To begin using Buildertrend, you will want to create your first project as a Job. All features and tools are job-based to keep things centrally organized and streamlined. Utilize supportive Job Detail fields such as Custom Fields, Job Types, Job Groups and more to create a system ideal for success.
Getting Started
Adding a New Job Help Video
Watch the video below to learn more about starting a new Job.
Job Templates Help Video
Watch the video below to learn more about creating and managing Job Templates.
Creating a Job
To create a new job, go to the Jobs Menu and click New Job. Next, choose your preferred method for job creation:
From Scratch – Start a new job without any pre-filled information.
Your Templates – Use one of your custom templates based on a previous job to streamline setup.
Expand for an explanation of Job Details fields
Expand for an explanation of Job Details fields
Title (required field): Assign a name to your job.
Establishing a clear naming convention is essential, especially when getting started. The Job Name is visible to both your client and trades, so choose something recognizable. Consider using the project address or a combination of the address and the client’s last name to help keep jobs organized.
Prefix: Attach a unique prefix to financial, RFI, and Warranty items associated with this job.
Type (required field): Select a project type for the job.
Assigning a project type helps categorize your jobs and enables easy filtering from the Jobs List for better organization and tracking.
Contract Type (required field): Indicate the financial model you plan to use for this job.
Buildertrend will create workflows to best fit your financial structure.
Job Group: Assign the job to a custom group.
Assigning a job group helps categorize your jobs and enables easy filtering from the Job Summary landing page for better organization and tracking.
Status: Set the current status of the job..
Job status helps track where the project stands in the management process. Statuses include Presale, Open, Warranty, and Closed, allowing for better organization and workflow management.
Contract price: Indicate the project/confirmed Contract price set for the job.
Project managers: Select the project managers assigned to the job.
This field allows project managers to easily filter the Job Summary, ensuring they can quickly view and manage only the jobs assigned to them.
Square feet, Permit number, and Lot info: Enter key job details in these fields for easy access and quick reference.
Address: Input the address for the Job. The Zip code is a required field.
The address will appear on features like Bills and Invoices and will also be used to generate weather data for Daily Logs and calculate Automated Sales Tax when applicable.
Projected start, Actual start, Projected completion, and Actual completion: Input key scheduling details to track and compare estimated versus actual timelines, providing valuable insights for future project planning and scheduling accuracy.
Schedule color: Assign a unique color to the job to make it easily distinguishable when viewing multiple job schedules simultaneously.
Work Days (required field): Establish your default work week.
Notes for internal users: Add any extra job details that will only be accessible to internal users with job permissions.
Notes for subs/vendors: Enter any additional job information that will be visible to both internal users and approved subcontractors or vendors.
Custom fields: Use this option to track additional job details that are not covered by the default fields, allowing for more customized project management.
Creating a Job: From Scratch
After clicking New Job from the Jobs Menu, select the From scratch option.
From Job Details, input all pertinent job information in the provided fields.
Once you've entered all of the pertinent job information, select Save to create your new job.
Creating a Job: Your Templates
After clicking New Job from the Jobs Menu, select the Your templates option.
Input all pertinent job information in the provided fields under New Job Information.
Next, select the template you'd like to use from the Source Template dropdown.
Once you have selected the Source Template, utilize the checkboxes to select the templated items to import to the new job.
Review and modify the Project Managers, New Subs/Vendors, and Workdays to fit the needs for your job.
Select Save to create your new job from one of your templates.
Managing your Jobs
Jobs List
The Jobs List in Buildertrend provides a centralized view of all your projects in one easy-to-navigate dashboard.
This flexible overview allows you to:
Quickly assess job progress and key data at a glance
Filter and sort based on specific job details for faster access
Easily identify workload distribution among project managers
With customizable columns, you can tailor the layout to display the most relevant job details—such as project type, address, status, assigned project managers, start/completion dates, and more.
Recover Deleted Jobs and Templates
To restore a deleted Job, navigate to the Jobs List from the Jobs dropdown.
Select Filter from the Jobs List.
