Updating multiple items individually can be time-consuming, especially when a single change affects several tasks within one of your projects. The Buildups feature allows you to make top-level changes, automatically updating all the associated materials, labour, and costs without you needing to manually edit each row. In this guide, we’ll show you how to use Buildups to make project updates faster and keep your estimates accurate with minimal effort.

What Exactly Is A Buildup?

In BuildPartner, a “buildup” is the recipe used to calculate the cost of a specific task. Instead of just assigning a flat price to a job (like "£50 for painting a wall"), the system builds up the cost from its core components.

Every task in the schedule is broken down into three components. For example, “Paint internal wall”:

1. Materials: The physical items required to complete the task, including the specific materials used and quantities needed per unit of measurement (e.g., paint and litres required).
2. Labour: The trade required and time needed to complete the task (e.g., painter, 0.2 hours per square metre).
3. Plant & Equipment (if applicable): Any specialist tools or machinery required that aren’t standard hand tools (e.g., access towers or specialist spraying equipment).

So, when you add a task to a room, the system uses the room’s dimensions (like wall area) to determine the total quantity needed. It then multiplies that quantity by the buildup. Because Buildups are dynamic, if you change a room’s size, the material quantities and labour hours automatically adjust.

Let’s look at an example.

How To Use Buildups

To get started, log into your BuildPartner account and head to the Schedule tab. Here, you’ll see a Buildups icon at the centre towards the top of the screen. Click the word Buildup rather than the dropdown arrow (we’ll come to that shortly).

This reveals an expandable breakdown of the costs of specific tasks associated with each storey. This view looks similar to “Areas” and “Stages” in the Schedule.

From a practical perspective, the Buildups feature allows you to edit tasks in just a few clicks, rather than manually updating rows of items line by line. 

For example, you can change a roof buildup from pitched to flat without having to manually add and remove multiple rows of information associated with each build type.

To change the pitched roof, click the dropdown arrow of the button on the left side of the screen. When you click it, you’ll be presented with a bunch of options. Changing from a pitched roof to a flat roof automatically updates the project costs.

You’ll notice that certain tasks associated with a pitched roof disappear, such as:

• Timber pitched roof structure
• Pitched roof vent
• Concrete plain tiles

And these are replaced by specific tasks related to building a flat roof:

• Timber flat roof structure
• Timber firrings to roof
• Flat roof vent

This is where the true utility of Buildups comes in. You can make significant changes to a project’s specification in seconds, with all associated tasks, materials, labour, and costs automatically updated. This makes it much easier to respond to client changes and explore different options to align with their budget.

Some of the most commonly adjusted Buildups include switching between brick/blockwork and timber construction, changing roofing types from pitched to flat, and updating internal walls from stud to concrete.

Toggling My Buildups View

You can see which Buildups your project is using by clicking on the drop-down arrow next to the word Buildups. Please note: deselecting items in the Buildups list does not remove them from the project costs. It simply hides them from view, making it easier to navigate without having to scroll through dozens of rows of pricing data.

As ever, you remain in complete control. At any time, you can manually adjust the specifications of each task by selecting the relevant dropdown, changing the required quantity, marking a material as client supplied, or removing an item altogether.

We’re always improving BuildPartner to help you make changes faster, reduce manual updates, and keep your project costs accurate. If you have any feedback on how you’re using Buildups or suggestions for future improvements, we’d love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected].

BuildPartner’s specification and bulk editing tools make it simple to update materials, costs, and project details without having to make changes individually. This guide explains how to make those changes to keep your project pricing consistent and accurate. 

Changing A Project’s Specification

Quite often, clients will change their minds about a project’s specifications. There’s a super-easy way to change a project’s specification in BuildPartner without having to create another from scratch.

At the top of the Schedule page, look for the icon that looks like 3 lines (usually next to the paintbrush icon). Click it to reveal a drop-down list: Low, Medium, and High.

• Low spec includes more budget-friendly brands such as Leyland, Everest, and Wickes.
• Medium spec includes widely used brands such as Dulux, Hamilton, and Slim Line.
• High spec includes premium brands such as Farrow & Ball, Fine Line, and Siemens.

Choose your preferred specification. It’s as simple as that!

Now, your client may still request certain materials of a particular specification. For instance, to balance their budget, they may insist that a low spec is used throughout an entire house, but they may want a high-spec bathroom suite.

