Docy Documentation

Learn how to create accurate cost estimates and professional client quotes in Planyard. Convert won quotes into active projects, track estimates against actuals, and ensure full cost control from day one. Ideal for estimators and project managers moving away from spreadsheets.

Get started by watching short 3–4 minute videos designed for project managers and quantity surveyors to self-teach the essential workflows—no setup or training sessions required.

Introduction

Purchase invoices processing

Easily process purchase invoices, assign them to budget lines, automatically sync with accounting, and track project costs in real-time — all without repetitive data entry.

Change orders (Variations)

Easily register client change orders and subcontractor and purchase order variations. Track the financial impact of each change to stay on top of profitability.

Budget control and forecasting (CVRs)

Prepare accurate forecasts and CVR reports, revise budgets as needed, approve invoices, and review budget variances to stay in control of your project’s financial health. Analyze profitability projections with ease.

3–5 minute training videos for quantity surveyors and project managers to master Planyard’s Professional Package—covering budget control, purchase orders, change orders, invoice management, and more.

Purchase orders

Learn how to raise purchase orders for materials, track budget commitments, easily update forecasts and CVRs, manage prepayment invoices, stay on top of payment summaries, and prevent vendor overbilling.

Purchase invoice processing

Easily process purchase invoices, assign them to budget lines, automatically sync with accounting, and track project costs in real-time — all without repetitive data entry.

Change orders (Variations)

Easily register client change orders and subcontractor, and purchase order variations. Track the financial impact of each change to stay on top of profitability.

Budget control and forecasting (CVRs)

Prepare accurate forecasts and CVR reports, revise budgets as needed, approve invoices, and review budget variances to stay in control of your project’s financial health. Analyze profitability projections with ease.

Client billing & payment applications (Valuations)

Learn how to manage the client schedule of values, process change orders (variations), issue payment applications, handle prepayment invoices, track retentions, and approve sales invoices with ease.

3–5 minute training videos for quantity surveyors and project managers to master Planyard’s Ultimate Package—covering budget and commitment control, subcontractor orders, fully automated payment applications, purchase orders, change orders (variations), invoice management, and more.

Purchase orders

Learn how to raise purchase orders for materials, track budget commitments, easily update forecasts and CVRs, manage prepayment invoices, stay on top of payment summaries, and prevent vendor overbilling.

Subcontractor orders

Learn how to raise subcontractor orders, manage retentions, handle prepayments, process change orders (variations), and track payment summaries.

Purchase invoice processing

Easily process purchase invoices, assign them to budget lines, automatically sync with accounting, and track project costs in real-time — all without repetitive data entry.

Change orders (Variations)

Easily register client change orders and subcontractors, and purchase order variations. Track the financial impact of each change to stay on top of profitability.

Budget control and forecasting (CVRs)

Prepare accurate forecasts and CVR reports, revise budgets as needed, approve invoices, and review budget variances to stay in control of your project’s financial health. Analyze profitability projections with ease.

Subcontractor pay apps (Valuations, Progress claims)

Planyard streamlines collecting subcontractor payment applications—also known as progress claims or valuations—making billing easy for project managers, site engineers, and subcontractors.

Client billing & payment applications (Valuations)

Learn how to manage the client schedule of values, process change orders (variations), issue payment applications, handle prepayment invoices, track retentions, and approve sales invoices with ease.

Subcontractor RFQs & Tender automation

Planyard makes it easy for project teams to send bid requests to subcontractors and vendors and then collect and compare all quotes in one centralized bid evaluation view.

3–5 minute training videos for quantity surveyors and project managers to master Planyard’s advanced features—covering multi-currency budgeting, purchase orders and invoices for international projects, consolidated invoice processing, accrual-based cash flow forecasting, and more.

Accrual cash-flow forecasting

Learn how to forecast construction project cash flow in Planyard. This video covers enabling cash flow forecasting in Company and Project Settings, creating forecasts, entering percentage-based projections, and tracking actual costs against forecasts to monitor variances.

Multi-currency budgets, purchase orders, and invoices management

Learn how to manage construction project budgets, purchase orders, invoices, and receipts in multiple currencies with ease. Built by quantity surveyors and project managers, Planyard eliminates spreadsheets and simplifies cost tracking across international projects.

Consolidated Purchase Invoice Processing

Learn how to process purchase invoices in Planyard when one invoice includes costs across multiple projects. Set up an approval process for your accountant or secretary and enable a simple, streamlined team approval workflow.

This video shows how to use Planyard to get ready for a cost control meeting.

Overview

In the video, you’ll learn how to:

• Review your budget and committed costs
• Spot variances and update forecasts
• Generate CVR and P&L reports for the meeting

How to view column descriptions in the project budget

Each column in the project budget provides specific financial details to help you manage costs throughout your project. To quickly understand what a column means, you can hover over the question mark icon next to the column title.

1. Open your project budget.
2. Hover your cursor over the ? icon in any column header.
3. A tooltip will appear explaining the purpose of that column.

This allows you to get on-the-spot context for each metric without needing to leave the budget view.

The Revised Budget column reflects your latest estimate for each line item and is critical for accurate forecasting and cost control.

To update a revised budget:

1. Hover over the Revised Budget cell you want to change
2. Click the pencil icon
3. Update values
4. Add information in the comment box

How discrepancies are flagged:

When committed costs exceed the revised budget, a red label appears next to the line item. This alert helps you identify which budgets need to be reviewed or updated.

You can customize how the budget is displayed to focus on the most relevant information.

Available visual options:

• Toggle categories: Collapse or expand all cost categories using the toggle in the top left corner
• Go to row: Use the search field to quickly jump to a specific line item
• Visible columns: Choose which columns are shown by checking or unchecking boxes in the column selector
• Details: Enable or disable extra data like estimated quantity and percentage used per line item

These options help tailor your view for better focus and easier analysis.

You can export your budget at any time based on the current view and selected columns. Open your project budget and follow these steps:

1. Click Export in the top right corner of the budget
2. Choose a format:
   • PDF
   • XLSX
   • Cost Lines XLSX (includes time filtering)

The export will include only the data currently visible, so use the visual options to adjust what’s shown before exporting.

You can reorganize cost headings and line items to better match your project structure.

To reorder top-level cost headings:

1. Click the three dots on the far right of the Project Total row.
2. Select Reorganize top-level line-items.
3. Drag and drop the headings into the desired order.

To reorder items within a category:

1. Click the three dots on the far right of the category line.
2. Select Reorganize line-items within the category.

To move a line item or category to another heading:

1. Click the three dots next to the item or category
2. Select Move line-item to or Move category to
3. Choose the new location and confirm the move

How to view historic cost data for a line item

You can access historical cost data for any line item to see how it has been used across other projects.

1. Hover over the line-item name in the budget.
2. Click the stacked chart icon that appears next to it.

This opens a view showing cost history from previous projects using the same item, helping you make more informed budgeting decisions.

You can manually add a new line item to your project budget at any time.

1. Click Add line-item in the top right corner
2. Select Add custom
3. Enter the cost code and line item name
4. Choose whether to place it under a category or leave it as a standalone item
5. Select the unit and click Create

Once created, hover over any cell and click the pencil icon to add budget values or other details.

You can add a client variation to the budget to account for changes in scope or pricing.

1. Click Add line-item in the top right corner
2. Select Add Client variation
3. Enter the cost code and line item name
4. Add the agreed sales price
5. Enter the internal targeted cost
6. Click Add variation/change order

The variation is now added to the budget and can be tracked like any other line item.

