked within the sales pipeline, including associated activities and client interactions.

Lead Status by Source (Report)

Organizes lead opportunities by their origin (e.g., website, referral, social media) to evaluate lead generation performance.

Legacy Lead Proposals

Preliminary cost estimates and agreements generated for prospective clients, used to present potential pricing and scope before a formal job is created.

Line Items

Individual entries in financial documents such as estimates, change orders, and invoices, typically tied to cost codes and used to track costs and pricing.

Linked Jobs

Connects multiple jobs for a single client, enabling access to each from one Client Portal login.

List View

Simplified display format used in features like Schedule and Selections that presents information in rows and columns for easy scanning and editing.

Location

An organizational view in the Selections feature that groups selection items by physical area (e.g., kitchen, bathroom) for clearer navigation.

Message Inbox

The centralized dashboard for viewing all sent and received messages within Buildertrend.

Messages

The communication tool used to send and track emails from Buildertrend. Replies from recipients are logged in the platform for easy reference.

Most Recent Comments

A widget on the Summary page that displays the latest comments added across all jobs in your account.

Most Recent Daily Logs

A widget on the Summary page that shows the most recent Daily Logs created within your account.

My User Preferences

Where users can update login credentials, set up calendar integrations, and configure personal messaging options like email signatures.

New Job From Scratch

A job creation method that starts with a blank template, requiring all job details and data to be entered manually.

New Job From Template

A job creation method that uses a predefined template to pre-populate job data, streamlining setup.

Notification History

An administrator-only tool that logs all email notifications sent from Buildertrend, including timestamps and recipients.

Online Payment Report

A financial report that tracks the status and history of all online payments processed within Buildertrend.

Pending/Recent Change Order Activity
A widget on the Summary page that shows the latest activity on change orders, including approvals and status updates across your account.

Phases
Groups within the Schedule feature that allow you to organize items by major project stages, such as pre-construction, framing, and rough-ins.

Phases List
A schedule view that organizes tasks by phase to give a clearer picture of progress within each stage of the project.

Photos
Images uploaded to Buildertrend via the Files tab or attached to features like Daily Logs and To-Do's to document job progress, deliveries, or issues.

Predecessors/Links
A scheduling tool that allows you to link dependent tasks. When one item moves, linked items update automatically to maintain timeline accuracy.

Projected Completion
An estimated job completion date entered in the Job Details section, used to track and compare against the actual completion date.

Projected Start
An estimated job start date entered in the Job Details section, used to track and compare against the actual job start date.

Proposal Templates
Pre-built templates for Legacy Lead Proposals that let you quickly generate consistent proposals without starting from scratch each time.

Proposals
An agreement/contractual document used to outline project scope estimated costs, and other relevant information.

Purchase Orders
Formal requests for subcontractors or vendors to complete work, track approval, capture signatures, and monitor completion and payment progress.

Reports
Automatically updating tools within Buildertrend that visualize key project data and performance metrics based on team activity.

Revised Costs
Updated budget values shown in the Job Costing Budget after estimates are sent. These reflect the most current expected costs for a job.

RFIs (Requests for Information)
A formal messaging feature used to submit and respond to important project questions, ensuring responses are documented and stored.

Schedule
The central project management tool in Buildertrend. It organizes and tracks job timelines, accessible to internal teams, subs, vendors, and clients.

Schedule Items
Individual events or tasks entered within the Schedule feature, representing specific actions in the project timeline.

Schedule Percent Complete by Job (Report)
Shows the progress of each job by comparing the number of completed schedule items to the total job duration.

Selections
A customizable tool that allows you to present product or design choices to clients, track approvals, and manage selection decisions internally.

Shifts Map
A visual map showing where team members clock in and out using GPS-enabled Time Clock tracking.

Specifications
Detailed outlines for each job, including materials, scope of work, and installation requirements to ensure clarity and accuracy on the job site.

Status
Indicates the current stage of an item, such as whether a change order is approved or what phase a lead is in.

Sub/Vendor
Trade partners who can either be used internally or invited to create a free Buildertrend account for real-time collaboration and communication.

Sub/Vendor Notes
A note field intended specifically for subs and vendors, only visible to those assigned to the relevant task or feature.

Summary View
The default landing page upon login, giving quick access to key job information. Available on both web and mobile versions.

Survey
A customizable messaging tool used to collect feedback or information from clients directly through Buildertrend.

Sync Schedule
In QuickBooks Desktop integrations, this sync exchanges data between Buildertrend and QuickBooks. It runs every two hours or can be initiated manually.

Tags
Custom labels you can assign to items across features for easier filtering, reporting, and organization.

Template
Reusable job setups that store data like estimates, schedules, or selections. Templates save time by allowing jobs to start from pre-set configurations.

Templates Menu
The section where you manage all templates. Templates can be created from scratch or pulled from existing jobs for reuse.

Time Clock
Buildertrend’s time tracking tool. Users can clock in/out with GPS tracking to ensure accurate logging and job site verification.

To-Do's
Task items that support your Schedule. To-Dos are ideal for checklists, punch lists, and tracking detailed steps needed to complete bigger schedule milestones.

Variance PO
Purchase Orders used to document unexpected or unplanned expenses. Client-related changes are captured as Client Variances (e.g., Change Orders), while unforeseen builder costs are logged as Builder Variances. These POs help with detailed job costing analysis.

Videos
Videos uploaded to Buildertrend via the Files tab or attached to features like Daily Logs and To-Do's to document job progress, deliveries, or issues.

Warranty Alerts
Notifications that inform your team of newly submitted warranties or upcoming warranty-related appointments.

Widget
Mobile dashboard elements on the Summary screen that provide customizable, at-a-glance views of key project activity and updates.

Workday Exception
Used to modify the regular work schedule by adding or removing specific workdays, such as working on a weekend or marking a holiday as non-working.

Workdays
The standard days designated for work (e.g., Monday–Friday or Monday–Saturday).

The Buildertrend Learning Academy is your one-stop-shop for your online education, whether you're new to Buildertrend or an experienced user looking to learn more.

If you have any questions or require additional support, feel free to chat with us, send an email: support@buildertrend.com, or give us a call at 1-888-415-7149. We’re always happy to help.