In that case, on the “Schedule” tab, you can manually change the project areas and tasks by selecting the relevant dropdown in the Specification column.

For example, the available acrylic shower tray options based on material costs include:

• Low spec: The Bath Store – £135
• Mid spec: Victoria Plumb or similar – £202
• High spec: CP Hart or similar – £270

Using The Bulk Edit Function

When navigating the interface, you might have noticed the bulk edit function at the top of the Schedule page. It can be toggled on and off, but what does it actually do?

Once switched on, it monitors for changes that could apply to similar tasks and prompts you when an update opportunity is available. You remain in control, with changes only applied when you choose to update similar tasks.

Some of these changes include:

• Changing the task itself
• Changing or adding a specification
• Marking/unmarking “Client Supplied”

For example, suppose you check the box “Client Supplied” for skirting in the kitchen; it would pop up with a message:

“We’ve detected 5 tasks named ‘Skirting’. Would you like to make this change to all of them?”

Or suppose you changed the electric towel rail from standard spec to mid spec:

“We’ve detected 2 tasks named ‘Electric towel rail’. Would you like to make this change to all of them?”

When this popup box appears, you have two options: 

1. “No, this task only”
2. “Update similar tasks”

So rest assured, no significant changes will be made to your projects without your authorisation.

We’re always improving BuildPartner to help you work faster, reduce manual updates, and simplify project management. Let us know how you’re finding things or what you’d like to see by emailing us at [email protected]

When building a cost plan, you or your client may prefer an estimate for labour and materials only and exclude all finishes for the homeowner to supply. This is now very easy to do thanks to the “Toggle All Finishes” feature. With it, you can update finishes in bulk in just a couple of clicks, saving you time and reducing the risk of errors. In this article, we’ll show you how.

How To Toggle All Finishes

To get started, head over to the Schedule page. You’ll see an icon that looks like a paintbrush. Hover over it, and it’ll reveal a message: “Toggle finishes to client-supplied/builder-supplied”.

Before clicking, you may find peace of mind in creating a copy of your project, in case the bulk changes don’t produce the outcome you’re after. You can do this via the Info tab > Project Actions > Duplicate Project.

When you’re ready, click the paintbrush icon. A pop-up message will appear confirming the action. The change is fully reversible, so you don’t need to worry, and you can also manually adjust items afterwards.

For example, in a list of 67 finishes, you might only need to override a handful, e.g., five or six specific items the builder will continue to supply. This is far quicker and easier than scrolling through and selecting 60+ items individually.

When you’re ready, Click Confirm to proceed.

After changing to client-supplied, in the example of a 35m² home extension, the overall cost reduced from £153.5k to £118.7k (a 22.7% decrease). This decrease is indicative only and will vary depending on the project type.

Drilling Down Into The Changes

To sense-check the detail, head to the Schedule page and click the collapse icon (shown as a plus symbol). This will expand the full itemised breakdown. You’ll also see a column with checkboxes for client-supplied items. A tick indicates the client is supplying that item.

To see how this applies in practice, take the External Wall Structure section (screenshot below). Here, bricks are classified as a finishing material and will now default to client-supplied. However, items such as wall ties, concrete blocks, and the damp-proof course are classified as building materials.

To revert this change and switch everything back to builder-supplied, simply click the paintbrush icon again and select confirm. This will restore the original cost and remove all client-supplied checkmarks.

Cost Breakdown Overview

If you want a top-level view of finishing and building material costs, head to the Dashboard and scroll to the Resource Cost Breakdown section.

This is particularly useful when you start toggling items manually, as you can immediately see the impact and helps you align the cost plan with the client’s budget.

We’re continually improving BuildPartner to make quoting for projects easier, faster, and as frictionless as possible. If you’ve got feedback on the Toggle Finishes feature or anything else you’d like to see improved, drop us a line at [email protected]

Issuing homeowners a dashboard link in BuildPartner gives them a simple way to view your estimate without needing their own account or requiring you to download and email your estimate. This guide explains how to generate and share a homeowner dashboard link, giving clients greater transparency into their project’s pricing.

Finding The Dashboard Link

Log into your BuildPartner account and navigate to the Dashboard tab. In the top-right corner, click Dashboard Link.

Clicking Dashboard Link opens a confirmation window showing that the link has been successfully copied to your clipboard, ready for you to paste and send to your client via email, WhatsApp, or your preferred messaging platform.