You can use the import feature to either add new items or batch update existing ones in your project budget. Both actions use the same import template.

1. Click Add line-item in the top right corner
2. Select Import file
3. Drag your file into the upload box or click Browse files to select it
4. Choose one of the following options:
   • Import – Adds all items in the file as new categories or line items
   • Update and import – Matches items in the file with existing ones in the budget and updates them with any new values

Tip: To batch update your budget, use the same structure as your current budget and make the necessary changes (e.g. updated prices, revised names, additional rows). Planyard will detect and update matching line items while adding anything new from the file.

In the project budget, you can delete individual line items or entire categories when they’re no longer needed. The process is the same, but the option shown depends on what you’re trying to delete.

1. Click the three dots on the far right of the line item or category.
2. Select either Delete (for a single line item) or Delete budget category (for a full category).

You can only delete items that aren’t connected to anything else in the system. If there are links to other records, the delete option will be blocked until those are removed.

To see what’s connected, click the line item name to open its detail view. Tabs will show badges indicating how many related records exist. For example:

• A badge on Purchase Orders means the item is included in one or more POs.
• A badge on Approved Costs shows there are approved invoices or receipts linked.
• Other tabs may include Subcontracts, RFQs, or Valuations.

Review and delete those connected records before attempting to delete the line item or category.

This video shows how to register and track client change orders (variations) in Planyard.

This video shows how to use Planyard to get ready for a cost control meeting.

Overview

In the video, you’ll learn how to:

• Review your budget and committed costs
• Spot variances and update forecasts
• Generate CVR and P&L reports for the meeting

How to view column descriptions in the project budget

Each column in the project budget provides specific financial details to help you manage costs throughout your project. To quickly understand what a column means, you can hover over the question mark icon next to the column title.

1. Open your project budget.
2. Hover your cursor over the ? icon in any column header.
3. A tooltip will appear explaining the purpose of that column.

This allows you to get on-the-spot context for each metric without needing to leave the budget view.

The Revised Budget column reflects your latest estimate for each line item and is critical for accurate forecasting and cost control.

To update a revised budget:

1. Hover over the Revised Budget cell you want to change
2. Click the pencil icon
3. Update values
4. Add information in the comment box

How discrepancies are flagged:

When committed costs exceed the revised budget, a red label appears next to the line item. This alert helps you identify which budgets need to be reviewed or updated.

You can customize how the budget is displayed to focus on the most relevant information.

Available visual options:

• Toggle categories: Collapse or expand all cost categories using the toggle in the top left corner
• Go to row: Use the search field to quickly jump to a specific line item
• Visible columns: Choose which columns are shown by checking or unchecking boxes in the column selector
• Details: Enable or disable extra data like estimated quantity and percentage used per line item

These options help tailor your view for better focus and easier analysis.

You can export your budget at any time based on the current view and selected columns. Open your project budget and follow these steps:

1. Click Export in the top right corner of the budget
2. Choose a format:
   • PDF
   • XLSX
   • Cost Lines XLSX (includes time filtering)

The export will include only the data currently visible, so use the visual options to adjust what’s shown before exporting.

You can reorganize cost headings and line items to better match your project structure.

To reorder top-level cost headings:

1. Click the three dots on the far right of the Project Total row.
2. Select Reorganize top-level line-items.
3. Drag and drop the headings into the desired order.

To reorder items within a category:

1. Click the three dots on the far right of the category line.
2. Select Reorganize line-items within the category.

To move a line item or category to another heading:

1. Click the three dots next to the item or category
2. Select Move line-item to or Move category to
3. Choose the new location and confirm the move

How to view historic cost data for a line item

You can access historical cost data for any line item to see how it has been used across other projects.

1. Hover over the line-item name in the budget.
2. Click the stacked chart icon that appears next to it.

This opens a view showing cost history from previous projects using the same item, helping you make more informed budgeting decisions.

You can manually add a new line item to your project budget at any time.

1. Click Add line-item in the top right corner
2. Select Add custom
3. Enter the cost code and line item name
4. Choose whether to place it under a category or leave it as a standalone item
5. Select the unit and click Create

Once created, hover over any cell and click the pencil icon to add budget values or other details.

You can add a client variation to the budget to account for changes in scope or pricing.

1. Click Add line-item in the top right corner
2. Select Add Client variation
3. Enter the cost code and line item name
4. Add the agreed sales price
5. Enter the internal targeted cost
6. Click Add variation/change order

The variation is now added to the budget and can be tracked like any other line item.

You can use the import feature to either add new items or batch update existing ones in your project budget. Both actions use the same import template.

1. Click Add line-item in the top right corner
2. Select Import file
3. Drag your file into the upload box or click Browse files to select it
4. Choose one of the following options:
   • Import – Adds all items in the file as new categories or line items
   • Update and import – Matches items in the file with existing ones in the budget and updates them with any new values

Tip: To batch update your budget, use the same structure as your current budget and make the necessary changes (e.g. updated prices, revised names, additional rows). Planyard will detect and update matching line items while adding anything new from the file.

In the project budget, you can delete individual line items or entire categories when they’re no longer needed. The process is the same, but the option shown depends on what you’re trying to delete.

1. Click the three dots on the far right of the line item or category.
2. Select either Delete (for a single line item) or Delete budget category (for a full category).

You can only delete items that aren’t connected to anything else in the system. If there are links to other records, the delete option will be blocked until those are removed.

To see what’s connected, click the line item name to open its detail view. Tabs will show badges indicating how many related records exist. For example:

• A badge on Purchase Orders means the item is included in one or more POs.
• A badge on Approved Costs shows there are approved invoices or receipts linked.
• Other tabs may include Subcontracts, RFQs, or Valuations.

Review and delete those connected records before attempting to delete the line item or category.

This video shows how to register and track client change orders (variations) in Planyard.

Planyard’s user management is structured in two tiers: company-level and project-level.

• At the company level, you control a user’s overall access to Planyard—whether they can create projects, manage settings, or invite others.
• At the project level, you decide which projects they can access and what they can do within each one.

This two-tier setup allows you to keep company-wide controls centralized while tailoring project access for each user.

Note: Users who are added as project owner for a project will automatically have full access to all features within that project. Additionally, users with the Create, edit and archive projects permission set to Everyone will have full access to all features within all projects.

To add a user to the company account:

1. Go to Company in the top menu and select User Management
2. Click Add New User
3. Choose a user type:
   • Full user: For users who need full platform access, including managing and creating projects
   • Limited user: For users who only need access to specific data or features (e.g. clients, site engineers)
4. Select the user’s company role from the dropdown
5. Enter the user’s email address
6. Set company-level permissions:
   • Create, edit, and archive projects: No, Own, or Everyone’s
   • View projects: Own and shared or Everyone’s
   • Edit estimates and target budgets: No or Everyone’s
   • Accounts payable manager access: Own, Shared, or Company files
   • Access company settings and integrations: Yes or No
   • Manage users and permissions: Yes or No
7. Click Create

The invited user will receive an email with login instructions. Once they’ve joined the company account, you can assign them to projects and define their project-specific access.

See also: How to manage project-level permissions

Before you can assign project access to a user, they must first be invited to the company account. Once that’s done, you can define their access and permissions on a per-project basis.

