BUILDTETHER HELP CENTER
START-TO-FINISH TUTORIAL
Open Projects to create a blank job, or choose AI setup to upload a full plan set and schedules. AI setup prepares editable rooms, clear plan-sheet titles, room assignments, listed products and official manufacturer documents, then waits for contractor approval.
Choose suggested rooms or enter custom names. Create separate areas whenever the field information, plan pages or selections are different.
Pick Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC, Tile or another common category before each upload, or create your own. Use General for information everyone in the room should see.
Choose the large PDF locally, then click thumbnails or say “Only upload pages 3, 7 and 15.” BuildTether adds only those sheets to the selected trade in the room instead of uploading the entire plan set.
Open an uploaded plan or picture inside Studio. Draw directly on it or add text for dimensions, fixture locations, tile layouts and corrections. The marked-up copy keeps the original trade category.
For a walkthrough, open Field Camera, speak while taking pictures, and say each room name as you move. AI matches each picture to the timed speech and prepares its room, trade, priority, note and caption. Review, keep or discard every picture, then approve. Use Smart Field Notes for one quick spoken or typed instruction.
Set each item for Field QR, Project Team, Owner/Client or Contractor Only. This keeps public field directions separate from private project discussions.
Download the room QR code, print it and post it where work happens. The printed code stays the same while the room information keeps updating and stays organized by trade.
Use QR Tools for products, websites, online manuals, documents, contacts or custom information that should not be connected to a particular room. These tools always remain free.
Review Team Member submissions, approve changes and replace outdated information. Everyone who scans sees the latest approved version.
Add the employee names and private PINs, then print one shared time-clock QR for the job entrance. Employees can save their personal clock link for faster access, but no download is required: they can scan the shared QR, choose their name, enter their PIN and clock in or out. If someone forgets, use Manager time correction to enter the actual time and reason.
Open Living Schedule and upload the contractor estimate. Choose the intended start date and add known crew, delivery or deadline information. BuildTether reads the estimate for work scope—not cost output—and combines it with the plans and project record. AI predicts activity durations, dated starts and finishes, parallel work, inspection gates, milestones and the critical path. Review the first draft, then add, remove, rename, resequence or edit activities and predecessor IDs before approval. During the job, speak or type what changed. Review the AI suggestion, apply only the correct changes, approve the current schedule, then print it as one 24 × 36 master or tiled letter sheets.
COMMON QUESTIONS
It is a continuously editable project schedule and printable critical-path Gantt chart. Start by uploading the contractor estimate. BuildTether combines it with the organized project information and AI construction-sequencing knowledge to prepare a draft. The contractor verifies and approves every schedule and every later AI-suggested timeline change.
It reads the uploaded plan set and schedules, proposes plain-English room names, separates and renames plan sheets, assigns the relevant sheets to each room, extracts listed fixtures and appliances, and looks for exact-model documents on official manufacturer websites. The contractor reviews every choice before BuildTether creates the project and QR codes.
No. BuildTether flags uncertain items and requires contractor approval, but AI can still miss or misread information. Verify the draft against the stamped plans, revisions, approved submittals, manufacturer instructions, codes and field conditions before using it for construction.
Choose Start Field Camera on your phone, speak while taking pictures, and name each room as you enter it. BuildTether uses the time each picture was taken to match it with your words. It prepares an individual room, caption and field note for every picture. You review and can change everything before anything is posted to a room QR code.
Use Smart Field Notes for one quick instruction. Speak or type the direction, add photos if needed, and choose which pictures to keep. AI suggests the room, trade, priority, clean wording and picture caption. You review and can change everything before approving it.
BuildTether’s independent QR tools are free too. The $24 monthly plan pays for the management system behind the room codes: AI plan reading, room organization, easier sheet names, model/spec lookup, Smart Field Notes, photos, markups, approvals, collaboration and the permanent project record.
No. A worker can scan the room QR code using the normal phone camera and open the current field information in the browser.
No. The contractor adds the employee roster in BuildTether and prints one shared time-clock QR at the job entrance. An employee can scan it with the normal phone camera, choose their name, enter their private PIN and clock in or out. Saving the employee’s personal link to the phone home screen is faster, but it is optional.
Yes. The one posted QR identifies the job and opens the contractor’s active employee list. Each employee chooses their own name and enters their private PIN, so separate printed QR codes are not required.
No. The code points to the living room page, so plans, notes, photos and approvals can change without replacing the posted code.
Yes. Approved Team Members can submit updates, questions and files through the portal. The contractor reviews them before they become official.
Yes. Each note and file can be limited to the Project Team, Owner/Client or Contractor Only instead of appearing on the public Field QR page.
Yes. Studio includes markup tools for drawing and adding text. The marked-up version is saved separately from the original.
Yes. Every uploaded file can be assigned to a common trade or a custom category. The QR page groups the room files by those trades, while one QR code still serves the entire room.
No. Use Select exact pages from a large PDF inside the room. Choose thumbnails or type an instruction such as “Only upload pages 3, 7 and 15.” Only those pages are converted and uploaded.
No. Location is requested only at the moment an employee presses Clock In or Clock Out. There is no perimeter or background tracking.
The contractor can open Time clock → Manager time correction, choose the employee and action, enter the actual date and time, and record a reason. The manager-entered correction remains visible to the employee and in the contractor audit trail.
You can, but room-specific codes are more useful because each trade immediately sees the plans and details for the exact area where they are standing.
Yes. Open the room in Studio and press Delete room beside the save status. You will be asked to confirm because the room QR page, notes, selections, files and updates are permanently removed. A project must keep at least one room.
Yes. Open Studio → QR Tools to make independent codes for products, websites, documents, contacts or custom information. You can save, download and print each one for free, even if you do not subscribe to BuildTether Management.
Not yet. Payroll export and direct integrations are planned after the core time-review workflow is finalized.
Yes. BuildTether can issue a single-use Partner Pass for an approved creator or industry partnership. The account uses normal Small Company limits, skips billing for the agreed period and should be clearly disclosed when free access is exchanged for coverage.