Testing The Dashboard Link

If you want peace of mind and to see exactly what your client will see, simply paste the link into a new tab. If you encounter any loading issues, it may be due to being already logged into BuildPartner in your current browser session.

In that case, open the link in a different browser (not another tab of your existing one). For example, if you normally use Chrome, try Microsoft Edge or Safari and paste the link there. Alternatively, you can open an incognito or private browsing window and use the link from there.

Viewers can’t edit any project details, but they do get access to Stages and Areas, allowing them to see how costs are broken down across individual tasks. They can also export a full project breakdown in Word or PDF format for easy sharing and record-keeping. 

The only change they can make is to deselect items to remove them from the breakdown, allowing them to see the impact on the overall project cost in real time. For example, if they remove a specific area such as a utility room, the total cost will automatically update to reflect that change.

A Timeline

The dashboard link also gives clients a live timeline of how long the project is expected to take.

It’s based on the critical path, and tasks are laid out in the exact order they would typically need to happen, assuming each stage follows on immediately from the last. In other words, it models a “best case flow” with:

1. No delays between trades
2. No waiting time for materials
3. No unexpected gaps in scheduling

So, when sending a dashboard link to a client, it’s worth mentioning that this should be read as a structured sequence rather than a guaranteed calendar. 

It’ll give homeowners a clear view of when disruption is likely to happen so they can plan around it. For example, during an extension build, they’ll be able to see roughly when the knock-through is scheduled, so they can plan for dust protection, access, or time away from the property.

Mobile Compatibility

The dashboard link is fully accessible on mobile devices as well as desktop, allowing homeowners to view project costs on the go. The experience is designed to be responsive across screen sizes, though some views are optimised for landscape mode. If prompted, rotating the device will help ensure the dashboard displays correctly and remains easy to navigate.

We’re always improving BuildPartner to make project pricing more transparent and help you keep clients better informed. If you have feedback on this feature or ideas for what would make it more useful, we’d love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected]

Inviting contractors to your project in BuildPartner makes it easy to request quotes and compare pricing side by side in one place. It brings all your tender activity into a single, centralised dashboard so nothing gets lost in email threads or spreadsheets. This guide explains how to invite contractors and streamline the quotation process from start to finish.

Finding and Filtering Suggested Contractors

To get started, head over to the Quotes page. Beneath the benchmark costs (low, mid, and high estimates), you'll find a section titled Suggested Quoters. Here, you'll see a selection of contractor tiles displaying the company name, contractor name, and their distance from your project, based on the postcode you entered on the Info tab when creating your project.

Use the Filter: Distance dropdown to narrow your list of suggested contractors based on how close they are to your project. You can choose to display contractors within 5, 10, 25, or 50 miles.

Alternatively, scroll past the first few contractor tiles and click the View All button beneath them. This opens the list of suggested contractors, allowing you to browse businesses located up to 150 miles from your project.

Getting An Estimate

To get an estimate, start by reviewing the list of suggested contractors and carrying out your own independent research where helpful, such as checking platforms like Google, Trustpilot, and Checkatrade for reviews and ratings. This’ll help you narrow down a shortlist of suitable contractors.

Once you’re ready, click Get Estimate to compare their pricing against your cost plan. This is a high-level, provisional estimate based on your initial project specifications, which includes materials and labour for the main construction work, but the final price may vary following a detailed site survey.

Inviting A Contractor To Quote

To invite a contractor to quote, click Invite on their tile. Nothing will happen immediately. A pop-up invitation email will appear, containing the contractor’s email address and a pre-written message body that cannot be edited, although you can edit the subject line if required. 

In the body of the email, you may notice custom values, e.g., {{projectName}}. These are automatically pulled from your project’s Info page. Once you’re happy with the details, click Send to send the invitation.

Already Have A Contractor In Mind?

If you already know a contractor, click the + Add custom builder button. A field will appear where you can enter the contractor’s email address and send the invite. They can then submit a quote for your project using BuildPartner’s functionality, even if they are not a paying subscriber.

Once contractors submit a quote through BuildPartner, they’ll appear on your Quotes page, where you can compare them using the Compare Quotes button. You can view a full breakdown of each quote by stage or area, and drill down into individual tasks for a detailed view.

We’re continuously refining BuildPartner to make quoting, comparison, and contractor collaboration more transparent and reduce friction. Let us know how you’re finding things or what you’d like to see by emailing us at [email protected]