To share a project with a user and set their permissions:

1. Go to Projects in the top menu and open the relevant project
2. Click Settings in the project menu
3. In the top right corner, click Share Project
4. Select the user from the dropdown
5. Tick the boxes for the permissions they should have on this project

That’s it—permissions are saved automatically. The user now has access based on the settings you’ve selected.

Managing existing permissions

• In Project settings, scroll to the bottom to see a list of users who already have access to the project.
• To edit a user’s permissions, click the three dots on the far right of their name, then click Edit.
• Adjust the permissions using the same feature tick boxes, then Save.

See also: How to add a user to the company account

Add your payment method to activate your subscription automatically when the trial ends.

1. Go to Company in the main menu
2. Click Billing
3. Select Manage Account
4. Open the Payment Methods tab
5. Add your credit card details

How to allow Planyard to send emails from your domain

To ensure Planyard can send emails from your company address (e.g., invoices@yourcompany.com), you need to verify your domain by adding specific DNS records. This enables white-labeled sending so emails appear to come directly from your company.

1. Get your DNS records from Planyard

1. Go to Company in the main menu.
2. Click Settings under the company section.
3. Open Company-wide features.
4. Scroll to Email identities and click Manage configuration.
5. Select the domain you want to use and click Set up for this domain.
6. Click Copy DNS record values to clipboard.

These values include the necessary CNAME records for DKIM email authentication.

2. Add the records to your DNS provider

1. Log in to your DNS provider (e.g., GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap).
2. Go to the DNS settings for your domain.
3. Add the 3 CNAME records copied from Planyard.

Tip: These records authenticate Planyard as a trusted sender and help prevent your emails from being marked as spam.

3. Wait for verification

Once the records are added, Planyard will automatically detect and verify them. No further action is needed.

Need help?

If you’re not sure how to access your domain settings, contact your IT administrator or domain provider.

Before you can register credit notes in Planyard, the feature must be enabled in your company account settings.

Who can activate the feature?

Only users with permission to manage company-wide settings can activate credit notes. If you don’t see the option, contact your company account owner or admin.

Steps to activate credit notes:

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right of the company menu.
3. Go to the Company-wide features tab.
4. Find the Credit notes setting and toggle it on.

Once activated, the credit note option will be available when processing cost documents in your projects.

In this article, you’ll learn how to enable and manage approval workflows for cost documents in Planyard.

Introduction

Cost approval workflows help ensure tight control over project budgets. When activated, all costs must be reviewed and approved by selected users before being fully processed. You can configure approval flows either across the entire company or locally within individual projects. Each flow is round-based, meaning costs must be approved in a specific order before being finalized.

1. Activate the approval workflow feature

Before setting up any approval flows, the Approval workflow feature must be enabled.

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right.
3. Open the Company-wide features tab.
4. Enable Approval workflow.

Once enabled, a new Approvals button will appear in the top header:

• Approvers can see all documents pending their approval.
• Users with the correct permissions can see everything pending approval across the company.

2. Set up cost approval at the company level

Company-level approval flows apply globally across all projects. When a cost is processed (regardless of which project it belongs to), it will be routed through the approval rounds set at the company level.

This is ideal for organizations that want centralized financial control, where department leads or finance managers approve all cost documents before they’re finalized.

To configure:

1. Scroll to Cost approval flow under Company-wide features.
2. Toggle the feature on. A popup will appear.
3. Choose one of two options:
   • Add approver – Select a user from the dropdown and click Create workflow round.
   • Configure separately within projects – Skip company-level approvals and manage approvals per project only.
4. To add additional approval rounds, click Add next round.
   • Approval rounds are sequential: each round must be approved before the next one begins. For example, if Claire is Round 1 and Timothy is Round 2, Timothy won’t see the cost until Claire has approved it.
5. You can update any round by clicking Update approvers, removing the current user, and selecting a new one.

3. Set up cost approval at the project level

Project-level approval flows apply only to a specific project. When costs are processed within that project, they will go through the defined project approval rounds.

This is useful for delegating control to project managers or site leads without requiring central approval for every single cost.

To configure:

1. Navigate to the relevant project.
2. Click Settings in the project menu.
3. Scroll to Cost approval workflow.
4. Click Select approvers, choose a user from the dropdown, and click Create workflow round.
5. To add another round, click Next round and select another user.
6. You can update rounds at any time using Update approvers.

Note: A user must have access to the project to be added as an approver.

If both project-level and company-level approval flows are active, the cost must first be approved at the project level. Only after all local rounds are completed will the cost move on to the company-level approval sequence.

4. Notifications

Approvers receive notifications both via email and inside Planyard when action is required.

To disable email notifications:

• Click your name in the top right corner
• Select Settings
• Turn off Approval workflow notification

Retention management lets you automatically track retention on client contracts and subcontractor orders.

1. Go to Company
2. Open Settings
3. Click Company wide features
4. Find Contract retention and activate it

Once enabled, you’ll see an option to add retention when creating client contracts or subcontractor orders.

In this article, you’ll learn how to enable and manage approval workflows for purchase orders in Planyard.

Introduction

The purchase order (PO) approval workflow helps you maintain control over procurement by requiring approval before any PO is issued to a vendor. This is especially useful in projects where team members (e.g., site engineers) create orders but require approval from a project manager or other decision-maker.

Once activated, all purchase orders must be reviewed and approved before they can be sent out. The full approval process is tracked, ensuring transparency and accountability across your projects.

1. Activate the approval workflow feature

Before configuring purchase order approvals, the Approval workflow feature must be enabled.

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right.
3. Open the Company-wide features tab.
4. Enable Approval workflow.

Once activated, a new Approvals button will appear in the top header:

• Approvers will see all documents waiting for their review.
• Users with the correct permissions can see everything pending approval across the company.

2. Activate purchase order approval

To require approvals before POs can be issued:

1. Stay in Company-wide features.
2. Scroll to Purchase order approval workflow.
3. Toggle the setting to enable it.

Note: Only users with permission to edit company settings can activate this feature.

Once enabled, PO approval becomes mandatory for all projects in the account.

3. How the approval workflow works

After activation, a required Approver field will appear whenever a purchase order is created.

1. The user creating the PO selects an approver before submitting.
2. Once submitted, the approver receives a notification via email and in-app.
3. The approver can:
   • Review and approve the PO directly from the Approvals section.
   • Reject it if changes are needed.
4. Upon approval, the purchase order can be issued directly from Planyard.

All POs awaiting approval are listed in the Approvals overview for easy tracking and action.

This article provides an overview of locking accounting periods and how to set it up in your Planyard account.

Introduction

Locking accounting periods helps centralise control over how costs are allocated in your projects. It prevents costs from being assigned to months that are already closed in your accounting system.

This is especially useful for companies with strict accounting practices. For example, if your accounting system has closed November, but a delayed invoice is entered in Planyard, it could still be allocated to November. Locking the period prevents this kind of discrepancy.

Locked periods are also respected in the cash flow forecast, ensuring consistency between forecasts and actuals.

How to lock an accounting period

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Click Company-wide features.
4. Scroll to the section labeled Lock accounting period.
5. Select the month you want to lock.

Once locked:

• No invoices can be allocated to the locked month or any earlier periods.
• All new costs will be allocated to open periods only.

This ensures that Planyard remains in sync with your finalized accounting records.

Enhancing the process of uploading cost documents to Planyard not only saves time but also minimizes manual effort. This guide introduces multiple methods for collecting documents and shows how to set up efficient workflows to keep your projects running smoothly.

