Materio is a robust platform built to keep projects moving forward from the initial conversation to the final install and invoice. There are a lot of parts and pieces that comprise the project and sometimes we can misspeak or refer to something by the wrong name, which can be confusing when collaborating. We'll discuss some of the key elements within the system and how they interact with each other.

You! When we refer to "the firm," we're speaking about the company providing the goods and services for people and/or businesses. These are the designers, design-builders, builders, etc. who have the Materio account.

Firms have employees, and those employees make up the firm's team. People who are typically involved in Materio are the owner/president/CEO, designers, creatives, accounts, purchasers, office managers/admins,

The person, people, or business receiving the goods and/or services provided by the firm.

These are the businesses or people that provide goods and services to the firm. The firm orders or submits purchase orders to receive these goods or services.

Subcontractors, subs, or contractors are entities or individuals that are engaged to perform work for the firm. The firm pays them money, the subs provide goods and/or services, and the result is part or all of a project for the client.

Here's an overview of the entities and the flow of money within projects:

This is the term we use when referring to the engagement between the firm and the client. Projects have names to help identify them and are tied to one client.

The scope (aka scope of work or SOW) is the list of items that comprise the project. It's a living collaboration space while the project details are ironed out between the firm and the client. The scope is comprised of items and has sub-sections called categories and locations. It is the foundation or backbone of the project and ties together the costs and prices.

Here's an example of the scope.

There are different segments of the scope that are broken out into sub-sections, which are called categories. Materio has many suggested categories such as design services, general requirements, electrical, plumbing, tile, appliances, furniture, etc. Categories help group things, which is extremely useful for sharing certain sections with certain vendors or trades.

Here's an example of categories within a scope.

Projects cover large areas and are typically an entire home. There are many rooms and areas of homes, and we need a way to organize the scope to know where the items going. We do this by assigning locations, which are rooms or general areas. The kitchen, guest bathroom, upstairs hallway, patio, sunroom, and dining room are some examples that are commonly used.

Here's an example of locations within a project's scope:

These are the objects inside of the scope. They hold lots of attributes and information and can be toggled to be selectable (have options for the client to choose from) or non-selectable. Items are nested under categories and can be assigned locations.

Example of items within a scope (underlined in purple):

PRO TIP: You can edit quantities, plan markers, costs, and markup of items by clicking on the quantity or the amount on the item when on the scope view.

This is the area where all the item attributes are specified and the estimate is created. This is also where an allowance is created.

Here's where the team can mark where the item is going on the floor plan or board, update the quantity, edit the name and description, specifications, selections, and estimated cost (including the cost of the items itself, shipping, delivery, and labor).

There is also the ability to collaborate internally and externally with comments within items.

Example of commenting within the items details panel:

These are the

One of the most versatile and useful functions of Materio is the selections (more info below) capability. You can present multiple products for items to clients using selections. This will give them (1) the ability to have a choice and (2) visibility to see how the choice affects their allowance or budget for that item.

A confirmed selection is what the result is when a client approves or chooses a selection option. This is viewable in the item details panel and also in the Selections area of the platform.

Here's an example of a product that has been selected within the Item Details Panel:

Here's an example of confirmed selections in the Selection area of Materio:

Typically, floor plans are the easiest way to visually understand where items are located within a project. Materio can import PDFs of plans for the firm to then build out the scope of work using plan markers and the attributes of each item.

These are the visual representations on a plans. They can appear in several forms: a pin drop, area, polygon, or line. We have a whole article dedicated to marking plans!

Here's what the marker dialog box looks like:

Sometimes, a floor plan isn't necessary for your project, or you have not gotten to that point yet. In order to feel confident in the scope of work, we need a visual representation for the project, though. Boards are a great way to display products, convey inspiration, and tie them to the scope of work for a client. Using boards along with plan markers will allow the client to understand the vision of the project and make selections (if necessary).

Boards live at the bottom of the plan/board area, can be rearranged, and can also be "stacked" on top of each other for organizing. Here's great article that goes into detail about how to best utilize boards.

There are two types of board in Materio:

Here's an example of a Dining Room concept board within a project:

Here's an example of a Screened Porch product board:

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller

Collaboration is key! Materio was built with a focus on communicating internally (the firm and it's team members) and externally (with clients). Creating conversations using Comments is an efficient way to get things done and keep all the communication tied to the project source-of-truth, Materio.

Commenting can be done directly on a floor plan or board, items, and products. There is also the ability to tag team members in comments. This is a great way to alert someone that their input is needed.

Here is an example of someone tagging in a teammate and requesting them to take action: