Cost Codes are the foundation of all Financial Management features in Buildertrend. They may be referred to as items, products and services, trades, labor and materials, or anything that describes your costing process.
Features that utilize Cost Codes:
Legacy Lead Proposals
Bids
Estimates
Selections
Purchase Orders
Bills
Change Orders
Invoices
Deposits
Legacy Budget
Job Costing Budget
Accounting Integrations
Cost Code Overview Help Video
Watch the video below to learn more about Cost Codes.
Creating Cost Codes and Cost Categories
Click here to view Cost Code best practices
Click here to view Cost Code best practices
Keep it Simple:
Use Cost Codes that simplify your workflow.
Ensure each code has a clear purpose & is used on most jobs.
Companies may use 5-10 codes or several hundred, depending on needs.
Track Labor and Materials Separately:
Decide if you need detailed tracking for labor and materials.
Numbering System:
Organize codes numerically for easy sorting.
Include leading zeros for consistent digit length (e.g., 001 for codes up to 999).
Gather Team Input:
Get feedback from estimating, accounting, bidding, and invoicing teams who use or will use Cost Codes.
Avoid modifying codes after setup by collecting thorough initial feedback.
Avoid Excessive Codes:
Do not create a code for every item; use Titles & Descriptions for context.
Cost Codes don't need to be fully descriptive, utilize Cost Catalog for more detail.
Limit the use of sub codes as they add complexity without additional reporting benefits.
Avoid duplicate or similar codes across categories to prevent confusion.
📌Additional Tips:
Internal notes in the New Cost Code setup window are not visible in the platform.
Track job-specific costs in Buildertrend; use your accounting system for overhead costs.
Review for inefficiencies with your Buildertrend account manager before finalizing your list.
To set up Cost Codes effectively, start with Cost Categories, which are required before establishing Cost Codes.
These categories organize related Cost Codes, often following the order of construction phases. For example, a Cost Category for "preliminary work" might include Cost Codes related to that phase.
Cost Category organization will also be visible within the Job Costing Budget.
You may already be using Cost Codes and Cost Categories within your business. If you have a ledger of Cost Codes that need to be uploaded into the platform, please reach out to Buildertrend's Customer Support for data entry assistance.
Cost Codes can also be manually set up within the Setup located under the gear icon in the top right corner of the page.
⚠️ It is crucial to your onboarding implementation that Cost Codes are established before utilizing any Buildertrend financial features.
We strongly recommend importing your ledger, or utilizing the Buildertrend Recommended list.
To create Cost Codes manually, click New on the right, then Cost Code.
Add a Title and assign to a Cost Category, then Save.
To import your own Cost Codes, or a recommended list, select Import and the preferred option.
Deleting or Deactivating a Cost Code
Deleting a Cost Code is possible only if it has not been used in any feature within an open or closed job. If the code has been used, you may remove the code in any unapproved feature, or deactivate the Cost Code.
Deactivating a Cost Code will keep it in the program for all current and past jobs, as to preserve your historical data, but will not be active for any new jobs moving forward.
Labor and Variance Cost Codes
Time Clock Labor Codes are Cost Codes that have been made available to be utilized within the Time Clock. These are only meant to be Cost Codes that are to be used to track labor hours against.
Time Clock Labor Codes Help Video
Watch the video below to learn more about Time Clock Labor Codes.
To minimize confusion for your Field Crew team clocking in on our mobile app, be sure to only mark necessary Cost Codes as Time Clock Labor Code.
*Note: Time Clock Labor Codes may be defaulted per user to streamline the clock-in process further, ideal for Internal Users that commonly clock in using the same labor code. This setting can be found on the Other tab within the Internal User's profile.
Interested in Learning More? 📚
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.