Adding clients to Buildertrend is an important step in setting up clear communication throughout a project. By storing their contact details or inviting them as Client Contacts, you can control what information they can access based on your preferences.
Buildertrend makes it easy to collaborate with clients by simplifying how you share documents, send updates, and request approvals. This ensures clients stay informed and engaged, helping build trust and keeping projects running smoothly from start to finish.
Client Contacts Help Video
Creating a Client Contact
Begin by navigating to Client Contacts from the users menu and click +Contact.
Enter the contact’s name, address, phone number, and email. When finished, click Save to add the contact.
💡Pro Tip
Want to upload your full contact list? Our Data Entry team can help!
Review this Help Center collection to learn more, then reach out to our support team when you're ready to get started.
Adding and Inviting Your Client Contacts to a Job
Adding a client contact to a job helps you stay organized by tying their information directly to the project. This allows you to send email updates and keep all communication in one place.
If you want your client to take a more active role, you can also invite them to the job. This gives them access to the client portal where they can view progress, approve selections, make payments, and more. You stay in control by choosing exactly what they can see and do.
💡Pro Tip
Adding a client to a job and inviting them are two separate steps. Adding the client simply stores their contact information and allows you to send them updates by email. It does not automatically send an invitation.
We strongly recommend always adding your client to the job to keep communication organized and project details connected.
Adding your client(s) to the job
Begin by navigating to the Job Details of the job. Under the Clients tab, you can either add an existing client from your Buildertrend contacts or create and add a new contact directly from this screen. Just click the appropriate option to get started.
+ New Contact: Enter the client's contact information and click Save.
+ Existing Contact: Search for the client’s name in your existing Buildertrend contact list, then select them to add to the job.
Once you’ve added your client(s) to the job, make sure to click Save to confirm the changes and ensure their contact is tied to the job.
Inviting your client(s) to the job
‼️ Important ‼️
Before sending the client invitation, double-check that their permissions match what you want them to see and do in Buildertrend.
Once you have added your client(s) to the job, simply click Send Invite from the client card added to the Clients tab of the Job Details.
The client(s) will receive an email prompting them to establish their portal logins. Once established, they will be taken to their Buildertrend portal!
Client Portal Help Video
💡Pro Tip
Set default custom invitation verbiage from your Company Settings to save time and ensure consistency when inviting clients to jobs. This allows you to personalize the message they receive while maintaining a professional and branded experience across every project.
Setting Your Client Permissions
You can control what your clients see and do in Buildertrend by adjusting their job permissions. These can be customized on a job-by-job basis (you might give one client access to view daily logs and approve selections, while another can only see the schedule and warranty requests).
For consistency and efficiency, you can also set default permissions in your Company Settings. This ensures every invited client starts with the right level of access, while still giving you flexibility to tailor it per job.
Default Settings
To set your default client permissions, navigate to Default Job Permissions in your Company Settings. From there, choose which permissions you'd like to automatically apply to new jobs.
You’ll also have the option to update existing jobs to match these new defaults. This helps streamline your setup process and ensures consistent client access across all your projects.
Individual Job Permissions
To set your client permissions on a job-by-job basis, navigate to Clients tab in your Job Details. From there, choose which permissions and the notification settings you'd like to set on this job.
You’ll also have the option to update existing jobs to match these new defaults. This helps streamline your setup process and ensures consistent client access across all your projects.
💡Pro Tip
When adjusting permissions on a job, click Edit from Client Portal to see what each selection will look like from the clients point of view, ensuring the selections you make are exactly what you want seen by the client.
Permissions
Adjust the Project Management information your client can view, such as:
Sharing Project manager's phone number with the client
Allowing your client to see Locked Selections on the job
Specific access to view the schedule. Determining how far in the future you'd like the client to see under the Time Frame dropdown menu as well as by sharing:
Only the phases you've created
All of your schedule items
Adjust the Project Management information your your client can submit directly from the client portal, such as:
Send the builder Change Order requests
Submit Warranty claims
Adjust the Financial information your client can view, such as:
Sharing the Job Price Summary
Allowing the client to view Purchase Orders and Bills created for the job
Access to all of the Invoices created directly in the client portal, not just from the emails sent to them
The ability to see the Budget. When selected, you have the ability to share the Legacy Budget and/or the Job Costing Budget.
Using the Show columns field, you can choose which columns of the selected Budget you would like to share with your client. Simply select or deselect the checkbox next to the column.
The Display related items option allows your client to view the associated financial items directly from the Job Costing Budget. Invoices, Bills and Purchase orders will not display if those features are not checked.
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.
Downloadable Content
Using the Client Portal as a sales tool PDF
Last Updated: 8/7/25