Skip to content
SubmittalLinkHelp

Create a submittal

Owners and project managers create submittals from the Submittals list. Each submittal has a number, a spec section, attachments, and one or more review steps.

Create a submittal

Section titled “Create a submittal”
  1. Go to Left menu → Submittals and click Create.
  2. (Optional) Choose a Template to prefill the form. See Use submittal templates.
  3. Fill in the details:
    • Number and Revision. Revision starts at 0.
    • Title
    • Specification Section: pick from the project’s spec sections.
    • Submittal Manager: the person who owns this submittal and gets it back after review.
    • Description
    • Priority: High, Medium (default), or Low.
    • Status: Open (default), Draft, or Closed.
    • Issue Date and Due Date
    • Received From: the subcontractor or supplier who provided the submittal.
    • Submitted For: For Approval (default) or For Record.
    • Cc: people who should be kept informed.
    • Attachments: product data, shop drawings, and other files.
  4. Add review steps. For each step, choose one or more assignees. Click Add Review Step to add another step. Steps run in order. To have the subcontractor upload their shop drawings before consultants review, put them on Step 1. See Review workflow and ball in court.
  5. (Optional) Turn on Generate Coversheet to add a cover page to the PDF. This needs at least one PDF attachment. See Coversheets.
  6. Turn on Email Notifications if you want to notify reviewers. Status must be Open for emails to send.
  7. Click Create Submittal to save, or Create and Send Emails to save and notify.

If material release tracking is on for the project, you’ll also see Released On and Estimate Lead Time (in weeks).

Use submittal templates

Section titled “Use submittal templates”

Templates save your usual setup so you don’t rebuild it for every submittal. A template stores the review steps, spec section, submittal manager, received from, submitted for, Cc, priority, and a due date offset (the number of days from today).

  • Select template: prefills the form, including the due date and the next submittal number for the template’s spec section. If you already entered data, you’ll be asked to confirm replacing it.
  • Add Template: saves a new template.
  • Edit Template: changes an existing template.

Use AI Enhance

Section titled “Use AI Enhance”

Click AI Enhance to rewrite your description clearly and professionally. See AI Enhance.

Update a submittal

Section titled “Update a submittal”

On the Submittals list, open the row menu and click Update. The Update Submittal form has the same fields, without templates. Click Update Submittal, or Update Submittal and Send Emails to notify again.

Frequently asked questions

Section titled “Frequently asked questions”

Can I add more than one reviewer to a step?

Section titled “Can I add more than one reviewer to a step?”

Yes. Add several assignees to one step. The first non-pending response from anyone on that step completes the step. See Review workflow and ball in court.

Does creating a submittal automatically email reviewers?

Section titled “Does creating a submittal automatically email reviewers?”

Only if Email Notifications is on and the status is Open. Click Create and Send Emails to send them.

What’s the difference between “For Approval” and “For Record”?

Section titled “What’s the difference between “For Approval” and “For Record”?”

For Approval means reviewers must approve before work proceeds. For Record means the submittal is filed for information only.

Why is Generate Coversheet turned off?

Section titled “Why is Generate Coversheet turned off?”

Generate Coversheet needs at least one PDF attachment. Attach a PDF and try again.

Why is the Create button blocked?

Section titled “Why is the Create button blocked?”

Only owners and project managers can create submittals. If you have one of those roles, the project may have outstanding invoices, which blocks new submittals until payment. Existing submittals stay readable.