How to create your first project

Your first Buildra project is the smallest meaningful unit of work in the system. Everything else — plans, photos, decisions, RFIs, pay applications — lives inside a project. The good news is that creating one takes about ninety seconds, and the steps map cleanly to how a real job is set up in the field.

What you need before you start

You need three pieces of information: the project name as it will appear on every document, the physical job site address, and at least one photo or PDF rendering for the cover image. The cover image is cosmetic — it makes your portfolio scannable — but skipping it leaves you staring at a grid of grey rectangles a month from now.

The seven-step flow

1. From the sidebar, click Projects → click the New project button in the top right of the list page.
2. Enter the project name. Use the name you will use on contracts and permits — “Smith Residence Remodel” not “Smith” or “102 Maple.”
3. Enter the full street address. Buildra geocodes the address immediately and uses the coordinates for weather forecasts and location-based nudges.
4. Pick a project type (Residential, Light Commercial, Tenant Improvement, etc.). This drives the default cost code set and template library.
5. Set the planned start and substantial completion dates. You can edit these later — they only seed the schedule view.
6. Upload a cover photo. JPEG or PNG, ideally 1200 × 800 pixels or larger. We crop to a 3:2 ratio.
7. Click Create project. You will land on the project dashboard with empty modules ready to populate.

Tip: If you are migrating from another tool, create the project first, then go to /projects/<id>/plans and drag in the active plan set. Buildra will index it while you set up the rest of the workspace, so it is ready by the time you finish.

What gets created automatically

Buildra spins up the standard module set the moment the project is created. You will see empty placeholders for plans, RFIs, submittals, the daily log, the budget, the change order log, and the photo library. Nothing is hidden behind a paywall at this stage — the only limits you will hit are the per-tier project count and the active plan-set storage cap, which we cover in the Understanding Buildra plans article.

Inviting the team next

Once the project exists, your next click is usually Team in the project sidebar. From there you can invite specific team members to this project only, or rely on your company-wide membership. For a full walkthrough of roles, see How to invite team members and assign roles.

Common pitfalls

• Address typos. Buildra geocodes once at creation. If you enter the wrong address, fix it under Project settings → Address and the coordinates will re-resolve.
• Project type lock-in. Changing project type after creation does not retroactively remap cost codes. Pick the right one up front.
• Public projects. All projects are private to your company by default. You can share a read-only client portal later without changing this.

That is the entire flow. Most teams have their first project live in under five minutes, including the first plan upload.