Check the Only Show Deleted checkbox to filter for only deleted jobs and click Apply filter.
After applying the filter, the Jobs list will populate with all of your deleted jobs, giving you an option to Restore them back to your active Jobs List.
💡Pro Tip: These same steps can be done within the Templates menu to restore a deleted template.
To get to your Template Menu, select the arrow next to Jobs in the Job Menu and select Templates.
Job Price Summary
The Job Price Summary in Buildertrend offers a clear and concise snapshot of your project’s financial picture from the client’s perspective. This feature highlights the total client price, how much has been paid to date, and provides a detailed breakdown of key pricing components, including:
Approved Selections & Allowances
Approved Change Orders
Payments Received
With this high-level overview, you can easily:
Track client payment progress at a glance
Understand how selections and change orders are impacting the final price
The Job Price Summary helps promote smoother financial communication, keeps everyone aligned on the project’s total cost, and makes payment tracking more efficient and less stressful.
Open Book Jobs (only):
If actual costs are powering projected costs—and therefore the revised client price— Projected cost difference(s) will appear in the summary. This value reflects the impact of any manually added projected cost adjustments, helping to provide a more accurate comparison between estimated and revised costs.
Closing a Job
Every job in Buildertrend is assigned a Status, which helps track its progress. The available statuses are:
Pre-Sale: The job is in the lead stage, where you're preparing the rough estimate, projected schedule, and sending initial proposals to the client.
Open: The job is actively being worked on.
Warranty: The job is complete but still within its warranty period, allowing you and your client to submit warranty requests.
Closed: The job has either, never moved past the pre-sale stage, or has officially completed both the open and warranty stages.
To close a job, navigate to the Job details of the job you want to close.
Update the status to Closed, then click Save.
Open jobs are active projects and are shown in your defaulted Jobs Menu whereas Closed jobs are completed projects and are no longer stored within your defaulted Jobs Menu.
Once a job has been closed, you can filter the Jobs Menu to find your Closed Jobs.
If you need to reopen a job at any time, simply update the
Status within the Job details to Open.
Adding and Inviting Your Clients to a Job
Utilize the Client field to add your customer's preferred contact details. If you choose to invite your customer to interact with you via Buildertrend, you will need to have their information stored to properly send an invitation to create their credentials for their Customer Portal.
If you do not wish to invite them to participate in recommend, we still recommend storing their contact information to keep everything in one location.
Adding Your Client(s) to a Job
To begin, navigate to the Job Details of an existing Job, or when creating a New Job.
From the Clients tab, select New Contact to create and add a new contact to the job, or choose Existing Contacts to search and select previously created contacts.
+ New Contact
After selecting + New Contact, fill out the the Client Contact Information and Save.
+ Existing Contact
After selecting + Existing Contact, locate and select the desired contact from your Contact List.
Once you have added your client to the job, select Save.
If the client's information includes an email address, you will be prompted to invite them to the job upon saving. If you prefer to wait, you can send the invitation at a later time.
Inviting Your Client(s) to a Job
After adding your client(s) to a job, you can invite them right away using the Send invite to client prompt upon saving or choose to send the invitation at a later time.
Before inviting your client(s) to the job, review their permissions to ensure they have the appropriate access for a seamless experience in Buildertrend.
💡Pro Tip: Utilize the Edit from Client Portal option when reviewing your client permissions to see exactly what they will have access to from their perspective.
After setting your preferred client permissions, review their notification settings to ensure they receive updates on important messages and project changes.
If you have adjusted any of these, Save before moving onto the next step to enable the changes.
When you are ready to invite your client, select Send Invite from the client card.
Your client will receive an invitation to the email address listed in their contact information.
To review or edit the default client invitation text, Admins can navigate to the Jobs tab within Company Settings, and adjust as needed.
The client’s status will remain as Pending until they open the email invitation and create their login credentials.
You can cancel or resend the invitation directly from the client's contact information.
The client’s status will update to Active when the client has created their credentials.
Internal Users with appropriate permissions will be notified when this occurs.
Once active, only the client may edit their contact details, including adding a profile picture.
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.