1. Forward emails from the accounts payable inbox to Planyard

If your company has a dedicated accounts payable email address, you can automatically forward incoming invoices to Planyard.

Each Planyard company account has a unique Inbox email address. Any documents sent to this address will be uploaded to the company inbox in Planyard.

Each project also has a project-specific inbox, where documents sent to that address are uploaded directly into that project’s files.

To find these email addresses:

• Company inbox email: Click Inbox in the top menu to view the address.
• Project inbox email: Navigate to the project and click Settings in the project menu to find the project-specific address.

Once you have the email, set up an automatic forwarding rule in your accounts payable inbox to send all incoming emails to this Planyard address.

See:

• Set up auto-forwarding in Outlook
• Set up auto-forwarding in Gmail

2. Use the Planyard email plugin

Install the Planyard plugin for Outlook or Gmail to upload cost documents from your inbox directly to Planyard.

Download the plugin from:

• Microsoft AppSource
• Google Workspace Marketplace

Gmail

When viewing an email, click the Planyard logo on the right side.

Select the relevant project and confirm — that’s it.

Outlook

• Open the email and click Upload to Planyard under more actions.
• Log in to the Planyard add-in and select a project.
• Optionally, add a comment to help with processing.
• The attachment is visible in the add-in. You can remove unnecessary files and upload only what’s needed.

Uploaded documents appear in Files for the selected project, ready for review.

3. Manual upload

You can also upload documents manually at any time.

Upload to company inbox

1. Click Inbox in the top menu.
2. Drag files into the upload area or browse to select them.

Upload to project

1. Navigate to the project and click Files in the project menu.
2. Click Upload files on the right.
3. Drag and drop files or browse to upload.

You can manage multiple legal entities in Planyard by creating separate company accounts. Each account has its own settings, integrations, and users, but all can be linked to your profile for easy switching.

1. Contact your Planyard representative

Before creating additional accounts, confirm with your Planyard representative that your contract supports multi-account use. Planyard staff also need to enable the relevant settings for linked accounts.

2. Understand how company accounts work

Each company account in Planyard is treated as a distinct legal entity. This includes:

• Separate company logo, address, and registration number
• Independent integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, or MYOB
• Isolated financial data for better control and reporting

You can link your user profile to all your company accounts, allowing you to switch between them without logging in and out.

3. Create an email alias

Planyard requires a unique email for each company account. You can use an email alias to register new accounts without needing new email addresses.

Example: If your email is steven@company.com, you can create an alias like steven+sx@company.com.

Tip:

Use a clear alias that reflects the company name to make it easier to manage accounts (e.g., steven+subsidiary@company.com).

4. Register the new account

1. Register a new account
2. Fill in your new company’s details
3. Use your email alias when registering

Once registered, you can configure settings and integrations for the new account.

Next steps

See how to link accounts and switch between them for instructions on connecting your profiles and managing multiple entities.

If you work across multiple company accounts in Planyard, you can link your user profiles to easily switch between them without logging in and out. This is ideal for consultants or developers managing several legal entities.

1. Confirm linking is enabled

Account linking must be activated by Planyard. Contact your Planyard representative to enable this feature.

2. Link your user accounts

Once linking is enabled, follow these steps:

1. Click your name in the top right corner
2. Select Settings from the dropdown menu
3. Scroll to Linked Planyard Accounts and click Add Linked Account
4. Enter the login credentials for the other account you want to link
5. Click Link Account

You’ll see a green confirmation message once the link is successful.

3. Switch between linked accounts

To switch accounts:

1. Click your name in the top right corner
2. You’ll see a list of your linked accounts
3. Click on any account name to switch to it

Each linked account is shown with the company name and user initials.

How to set up and use the Xero integration

Planyard’s Xero integration streamlines your financial workflows by automatically transferring approved cost documents directly to Xero. This eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and keeps your project financials in sync.

1. Watch the Xero integration video tutorial

Watch the tutorial for a full overview of setup, data exchange, and configuration.

2. What data is transferred between Planyard and Xero

• Approved costs: Sent from Planyard to Xero with references to original documents.
• Chart of accounts: Imported from Xero and linked to Planyard budget items.
• Tracking categories: Synced from Xero and attached to costs.
• Contacts: Synced bidirectionally between systems.

3. Set up the Xero integration

Only users with the required permissions in both Planyard and Xero can set up the integration.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Click Connect under the Xero logo
4. Log in with your Xero credentials
5. Once connected, approved costs will sync automatically to Xero

4. Connect chart of accounts

Link budget line-items to specific Xero accounts so costs are coded correctly on transfer.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to assign Xero accounts:
   • Line-item column shows your budget items
   • Accounting account column lets you assign a Xero account
   • Double-click a cell to select an account
   • To bulk-assign, click a category or subcategory cell

Tip: Use Auto match accounts to automatically link items with Xero accounts of the same name.

5. Use tracking categories

Tracking categories help attribute costs to the right project within Xero.

Activate tracking categories

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Settings > Integration Settings
3. Enable Tracking categories

Assign a tracking category to a project

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Click Change Tracking Category
3. Select a category from the dropdown and click Save

All future costs sent to Xero from this project will include the selected tracking category.

This Planyard Xero integration video provides a complete overview of how the integration works, including data exchange between systems, setup instructions, and how to configure your chart of accounts and tracking categories.

To enable the Xero integration, you must have permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the correct access rights in Xero.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the Xero logo, click Connect
4. Log in using your Xero credentials
5. Authorize the connection

Once connected, all approved costs in Planyard will automatically sync to Xero.

Once the Xero integration is active, Planyard automatically syncs key financial and project data to ensure consistency across platforms. Here’s what’s included in the data exchange.

1. Approved costs
   • All approved cost documents in Planyard are sent to Xero.
   • Each entry includes a reference back to Planyard, so you can easily trace and review the original document.
2. Chart of accounts
   • Planyard imports your Xero chart of accounts.
   • When setting up a project, you can assign each budget item in Planyard to the appropriate Xero account.
   • This ensures that all costs are correctly categorised when sent to Xero.
3. Tracking categories
   • Tracking categories from Xero are synced with Planyard.
   • You can assign these to your Planyard projects to help segment and track costs in Xero.
4. Contacts
   • Contact data is synced in both directions.
   • Planyard pulls contact details from Xero and sends contact info back as needed during cost document submission.

Note: All data transfers happen automatically once the integration is enabled—no need for manual exports or uploads.

Linking your chart of accounts ensures that each cost in Planyard is properly categorized when sent to Xero.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to link budget line-items:
   • Line-item shows your budget items
   • Accounting account lets you assign the matching Xero account
   • Double-click a cell to select an account
   • To bulk-assign, click the cell for a category or subcategory

Tip: Click Auto match accounts to automatically link accounts with matching names in Xero.

Tracking categories help you allocate costs to specific projects or segments in Xero. Once enabled, Planyard includes this data with every synced cost.

Activate tracking categories

You’ll need permission to edit company settings in Planyard to activate this feature.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Select Settings
3. Open Integration Settings
4. Enable Tracking categories

Assign a tracking category to a project

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Click Change Tracking Category
3. Select the appropriate category from the dropdown
4. Click Save

All future costs sent from this project will include the selected tracking category in Xero.

Planyard’s QuickBooks integration helps streamline your financial processes by automatically syncing approved cost documents. This eliminates manual entry, reduces errors, and keeps your accounting data in sync with your project budgets.

