How the materials tracker works

The materials tracker is the shared view of every item on your project. It records what's been specified, what's been ordered, who placed each order, and when each delivery is expected. Once it's live, you and your builder run it together — Beams isn't responsible for updates and isn't procuring items on your behalf.

How the tracker gets started

The tracker doesn't appear automatically. A Beams planner or designer kicks it off from the admin side once your materials list is finalised. Three things happen at that point:

The tracker auto-populates from your catalogue selections.
The materials list locks. You'll see a Materials finalised banner with a View tracker link.
The planner explicitly shares the tracker with you and your builder. Only then does it appear in your navigation.

If you don't see it yet, your materials list isn't finalised. Talk to your planner.

What the tracker shows

At the top of the tracker, a project header with: title, address, customer, builder, a Materials needed by date (the anchor everything else dates against), and a delivery-progress percentage that climbs as items arrive.

Below the header, a row per line item with these columns:

Received (a checkbox you tick when the item arrives).
Status — defaults to To be ordered on new items; changes as items move through the procurement cycle.
Image — a thumbnail of the product.
Item — the product name.
Specs — short specification notes.
Category — e.g. tiles, sanitaryware, lighting.
Qty — quantity.
Supplier.
Order no. — the supplier's reference once it's been placed.
Procured by — recorded after the order goes in, showing whether you, your builder, or someone else placed it.
Order date and Expected date.

Each row has a comments pencil and a delete icon. You can add notes against any item.

Running the tracker

Add items as the project evolves. The Add item button at the top lets either of you put new items on the tracker after it's been kicked off — useful for things that surface mid-build.
Update statuses as you go. When you place an order, fill in the order reference, the date, and who procured it. When the item arrives, tick the Received box.
Watch the dates against the project anchor. The Materials needed by date is the timing anchor. Items behind it surface the risk before it becomes a delay.
Export. A CSV export sits in the tracker for offline reference or sharing.

Who's responsible for what

Beams isn't responsible for updates to the tracker, and isn't procuring items on your behalf. The split is:

You order most materials directly from suppliers (partner or not) and update the tracker against your orders.
Your builder orders the items they're sourcing — consumables, structural materials, anything inside the construction fee — and updates the tracker against those.
Beams kicks the tracker off and is available if something's wrong with the underlying data, but doesn't update individual rows.

What this means for you

Treat the tracker as a working document. It's most useful when both you and your builder keep it current — a small amount of effort during procurement saves a lot of trouble during the build. If a delivery slips or something arrives wrong, update the tracker first, then follow the article What to do if a delivery is missing or wrong.

How materials work — your role, the builder's role, ours
Sequencing materials with the build programme
Bringing your own items into the design