Time and materials
Log the hours spent on each task, keep a materials list per task, and tick items off on the shopping list in the shop, even offline.
Two lists sit on every task: the time people have spent on it, and the materials it needs. Both are on every plan.
Time#
You log time by hand on a task's Time tab: how long, which day and who did it. Every member who can see the task sees the time logged on it, with totals per person. The project's Time tab adds it all up: the total, by person and by task. Logged time is hours only. It carries no money and doesn't count towards budgets.
Materials#
Each task has a Materials tab: a list of what the task needs, with quantities, units, a supplier and, for members who see money, an estimated cost. You can type items one by one, paste a whole list, or add them from a calculator's results. See Tools and floorplan.
As you buy things, tick them off. Bought items can be recorded as expenses, which moves their cost from the estimate into the project's spend. Until then, the estimates show beside your spend as a separate line, never as part of it. See Budgets and expenses.
The shopping list#
The Shopping list gathers every task's materials into one list, grouped by supplier or room, with large ticks made for a phone in a shop. Ticking items off works without a signal on every plan. Open it from the Project options menu or from any task's Materials tab.
Who can do what#
- Owners, Admins and Contributors can log time and change materials on any task.
- Assigned-only members can do both on their own tasks only.
- Viewers can see time and materials but can't change them.
- Only members who see money see material costs.
See Team and roles for how permissions are set.
How-to guides
- Log time on a taskRecord how long someone spent on a task, on which day, typed the way you'd say it.
- Change or delete a time entryCorrect the duration, date, person or note on a time entry, or delete it with an undo straight after.
- See time across the projectUse the project's Time tab to see the total logged, who logged it and which tasks it went on.
- Build a task's materials listList what a task needs, with quantities, units, suppliers and estimated costs, one item at a time or by pasting a list.
- Mark materials bought and record them as expensesTick materials off as you buy them, record part of a quantity, and turn what you've bought into an expense.
- Use the shopping list in the shopSee what tasks in progress need in one list, buy for other tasks at the same time, and tick items off as you buy them, even without a signal.
- Log one receipt for several itemsRecord a single expense for everything on a shop receipt, linked to each material it covers.
Questions
Can I start a timer instead of typing the time?
Not at the moment. You log time by hand on a task's Time tab, typing the duration the way you'd say it, such as "1:30" or "90m". See Log time on a task.
Who can see the time I log?
Everyone on the project who can see the task. Logged time carries no money, so it's shown to members who can't see budgets or expenses too.
Does the shopping list work without a signal?
Yes. Ticking items off works offline on every plan, and the ticks are sent when you're back online. Open the list once with a signal first, so it's saved on your phone. Adding items or logging a receipt offline needs Premium or Professional.
Why can't I see the costs on a materials list?
Costs are shown only to members who see money on that task. Assigned-only members see costs on their own tasks only. Ask the project's Owner or an Admin if you need to see them. See Team and roles.
Do materials count towards my budget?
Not until you record them as expenses. Until then they show as a separate estimated line beside your spend, and don't trigger budget alerts. See Mark materials bought and record them as expenses.
What happens to a material's expense if I delete the material?
The expense stays in the project's spending. Deleting the expense, or unlinking it from the material, puts the material's cost back in the estimate instead.
Related
- Budgets and expensesSet budgets for the project, its rooms and tasks, record what you spend, handle other currencies and get alerts before you overspend.
- Tools and floorplanCalculators, wall builders and the floorplan creator: work out quantities, draw your home and save the results to a project.
- The app on your phoneInstall RenovU on your phone, tablet or computer, get notifications there, and keep working when you lose signal.
- TasksAdd tasks, track progress, search and filter the board, and use dependencies, subtasks, notes and the bin.