Add materials manually
1
Open the Materials catalog
In the sidebar, go to Costs > Materials.
2
Create a new material
Click New Material to open the entry form.
3
Fill in the details
Enter the following fields:
- Name — A descriptive name that will appear in estimate autocomplete (e.g.,
1/2" Drywall Sheet 4×8) - Unit — How the material is measured (
EA,LF,SF,CY,LB, etc.) - Unit cost — Your current price per unit
- Category — Organizes the material for browsing and reporting (e.g.,
Drywall,Lumber) - Supplier — The vendor you purchase this material from (optional, but recommended)
4
Save
Click Save. The material is immediately available for use in estimates.
Import from Excel or CSV
If you already maintain a materials list in a spreadsheet, you can import it directly rather than entering each item by hand.1
Click Import
On the Materials page, click Import.
2
Upload your file
Upload your
.xlsx or .csv file. Files must have a header row.3
Map columns
Match your spreadsheet columns to the Name, Unit, Unit Cost, Category, and Supplier fields. Any column you don’t map is skipped.
4
Review and confirm
Preview the first several rows to catch mismatches, then click Confirm Import.
Search and filter the catalog
Use the search bar at the top of the Materials page to find items by name or keyword. You can also filter by:- Category — Narrow to a specific material group
- Supplier — Show only materials from a given vendor
- Last updated — Sort to surface the oldest pricing so you can review it first
Use materials in estimates
When you add a line item to an estimate, the description field offers autocomplete suggestions from your catalog. Start typing a material name and matching results appear instantly. Selecting a suggestion auto-fills the unit, unit cost, and supplier for that line item. You can override any of these values for the specific estimate without affecting the catalog entry.The autocomplete search is AI-assisted. If you type a description that doesn’t match an exact name in your catalog, Contractor Co-Pilot will suggest the closest match based on meaning, not just spelling.
Keep prices current
Material costs change. A few ways to stay accurate:- Edit a single material — Click any row to open its detail panel and update the unit cost.
- Bulk import updated pricing — Re-import a CSV with revised costs. Existing records are matched by name and updated in place.
- Sort by Last Updated — Find materials that haven’t been reviewed recently and update them before sending a new estimate.
Organize with categories
Categories let you browse the catalog by material type and filter reports by cost group. The default categories include:Structural
Lumber, Concrete & Masonry, Steel
Enclosure
Drywall, Insulation, Roofing
Mechanical
Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC
Finishes
Paint & Finishes, Hardware, Flooring
Division-level pricing overrides
If your organization uses divisions, each division can maintain its own unit costs for the same material. A division-level price takes precedence over the organization default when estimating within that division. To set a division override, open a material’s detail panel, select the Division pricing tab, and enter the cost for each division that needs a different rate.Division pricing is available on the Growth plan and above. See Divisions for setup instructions.
Next steps
Cost profiles
Apply markup rules to your material costs when building estimates.
Suppliers
Manage the vendors linked to your materials.
Estimates
See how materials flow into line items and totals.
Takeoffs
Match takeoff measurements to catalog materials automatically.