What are Submittals?

Submittals are documents or materials submitted for review and approval before work is completed or materials are installed on a project.

Common examples include:

• Shop drawings
• Product specifications
• Finish samples
• Equipment data sheets
• Material selections
• Manufacturer documentation

Submittals help ensure all parties are aligned on products, materials, and expectations before work proceeds.

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Submittal Dashboard

When you open Submittals on a specific job, you will be taken to the Submittals dashboard. You will see two tabs across the top: Submittal Logs and Packages. If no submittals have been created yet, the screen shows the prompt "Add a Submittal."

The + Submittal button is the primary action button. Clicking the dropdown arrow next to it reveals three options:

• + Submittal — Create a new individual submittal
• Package — Create a new submittal package. A package groups related submittals together under a shared name (i.e. by area or phase, trade, etc.) Packages are optional and do not affect how individual submittals work. 
• Generate Submittals – Upload a spec book and let Buildertrend automatically draft your submittal log. Results are delivered as a CSV to review and import. 
• Import Submittals — Upload an existing submittal log via CSV or spreadsheet.

Additional controls on the dashboard:

• Settings (gear icon) — Configure job-level settings such as Packages and Divisions. Division codes are configured at the job level and pull from a standard set of CSI codes. You have the ability to add or delete Division codes.
• Views — Customize which columns are visible in the Submittal log. You can show or hide columns, drag to reorder them, resize them, freeze or pin key columns, and sort by multiple columns at once. Column preferences are saved per device.

Submittal Log

The Submittal Log is the central dashboard for all submittals on a job. It gives you a quick-glance view of every active submittal, including:

• Ball in Court (BIC) — who currently has the next action
• Status — where each submittal is in the process
• Due dates — how close each item is to its deadline
• Customizable Columns — show, hide, reorder, and pin columns; preferences are saved per device

Customize your submittal log by clicking Views and selecting or deselecting the columns you would like to display. 

You also have the ability to rearrange your columns by dragging-and-dropping them across your Submittal Log.

 

Packages

Packages are an optional way to group related submittals together under a shared label by trade, phase, material type, or whatever makes sense for the job. Creating or changing a package does not affect the status or workflow of any submittal inside of it.

To create a Package, click Settings (gear icon) and select Packages.

Type the title of the Package in the provided text box and select + Add.

A list of your Packages will be created here. You can rename or delete them at any time. 

To edit or add to your list of Division codes, select Divisions. You can rename, add, or delete your Division codes here.

 

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Creating a Submittal 

Click + Submittal to open the form. The screen is divided into two sides: Submittal Details on the left and the Workflow on the right.

Submittal Details:

• Title – Descriptive name for the submittal 
• Submittal Type – Categorize the document or request type
• Package – Group related submittals together when applicable
• Division – Job-level list of CSI division codes
• Spec section – Associate the submittal with a specification section
• Description – Add additional details or context
• Plans and Specs – Link relevant Plans and Specifications to the submittal for additional project context 
• Final due date – Establish the required completion date
• Sub/Trade partner – The sub/trade responsible for uploading documents
• Viewers – A distribution list that receives notifications only, cannot take action on the submittal

Workflow:

The workflow section is where you configure what happens when the submittal is sent. Three options are available via radio buttons:

• Request documents for approval — The full workflow. The submittal manager sends the submittal to the sub to upload documents, then they route to approvers. This is the default.
• Request documents only – Use when documents are needed from a sub but no formal approval is required. 
• Send for approval only — An approver step only. Use when documents already exist and only need sign-off.

Workflow steps: 

• Request documents — Subs or trade partners upload and send files. Set the number of days allowed and assign the sub.
• Review submitted documents for approval — Optional checkbox. Allows the submittal manager to pre-screen documents before routing to the next person for approval.
• Approval — Each approver reviews files and adds their response. Set the number of days allowed and assign the approver.
• + Add approval step – add additional approval steps to build a multi-step chain.
• Return to manager — Always the final step. The submittal manager reviews feedback and publishes or revises.