1. Watch the QuickBooks integration video tutorial

2. What data is transferred between Planyard and QuickBooks

• Approved costs: All approved costs in Planyard are automatically sent to QuickBooks. Each entry includes a reference to the original document in Planyard.
• Chart of accounts: Imported from QuickBooks. You can map budget items in Planyard to the correct accounts to ensure accurate cost categorization.
• Contacts: Contact data is synced both ways — Planyard receives and sends contact information to and from QuickBooks.

3. Set up the QuickBooks integration

You must have permission to edit company settings in Planyard and appropriate access rights in QuickBooks.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the QuickBooks logo, click Connect
4. Log in with your QuickBooks credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, all approved costs in Planyard will automatically sync to QuickBooks.

4. Connect chart of accounts

This links each Planyard budget item to the correct QuickBooks account for seamless financial tracking.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to assign accounts:
   • Line-item: Shows your budget items. A warning icon indicates missing account assignment.
   • Accounting account: Select a QuickBooks account for each line-item by double-clicking the cell
   • To assign in bulk, click the cell of a category or subcategory

Tip: Use Auto match accounts to automatically pair Planyard items with QuickBooks accounts that have the same name.

To enable the QuickBooks integration, you need permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the correct access rights in QuickBooks.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the QuickBooks logo, click Connect
4. Log in with your QuickBooks credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, all approved costs in Planyard will automatically sync to QuickBooks.

Once the QuickBooks integration is active, Planyard automatically exchanges key financial and contact data to ensure consistency between systems.

1. Approved costs All approved costs in Planyard are sent to QuickBooks with a reference link back to the original cost document.
2. Chart of accounts Planyard imports your QuickBooks chart of accounts so you can map each budget item to the correct account. This ensures accurate cost allocation when syncing data.
3. Contacts Contact information is synced bidirectionally. Planyard both receives and sends contact details to and from QuickBooks, keeping supplier and subcontractor info up to date.

Linking your chart of accounts ensures that each approved cost in Planyard is correctly categorized in QuickBooks.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to link budget line-items:
   • Line-item: Displays all items in your project budget. A warning icon appears if no account is assigned.
   • Accounting account: Double-click a cell to select the matching QuickBooks account

To assign accounts in bulk, click the cell for a category or subcategory — all related line-items will inherit the same account.

Tip: Use Auto match accounts to automatically pair budget items with QuickBooks accounts of the same name.

Planyard’s MYOB integration eliminates manual data entry by automatically syncing approved cost documents. This ensures your accounting data stays up to date and aligned with your project budgets.

1. What data is transferred between Planyard and MYOB

• Approved costs: All approved cost documents in Planyard are sent to MYOB. Each entry includes a reference back to the original cost document for easy tracking.
• Contacts: Contact details are synced both ways — Planyard receives and sends contact data to and from MYOB.

2. Set up the MYOB integration

You need permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the necessary access rights in MYOB.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the MYOB logo, click Connect
4. Log in with your MYOB credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, Planyard will automatically send all approved costs to MYOB.

Planyard’s Sage integration simplifies your financial workflows by automatically syncing approved cost documents to Sage. This keeps your accounting records accurate and aligned with your project data in real time.

1. What data is transferred between Planyard and Sage

• Approved costs: All approved costs in Planyard are sent to Sage. Each entry includes a reference to the original Planyard document for easy traceability.
• Contacts: Contact data is synced in both directions — Planyard receives and sends contact details to and from Sage.

2. Set up the Sage integration

You must have permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the appropriate access rights in Sage.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the Sage logo, click Connect
4. Log in using your Sage credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, Planyard will automatically send all approved cost documents to your Sage account.

Planyard allows you to send automated notifications to your accountant’s email. This is especially useful if you use accounting software that doesn’t integrate directly with Planyard.

By adding the correct email recipients and choosing which notifications they receive, you ensure that key stakeholders stay informed and can act quickly on financial updates.

1. Add a recipient of notifications

To add an email recipient, you need permission to edit company settings.

You can add recipients with or without a Planyard account:

• Recipients without a Planyard account will still receive emails with relevant documents attached.
• However, they won’t be able to access the platform directly.

Follow these steps to add a recipient:

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Go to Integrations in the company menu row.
3. Find the integration labeled Accountant’s email and click Connect.
4. Enter the email address and tick the checkboxes for the notifications you want the recipient to receive.
5. Click Save.

You can return to this section anytime to update notification preferences.

2. Set notification preferences

Once an email is added, you can choose from the following notification types. Each one sends an email with relevant documents and links to Planyard.

• Integration errors: Notifies the recipient if a cost document fails to upload to the accounting software.
• Archived cost documents: Sends a notification when cost documents are archived in any project, including what was removed.
• Approved purchase invoices: Triggers an email as soon as a purchase invoice is approved in Planyard.
• Approved consolidated invoices: Notifies the recipient when a consolidated invoice is approved, including all relevant documentation.
• Approved prepayments: Sends notifications for approved prepayments under subcontracts or purchase orders.
• Processed credit notes: Sends documentation and details whenever a credit note is processed in Planyard.
• Sales invoices: Automatically notifies the email address when sales invoices are processed.
• Created purchase orders: Sends a notification with documents and details whenever a new purchase order is created.

Tip: Use this feature to keep external accountants or finance teams up to date without needing to give them full platform access.

In this article, you’ll learn how to activate and use the feature that allows you to prevent specific cost documents from being sent to your accounting software.

Introduction

Planyard allows you to stop individual cost documents—such as overheads or internal labour—from being pushed to your accounting integration. This is useful for costs that have already been recorded in your accounting system or should be excluded from syncing for any reason.

How to activate the feature

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Click Integration settings.
4. Enable the toggle for Optional do not send to accounting.

The feature is now active.

How to use it

When processing a cost document (e.g., invoice or receipt), a checkbox labeled Do not send to accounting will appear.

• Check the box to stop the cost from being pushed to your accounting integration.

This gives you full control over which documents are synced and helps prevent duplicate entries.

Planyard’s Cost Estimating feature helps you create structured, accurate estimates without manual errors or versioning issues.

With a spreadsheet-style interface, it centralizes all estimating data—enabling real-time budget tracking, version control, and easy team collaboration.

How to configure company settings for estimating

To get the most out of Planyard’s estimating features, set up key company settings first. This ensures your quotes are consistent, accurate, and tailored to your workflow.

1. Add or update company information

Company details are automatically included in every quote. To set them up:

1. Go to Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings.
3. Use the pencil icons to edit company name, address, contact details, and other fields.
4. To upload or replace your company logo, click Upload new logo.

The logo appears at the top of the quote PDF, while your company info shows in the footer.

2. Customize your estimation pipeline

Define and order the stages in your estimation workflow:

1. Go to Company > Settings.
2. Open the Company-wide features tab.
3. In the estimating pipeline section:
   • Add new stages
   • Reorder existing stages
   • Edit stage names
   • Delete unused stages

This helps track estimates through a clear, structured pipeline.

3. Set default client quote settings

Standardize quotes with the following default settings:

• Client quote notes – Pre-fill notes included in every quote
• Quote expiry days – Set how long quotes remain valid
• Default VAT/Sales tax rate – Apply a consistent tax rate to all estimates

4. Enable material breakdown

For more detailed cost estimates:

1. Go to Company-wide features in Settings.
2. Find the Estimate material breakdown option.
3. Enable the feature.

This allows you to break down each line item by materials, labor, machinery, and subcontractor costs.

