Now that you understand the basics of the Schedule, explore advanced features like Critical Path, Workday Exceptions, Phases, Tags, Reoccurring Items, Notifications, and Schedule Confirmations for a comprehensive understanding of the program.

The critical path in a Gantt schedule represents the longest sequence of dependent tasks that determine the minimum duration needed to complete a project. In other words, it’s the backbone of your schedule, and any delay to a task on the critical path will directly delay the entire project.

In Buildertrend’s Gantt view, identifying and monitoring the critical path gives you a clear picture of what’s essential and where you can’t afford delays.

From the Gantt view of your schedule, use the Critical Path toggle to view your critical path.

To easily modify your schedule for holidays, office closures, or to add extra workdays on weekends or typical off-days, utilize Workday Exceptions. This feature allows you to seamlessly integrate these adjustments, ensuring your schedule accurately reflects your team's availability and work commitments.

Use Workday Exceptions for small, specific changes to a few days within an existing schedule.

From the Schedule, navigate to the Workday Exception tab and select Add Workday Exception.

From here, add required details:

All workday exceptions are managed from the Workday Exceptions tab, where you can view and edit them as needed.

Tags and Phases are organizational tools that bring clarity and structure to your project schedule in Buildertrend.

Using phases and tags ensures better visibility, schedule filtering , and quicker updates, especially when managing complex or multi-layered builds.

To assign tags and/or phases, navigate to the Phases & Tags tab of a specific schedule item.

If tags have already been created, use the Tags dropdown to select and assign the relevant tag(s) to the schedule item. To create and assign a new tag, simply click Add and enter your desired tag name.

If phases have already been created, use the Phase dropdown to select and assign the relevant phase to the schedule item. To create and assign a new phase, simply click Add and enter your desired phase name.

After setting up and assigning phases to your schedule items, you can toggle on Phases from the List or Gantt view for a more organized and structured view of your schedule.

Schedule Conflicts in Buildertrend help you avoid double-booking by alerting you when an internal user or sub/vendor is already assigned to overlapping schedule items.

This proactive feature ensures better resource management, prevents bottlenecks, and keeps your project timeline running smoothly.

By setting scheduling permissions, you can define how many overlapping tasks are allowed before a conflict warning appears.

To enable schedule conflict notifications for internal users, navigate to the contact card for your internal user.

From the Other tab, check the Notify me when... permission and set the number of schedule items conflict.

To enable schedule conflict notifications for subs/vendors, navigate to the contact card for your sub/vendor.

From the Additional Information tab, check the Notify me when... permission and set the number of schedule items conflict.

Schedule notifications in Buildertrend keep your team, subcontractors, and clients informed and aligned. By automatically alerting users of upcoming tasks, changes, or delays, you reduce miscommunication, increase accountability, and help ensure everyone shows up when and where they’re needed. This keeps your projects on track and on time.

Once an internal user or sub/vendor has been assigned to a schedule item, you can choose to notify them upon clicking Save.

After assigning a user to a schedule item to a sub/vendor, you can send a confirmation request to ensure they’ve seen and acknowledged the task. This adds an extra layer of accountability, helping prevent miscommunication and ensuring everyone stays aligned on responsibilities and timelines.

Confirmation requests are sent directly to the sub/vendor’s associated email address, allowing them to easily confirm or decline their availability for the assigned task.

You can review your sub/vendor confirmation status from the Confirmations tab of the schedule item.

When changes arise on the job site, having the option to send a quick notification to your assigned users on a schedule item is critical.

One-time notifications can be conveniently sent from within the Schedule Item by clicking the icon to the right of the Assignees field.

You can also send one-time schedule item notifications en masse from the List View of the schedule. Simply select the items needing notification using the checked boxes to the left of the item and select Notify Assigned Users.

Invite your active clients to view the Schedule and stay updated on the details you wish to share. Whether you provide full details or a high-level overview with Phases, sharing the Schedule fosters transparency and trust. This approach also reduces the need for additional phone calls or emails to check on progress.

Subcontractor collaboration on the Schedule offers a streamlined method to keep trades informed and engaged with their project responsibilities while understanding the full scope. Notification options such as Reminders and Schedule Item Confirmations ensure that subcontractors are regularly prompted to stay committed and on track.

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.