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Workflow & Approval Process

If you are the Submittal manager, click Send to start the workflow process. The system activates step 1 and notifies all assignees. The step due dates are automatically calculated based on the durations configured on each step. When all required participants in the active step have completed their activity, the system automatically advances to the next step. The next step's assignees are notified and the Ball in Court (BIC) status updates. This continues until the final step is completed.

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Editing an Active Workflow Step 

Submittal managers can edit an active workflow step as long as no participant on that step has responded. You can:

• Add or remove participants
• Adjust the Step Days
• Remove the active step

When an active step is edited, the workflow automatically updates the Ball in Court, assignees and due dates. Newly added participants are notified, while removed participants are not, and participants who remain assigned will receive a new notification.

If the active step is removed, the workflow automatically advances to the next step.

Once any participant has responded, the active step can no longer be edited. Completed, rejected and skipped steps also cannot be edited.

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As an Approver you'll have four different responses to pick from:

• Approved – Submission fully complies with project requirements. Fabrication, procurement, and installation can proceed exactly as submitted. Submittal then moves to submittal manager to publish. 
• Approved as noted – Submission is acceptable, but reviewer comments must still be followed during fabrication or installation. Work can proceed with conditions of approval now logged on the submittal. Submittal then moves to submittal manager to publish. 
• Revise and submit – Reviewer found issues requiring correction before approval can be granted. A revised submission is expected and another review cycle will occur. Submittal moves back to submittal manager to create a new version and start the workflow over. 
• Rejected – Submission is fundamentally unacceptable due to major noncompliance, incorrect product selection, or design conflict. A different approach or product is typically required.

Forward for review: 

An approver can forward a submittal to a reviewer at any point during their step. The reviewer receives an email to view the submittal. The reviewer's response does not block the approver from making their own decision. 

The reviewer receives an email to view the submittal. The reviewer's response does not block the approver from making their own decision.  

Publish your Submittal: 

Publish is the final action performed by the submittal manager after approval is obtained. After publish, all participants will be notified and the submittal is now read-only. Editing is no longer available.

All subs/vendors and reviewers will be notified of the publication and receive an email notification. They can view the submittal there by clicking View Submittal. 

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Activity Log & Versioning

If a submittal needs to be revised, the submittal manager is notified and can create a new version with one click.

All existing details carry over, and version history is tracked in the activity log. Every action on a submittal by any participant is logged with a timestamp and visible to all stakeholders. This provides a full paper trail in the event of a dispute.

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Sub/Vendor Participation

Submittal Published:

When your sub/vendor has been assigned and/or is next in line in the workflow, they will receive a notification. The sub/trade partner will click View Submittal. 

Your Sub/Vendor will be taken to the Submittal page in their Sub/Vendor Portal (if the Sub/Vendor is not active in Buildertrend, they will still be taken to a webpage where they can interact with the Submittal as if they were) to complete the request. They can add documents to the Submittal by clicking Add under the Documents section.

 

Once added, they will click Submit Documents to complete the request.

 

Submittal Published:

When you publish your Submittal, the sub/trade partner that you have assigned to it will receive an email notifying them of the publication. They can review the publication by clicking View Submittal.

 

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Roles & Permissions

Every submittal workflow is made up of participants assigned to one of the following roles:

• Submittal Manager – Creates, manages, edits, and closes the submittal.
• Sub/Trade partner – Uploads documents
• Approver – Reviews documents and responds
• Reviewer (Forward for review) – Allows reviewer to view submittal. Does not block the workflow.
• Viewer – Receives notifications only. Cannot take any action. 

Permissions:

All user types don't have to be active to utilize this feature, just an email is required. 

Internal User: 

• Can create, edit, start workflows, and delete submittals
• Can be designated as submittal manager or added as a viewer
• Submittal manager is a submittal-level role, not an account permission, any internal user with job access can be assigned this role on a given submittal
• There is no dedicated permission for submittals; access is determined by job access

Subs:

• Can only view submittals they are currently or were previously assigned to
• Cannot create submittals, start workflows, delete, access settings, or serve as Submittal Manager
• Can be added as the Sub/Trade partner or a viewer

Clients:

• Can only view submittals they are currently or were previously assigned to
• Cannot create submittals, start workflows, delete, access settings, or serve as Submittal Manager
• Can only be added as a viewer

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