Adding and editing materials

In this article

• What are materials? 
• Adding a new material 
• Editing materials
• Archiving materials
• Deleting materials
• Want to know more?

What are materials?

The materials area of Chalkstring holds all of the items that you buy from suppliers to complete your project. Materials are used with labour activities to create product templates to define the scope of work for the project.

Based on how they are priced, materials can be simple or configurable. Configurable materials are those that have more than one option available for the same price rate. Simple materials have a single price per size or configuration of the item.

Materials are used in off-site assessments to represent the cost of the items required. They are also used to generate the material bill and to raise material orders once the project goes on site. 

Materials require the user to define the single unit size, and the standard supplied pack size. This information is used when ordering to automatically round to the nearest supplied pack size.

Materials can be linked to one or more material quotes to manage the price you pay from each supplier for the item.

Materials can be added manually or can be imported using our material import template. Instructions for adding manually are given in this article. For information about using the material import template please contact our support team. 

Adding a new material

To add a new material you will need to have the necessary permissions. If you don't see the options in the steps below but believe you should have these permissions, please speak to your system administrator or contact our support team.

Steps to add a material

1.  From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the 'Resources' icon.

2. Click the 'Materials’ sub menu.

3. You can check to see if the material is already set up by typing part of the name into the filter at the top of the screen.  If it is not already set up you can add a new item. 
4. Click the '+ New material' button in the top right of the screen.
5. This will open a form with the following fields:
   
   1. Name (required) - enter the name of the material as the supplier/manufacturer would refer to it (remember this will be used on orders when the project is on site). Names need to be unique.
   2. Type (required) - choose the type of material from the dropdown. This is a way of categorising materials and helps when searching for materials e.g. metal, plasterboard, timber. If the type you want isn't currently in the list you can click the 'Add new' button next to the field and enter and save a new type.
   3. Brand - enter the brand of the material. This field will show you brands previously entered so if it is already in the list you can select it. If not, you can type directly into the field. For unbranded items type or select 'Unbranded'. This information is used on quote requests and orders.
   4. Package (required) - From the list select one or more packages that the material is used for. This helps when searching for materials.
   5. Specifics (required) - this field can be used for part numbers, pack size or weight information or data sheet information such as coverage. Data in this field appears when you hover over the material name in product templates. 
   6. Unit of measurement supplied in (required) - choose from the dropdown. This should be the unit the item is priced in. For example, although you buy plasterboard in sheets, it is priced per square metre so you would select square metre in this field. This unit will be linked to the material quotes and used when raising orders.
   7. Configurable (required) - from the dropdown select simple or configurable. Choose 'configurable' if the material comes in different size or colour options that are all priced in the same way, otherwise leave it as 'simple'.
      See Configurable material examples for more information. 
      
      Make sure you have filled in 'Unit of measurement supplied in' before completing the following fields
      
      Simple materials
      
   8. Single unit size (required) - enter the individual size of the item based on the unit of measure
   9. Pack Size (required) - if the item can be bought in bulk or comes in larger packs then enter the number of items per pack and the pack name e.g. pallet. If the item is bought individually then just enter '1' per 'Sold in single units'.
      
      Configurable materials
   10. Singular name  - select an option from the dropdown for the name of a single item
   11. Pack name - if the item can be bought in bulk or comes in larger packs then select the pack name e.g. pallet from the dropdown. If the item is bought individually then select 'Sold in single units'.
   12. Click the '+ Add new configuration' button.
   13. Name - Type a name for the configuration you want to add
   14. Single unit size - enter the size for one item
   15. Pack size - enter the size/number of items per pack
       
       All materials
   16. Waste allowance (required) - enter the default waste allowance for the item. If you don't want any allowance, enter '0'. This can be changed on a project by project basis as required.
   17. External links - this can be used to add links to external web pages e.g. manufacturer website
   18. Data sheets - this can be used to upload files such as PDF datasheets or COSHH assessments for easy reference.
6. Click the 'Save Material' button.

Configurable material examples

• Sheet materials - prices are defined in square metres and the items come in several standard sheet size options using the same m2 price regardless of sheet size (e.g. plasterboard)
• Length materials - prices are defined in linear metres and the items come in several standard length size options using the same LM price regardless of length size (e.g. timber/metal studs)
• Cubic materials - prices are defined in cubic metres and the items come in several standard container size options using the same m3 price regardless of container size (e.g. concrete ready mix)
• Single Item materials - prices are defined in Single Items and the items come in several standard size or colour options using the same item price regardless of item size or colour e.g. gloves in S, M, L, XL or tiles in black, brown or cream. 

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Editing Materials

If a material needs to be updated you can use the edit option.

Steps to edit a material

1.  From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the 'Resources' icon.

2. Click the 'Materials’ sub menu.

3. Find the material that you wish to edit and click on it to view the details. 
4. Click the 'Edit' icon in the top right of the screen. If you aren't sure which icon, hover over them to see a tooltip.
5. Make the changes you wish to make.
6. If you want to update the existing material wherever it is currently being used, and you are not changing the 'Unit of measurement supplied in', then click the 'Save changes' button. This will update the existing material record.
7. If you want to make changes to the 'Unit of measurement supplied in' or create another version of this material for a different size or specification then make sure the name is unique and click 'Save as new'. This will create a new material record. 

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Archiving materials

If you have materials that you no longer want users to be able to choose but that have been used on existing projects or product templates then you can archive them. This will stop them showing up as active materials and will prevent users selecting them on new projects or on newly created product templates.

Steps to archive a material

1.  From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the 'Resources' icon.

2. Click the 'Materials’ sub menu.

3. Find the material that you wish to edit and click on it to view the details. 
4. Click the 'Archive' icon in the top right of the screen and then click the 'Confirm archive' button that appears. If you aren't sure which icon, hover over them to see a tooltip.
5. This will leave the material record in the system but hide it from dropdown lists.

Steps to unarchive a material

If for some reason you need to reinstate an archived material you can do so with the following steps:

1.  From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the 'Resources' icon.

2. Click the 'Materials’ sub menu.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tick the 'Include archived' checkbox.
4. Find the material that you wish to edit and click on it to view the details. 
5. Click the 'Unarchive' icon in the top right of the screen and then click the 'Confirm unarchive' button that appears. If you aren't sure which icon, hover over them to see a tooltip.
6. This will reinstate the material record in the system. 

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Deleting materials

If you have material records that were created in error and they have not been linked to any other data (such as projects or product templates) then you can delete them using the following steps:

Steps to delete a material

1.  From the left menu bar click the 'Settings' icon, then click the 'Resources' icon.

2. Click the 'Materials’ sub menu.

3. Find the material that you wish to edit and click on it to view the details. 
4. Click the 'Delete' icon in the top right of the screen and then if you are sure you want to delete the record permanently, click the 'Confirm' button that appears. If you aren't sure which icon, hover over them to see a tooltip.
5. This will permanently remove the material record from the system.

If you receive an error when trying to delete, this means the material is linked to other data in the system. In this instance use the Archive option instead. 

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Want to know more?

• Video: Materials (video)
• Adding and editing material types