Tip: These settings apply across your entire company account, ensuring consistency across all projects.

You can grant users access to the estimation pipeline in two ways: full access to all estimates or access to specific estimates only.

1. Grant full access to all estimates

To allow a user to view and edit all estimates and access the entire estimation pipeline:

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Select User management.
3. Click the three dots next to the user and choose Edit.
4. Set Edit estimates and target budget for projects to Everyone’s.
5. Click Save.

The user now has full access to all estimates and the estimation pipeline.

2. Grant access to a specific estimate

To assign a user as the estimator for a specific estimate:

1. Click Sales in the top menu.
2. Open the desired estimate.
3. Go to the Summary tab.
4. Click the pencil icon next to Estimator.
5. Select the user you want to assign.
6. Click Save.

The user now has access to that specific estimate and can contribute accordingly.

How to create a new client bid request

You can start a new estimate in Planyard either from scratch or by using a pre-made template. Templates are useful for similar projects, letting you reuse existing structures. To use one, make sure it’s already created—see how to set up templates for details.

1. Navigate to the estimate creation form

1. Go to Sales in the top menu.
2. Click New estimate in the top right corner.

2. Fill in estimate details

Complete the form with the following:

• Estimate name – Required
• Quote number – Auto-generated, but editable after creation
• Template – Select an existing template if available
• Client company – Choose from the list or click Add new client
• Contact person – Select from the list or click Add new contact
• (Optional) Add a description and project address
• Responsible user – Assign the estimator
• Attach any relevant files to the file manager

Tip: For a quick setup, just enter the estimate name and contact person. You can complete the rest later.

3. Start the estimate

Click Start estimating to create the estimate. You’ll be taken to the estimation view where you can begin adding items.

How to add items to your estimate

After creating an estimate, you can build its structure by adding categories, subcategories, and line items. You have the option to create these manually or import them from existing budget codes.

1. Open your estimate

1. Go to Sales in the top menu.
2. Click on the estimate you want to edit.

2. Add categories and line items

You can structure your estimate by adding categories and line items:

• Add category: Creates a new top-level category.
• Add subcategory: Click the plus sign next to a category to create a subcategory.
• Add line item: Start typing in a blank row to create a new line item.
• Cost code: Optionally, add a cost code to any category or line item.
• Duplicate: Click the copy icon to duplicate a line item.
• Delete: Click the red cross to remove a line item. Note: Categories can only be deleted after all their line items have been removed.

3. Import items from budget codes

If your company has predefined budget codes, you can import them:

1. Click Add from budget codes in the top-right corner.
2. Browse the list of available budget codes and categories.
3. Check the boxes next to the items and categories you want to include.
   • Selecting a category will automatically select all items within it.
   • Selecting an item will also include its parent category.
4. Click Add to incorporate the selected items into your estimate.

Next, proceed to add costs and markup to your items.

How to add costs to items in your estimate

You can enter costs manually by filling in quantity and unit price, or calculate the unit price using a detailed cost breakdown.

1. Enter quantity and unit price (basic)

Navigate to the estimate

Go to Sales, then open the estimate you want to edit.

Add cost data

1. For each line item, enter the quantity.
2. Enter the unit price.

Planyard will automatically calculate the total cost based on quantity × unit price.

Tip: This is the quickest way to add costs without using detailed breakdowns.

2. Use a cost breakdown to calculate unit price (advanced)

For more detailed estimating, you can break down the unit price into components. Planyard will then calculate the unit price based on those inputs.

Open the cost breakdown

Click the calculation symbol on the line item.

Add cost components

Enter items estimated quantity that would be needed for creating one unit of the item. The breakdown is done in four categories:

• Material
• Labor
• Machinery
• Subcontractor

Planyard totals these components to generate the unit price.

Tip: After entering your breakdown, you can apply markup and tax for accurate client pricing.

All changes are saved automatically and can be updated later.

Markup can be added directly in the Markup % column of the estimate table. You can enter percentages for individual items or categories, or apply a uniform markup across the entire estimate using the Set markup option.

1. Add markup to items or categories

In the Markup % column:

• Enter a percentage on a line item to apply markup to that specific cost
• Enter a percentage on a category row to apply the same markup to all items within that category

The Client price column will update automatically based on your input.

2. Apply markup across the entire estimate

To apply the same markup to all items at once:

1. Click the dollar sign icon labeled Set markup above the estimate table
2. Enter the markup percentage
3. Confirm to apply it across all items in the estimate

Note:

You can still override the markup on any individual item or category by editing the Markup % or Client price directly in the table.

You can generate a quote directly from an estimate and export it as a PDF or XLSX file. Before downloading, you can choose what information to include.

1. Open the estimate

Navigate to the estimate you want to convert into a quote.

2. Click 

Download Quote

In the top-right corner of the estimate view, click Download Quote.

A pop-up will appear with format and content options.

3. Select the export format

Choose between PDF and XLSX by selecting the appropriate radio button.

4. Customize the quote content

Use the available checkboxes to control what’s included:

Include in the document

• Bid notes – Appends bid notes at the bottom of the quote.

Include in table

• Subheadings – Shows subheadings in the quote table.
• All detailed line-items – Displays individual line items.
• Free-of-charge line-items – Includes items with no client cost.
• Comments and specifications column – Adds a column for additional item notes or descriptions.

Column display options

• Quantity column – Shows quantities for each item.
• Unit column – Displays units of measurement (e.g., m, pcs).
• Price column – Adds unit prices.
• Unit-based price column – Shows cost per specific unit (e.g., per shed).
• Total column – Displays total cost per item.

Tip: Adjust these settings based on how much detail your client needs.

The estimation pipeline view gives you a centralized overview of all your estimates, helping you stay organized and maintain visibility throughout the bidding process.

1. Understand the pipeline view

The Sales Pipeline Overview displays all estimates as cards, organized by customizable pipeline stages. Each card shows:

• Estimate name
• Client
• Client price
• Profit
• Main estimator
• Version count (in a blue badge).

2. Use card actions

Click the three dots in the top-right corner of any estimate card to:

• Move to another stage
• Make a copy
• Save as template

3. Switch between views

Click the view toggle to switch between Kanban and List view.

Use Kanban for visual tracking or List view for structured filtering and sorting.

4. View stage summaries

At the bottom of each stage column, see the total client price and profit for all estimates in that stage.

5. Create a new estimate

Click New estimate in the top-right corner to start a new estimation process.

Tip: Use pipeline stages to define your sales process — for example, Draft, Sent, In Negotiation, Won — and track each estimate from creation to close.

You can apply sales tax to your estimate to ensure accurate client pricing. The tax is added as a percentage and only appears in the PDF export.

1. Add sales tax

• Click VAT above the estimate table.
• Enter the desired sales tax percentage.

2. Export behaviour

• PDF export – Includes the tax in the total amount shown to the client.
• XLSX export – Displays net prices only (excluding tax).

Note: Sales tax is not shown in the estimate table within Planyard—it’s only reflected in the exported PDF.

Estimation templates help you save time and maintain consistency across projects by reusing predefined structures. Instead of starting from scratch, you can base new estimates on saved templates.

1. Save an estimate as a template

You can save a template from either the Sales overview or from inside an open estimate.

From the Sales overview

1. Go to Sales.
2. Locate the estimate you want to turn into a template.
3. Click the three dots in the top right corner of the estimate card.
4. Select Save as template.

From an open estimate

1. Open the estimate.
2. Go to the Summary tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the list.
4. Click Save as template.

Tip: You can also create an estimate solely for the purpose of saving it as a template and delete it afterward if not needed.

2. Use a saved template

When creating a new estimate, you’ll be prompted to select a template. Choose one of your saved templates to pre-fill the estimate with standard cost categories and line items.

This helps streamline setup and ensures consistency across similar project types.

Estimate versions let you work on multiple variations of the same quote without changing the original. This is useful for refining pricing, testing scenarios, and presenting different options to clients.

1. Create a new estimate version

1. Open the estimate.
2. Click Create new version in the top-right corner.
3. Enter a name for the new version in the popup window.
4. Click Create a version.

The version number appears next to the estimate name. Click it to switch between versions.

2. View and compare versions

Go to the Quote Versions tab to see all versions.

Each version includes details like:

• Client price
• Profit
• Total cost

This view helps you compare performance across versions.

3. Delete an estimate version

1. Open the version via the version number or the Quote Versions tab.
2. Click Delete estimate in the top-right corner.

Warning: If only one version exists, deleting it will remove the entire estimate.

In this article, you’ll learn how to add budget codes manually or import them in bulk using an XLSX file, helping you streamline your estimating process.

Overview

Budget codes help streamline the estimating process by allowing you to quickly pull in predefined categories and line items relevant to your estimate. Instead of adding items manually each time, you can store budget codes in your company account and import them as needed.

You have the option to add budget categories and line-items manually or upload them in bulk. Additionally, you can upload more items at any time, whether manually or in batches.

Manually Adding Budget Codes

To manually add budget codes, click Sales in the top menu and navigate to the Budget codes tab. From here:

• Select Add category to create your initial budget category, or choose Add a line item to begin with an individual line item.
• After adding your first category or line item, you can continue to expand your budget code structure as needed.

To build your budget structure:

• Click Add a category to create a new main category.
• Click the plus sign to create a new subcategory within a category.
• Start writing a name on a blank item to add a new item.
• Only the name field is mandatory.
• Optionally add cost codes and comments to categories, subcategories, or line items.
• For line items, you can also add a unit and unit price — unit prices will be included when adding budget codes to an estimate.
• Use the red cross to delete categories, subcategories, and items.

Importing Budget Codes via Spreadsheet

For bulk importing, you can upload an XLSX file containing budget codes. Click Sales in the top menu and navigate to the Budget codes tab, then follow these steps:

1. Click Import XLSX (located in the top right corner if you already have items in the list).
2. Download the example template file.
3. Fill out the template using the correct format (explained below).
4. Upload the completed file back into Planyard.

Spreadsheet Format

Each column in the spreadsheet defines a specific part of your budget structure:

• Category level – Defines whether an entry is a main category, subcategory, or line item.
  • 1 → Main category
  • 2 → Subcategory under the main category
  • 3, 4, 5, etc. → Further subcategories as needed
  • Blank → Line item under the last defined category or subcategory
• Cost code – Assigns unique identifiers to categories and items for easier tracking. Optional but recommended.
• Line item – The name of the category or line item (mandatory)
• Unit – The unit of measurement (e.g., kg, m, pcs)
• Unit price – Optional; sets a predefined price per unit, which will be included in the estimate if used
• Comments – Optional; additional notes for reference

Tip: You can update or expand your budget codes at any time — either manually or via spreadsheet upload — to keep your estimating structure up to date.

When an invoice with a purchase order reference is uploaded to Planyard, it’s automatically matched to the correct project, supplier, and purchase order. If the reference isn’t detected, you can link it manually.

1. Go to the relevant project.
2. Open the Files tab and click on the invoice you want to process.
3. In the Select company dropdown, choose the company receiving the invoice.
4. In the Select document type dropdown, select Invoice for a purchase order.
5. Fill in the invoice name, invoice number, invoice date, and due date.
6. In the Select purchase order dropdown, choose the correct PO linked to this supplier.
7. Review the purchase order line items shown below and allocate amounts to each item.

Tip: If the invoice is for the full purchase order amount, click Receive all remaining to auto-fill the values.

8. Click Submit to finalize the invoice

In this article, you’ll learn how to register credit notes in Planyard to keep your project budgets accurate and aligned with financial changes.

Introduction

Planyard makes it easy to process credit notes—whether standalone or linked to a purchase order. When registered correctly, credit notes automatically adjust the project’s budget and committed costs, reducing manual work and minimizing errors.

How to activate the credit notes feature

Before using credit notes, the feature must be enabled in your company settings. Only users with permission to edit company-wide settings can activate it.

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right of the menu.
3. Open the Company-wide features tab.
4. Enable the toggle for Credit notes.

You can now register credit notes in your projects.

How to register a credit note

There are two ways to register a credit note in Planyard:

1. Standalone credit note

1. Navigate to your project.
2. Click Files in the project menu.
3. Upload the credit note file.
4. Click on the uploaded file to start processing.
5. Select the Supplier from the dropdown.
6. Set Document type to Credit Note.
7. Add any relevant document details.
8. Under Line-items, click Select in bulk, check the applicable items, and click Update selection.
9. Enter the Unit, Quantity, and Unit price for each selected line item. Use a negative quantity to register the credit.
10. Click Submit.

2. Credit note for a purchase order

1. Navigate to your project.
2. Click Files in the project menu.
3. Upload the credit note file.
4. Click on the uploaded file to start processing.
5. Select the Supplier from the dropdown.
6. Set Document type to Credit Note.
7. Add any relevant document details.
8. Select the Purchase Order the credit note is linked to.
9. Line items from the PO will auto-populate. Enter the negative quantity for the credited amount.
10. Click Submit.

Once submitted, the credit note is saved to your project, and the corresponding budget totals are automatically updated.

Once an invoice or receipt has been processed in Planyard, it becomes a cost entry in your project. If a cost was added by mistake or needs to be removed for any reason, you can delete it. The associated budget values will update automatically.

Permissions

To delete a cost, you must either:

• Have access to all company features,
• Be the project owner, or
• Be invited to the project with permission to handle cost documents.

Note: Deleted costs cannot be restored. However, they remain visible in the company account for traceability.

How to delete a cost

1. Navigate to the relevant project.
2. Click Costs in the project menu.
3. Open the cost entry you want to delete.
4. Click Delete in the top right corner.
5. Enter a reason for deletion when prompted.
6. Click Delete to confirm.

The cost is now removed from the project and automatically excluded from the budget calculations.

This video walks through how project managers review and approve sales invoices in Planyard. After the accountant exports the invoice from the accounting system and uploads it, the project manager can check the details, leave comments if needed, and finalise the approval.

How to add retention to subcontracts

Retention can be configured on a subcontract either during its creation or after it’s been created, provided no invoices or payment applications have been submitted yet. Retention ensures that a percentage of each payment is held back until project milestones or final delivery is confirmed. You can choose to apply retention automatically or manage it manually per invoice.

1. Add retention while creating a subcontract

1. Go to your project and open the Subcontracts tab.
2. Click Create new subcontract.
3. Fill in the required fields.
4. Choose one of the following options:
   • Add subcontract retainage:
     • Enter a name for the retention.
     • Add a percentage scheme. This percentage will be automatically applied to all future invoices and payment applications for this subcontract.
   • Manually book retention:
     • Enter a name for the retention.
     • Leave the percentage at 0%. You’ll manually enter the retention percentage each time you process an invoice or payment application.

2. Add retention to an existing subcontract (with no invoices or payment applications)

1. Go to the Subcontracts tab and open the relevant subcontract.
2. Go to the Summary section.
3. Scroll to the Total retention booked line.
4. Choose one of the following:
   • Click Add retainage:
     • Enter a name for the retention.
     • Add a percentage scheme. This will automatically apply to all future invoices and payment applications.
   • Click Manage retention manually:
     • Enter a name for the retention.
     • You’ll need to book retention manually for each invoice or payment application.

Note: You can only add retention to subcontracts that have no invoices or payment applications yet.

In this article, you’ll learn how to create a new project in Planyard and upload a budget using the spreadsheet template.

Introduction

Creating a project in Planyard is quick and straightforward. Once set up, you can upload a complete project budget using a spreadsheet template, helping you get started fast and maintain a consistent structure.

How to create a new project

To create a project, you must have permission to create, edit, and archive projects. If you don’t have access, contact your company account owner.

Steps to create a project:

1. Click Projects in the top menu.
2. Click Create Project in the top-right corner.
3. Fill out the following fields:
   • Project name (required)
   • Currency (required) – Used for all budgeting and cost tracking
   • Project code (required) – Used to generate reference numbers
   • Project address (optional) – Used as the default delivery address
   • Project dates (optional)
   • Project template (optional) – Use a predefined budget structure, if applicable
4. Click Create Project.

After the project is created, you will land on the Budget tab where you can upload your budget using a spreadsheet.

Uploading your budget using the spreadsheet

You can upload your entire project budget at once using a spreadsheet template. The structure supports categories, subcategories, and line items. All financial values and groupings are calculated automatically once imported.

1. Download and complete the template

Click Download template file from the Budget screen to get started.

Spreadsheet columns explained:

Net estimated cost:

• E – Quantity (optional)
• F – Unit price (optional)
• G – Total cost (required if quantity/unit price not used)

If you only enter a total cost, Planyard will assume a quantity of 1.

Budget submitted to client (optional):

• H–J – Quantity, Unit price, Total

Target budget (optional):

• K–M – Quantity, Unit price, Total

N – Comment (optional)

Notes:

• Do not delete any columns, even if you leave some blank.
• You can use formulas—Planyard reads the final value in each cell.
• Columns beyond N are ignored and can be used for notes or internal calculations.

2. Upload the spreadsheet

Once your file is ready:

1. Return to the Budget tab in the project.
2. Click Browse Files or drag and drop your file into the upload area.
3. The system will process the spreadsheet and create your full budget structure.

Tips

• Use the category level column (1, 2, 3, etc.) to create a clear and organized budget.
• Line items must follow a category or subcategory.
• You only need to enter quantity and unit price if relevant—otherwise, just include the total cost.

Once uploaded, your budget is live and ready for tracking, forecasting, and cost control in Planyard.

This video guides you through how to raise purchase orders in Planyard. It also covers handling prepayment invoices, managing change orders (variations), and tracking payment summaries.

This video walks you through how to register client, subcontractor, and vendor change orders in Planyard. It also shows how to track the profitability of each change order. The budget is updated automatically.

This video covers managing the client schedule of values, processing change orders, issuing payment applications, handling prepayment (downpayment) invoices, tracking retention, and approving the sales invoice. See how to approve a sales invoice.

This video shows how the project manager processes a sales invoice in Planyard after the accountant exports it from the accounting system, sends it to the client, and uploads it to Planyard for review.

This video walks you through processing construction project purchase invoices in Planyard. It covers using OCR, labelling invoices against the budget, sending them to accounting, and tracking project costs on the budget.

This video shows how to use Planyard to get ready for a cost control meeting. You’ll learn how to review your budget and committed costs, spot variances and update forecasts, and generate CVR and P&L reports for the meeting.

Learn how to raise purchase orders for materials, track commitments against your budget, update forecasts and CVRs, manage prepayment invoices, review payment summaries, and prevent vendor overbilling.

This video shows how Planyard streamlines the collection of subcontractor payment applications (also known as progress claims or subcontractor valuations), making the billing process easier for project managers, site engineers, and subcontractors.

This video shows how Planyard helps project stakeholders create and send bid requests to subcontractors and vendors, and how all bids are collected in a single, convenient bid evaluation view.

This video walks you through raising a subcontractor order, managing retention, handling change orders (variations) and prepayments, and tracking payment summaries. The budget is updated automatically in Planyard.

This video shows how to process purchase invoices in Planyard when a single invoice includes costs from multiple projects. It also covers how the accountant or secretary can set up the approval process and manage it through a simple team approval workflow.

This video shows how to manage construction project budgets, purchase orders, invoices, and receipts in multiple currencies. Planyard is built by quantity surveyors and project managers to eliminate spreadsheets and simplify multi-currency workflows.

This video guides you through forecasting construction project cash flow using Planyard. It starts with enabling cash flow forecasting in Company Settings and project settings. You’ll learn how to create a cash flow forecast, input percentages, and track projected spending over time.

Planyard’s user management is structured in two tiers: company-level and project-level.

• At the company level, you control a user’s overall access to Planyard—whether they can create projects, manage settings, or invite others.
• At the project level, you decide which projects they can access and what they can do within each one.

This two-tier setup allows you to keep company-wide controls centralized while tailoring project access for each user.

Note: Users who are added as project owner for a project will automatically have full access to all features within that project. Additionally, users with the Create, edit and archive projects permission set to Everyone will have full access to all features within all projects.

To add a user to the company account:

1. Go to Company in the top menu and select User Management
2. Click Add New User
3. Choose a user type:
   • Full user: For users who need full platform access, including managing and creating projects
   • Limited user: For users who only need access to specific data or features (e.g. clients, site engineers)
4. Select the user’s company role from the dropdown
5. Enter the user’s email address
6. Set company-level permissions:
   • Create, edit, and archive projects: No, Own, or Everyone’s
   • View projects: Own and shared or Everyone’s
   • Edit estimates and target budgets: No or Everyone’s
   • Accounts payable manager access: Own, Shared, or Company files
   • Access company settings and integrations: Yes or No
   • Manage users and permissions: Yes or No
7. Click Create

The invited user will receive an email with login instructions. Once they’ve joined the company account, you can assign them to projects and define their project-specific access.

See also: How to manage project-level permissions

Before you can assign project access to a user, they must first be invited to the company account. Once that’s done, you can define their access and permissions on a per-project basis.

To share a project with a user and set their permissions:

1. Go to Projects in the top menu and open the relevant project
2. Click Settings in the project menu
3. In the top right corner, click Share Project
4. Select the user from the dropdown
5. Tick the boxes for the permissions they should have on this project

That’s it—permissions are saved automatically. The user now has access based on the settings you’ve selected.

Managing existing permissions

• In Project settings, scroll to the bottom to see a list of users who already have access to the project.
• To edit a user’s permissions, click the three dots on the far right of their name, then click Edit.
• Adjust the permissions using the same feature tick boxes, then Save.

See also: How to add a user to the company account

Add your payment method to activate your subscription automatically when the trial ends.

1. Go to Company in the main menu
2. Click Billing
3. Select Manage Account
4. Open the Payment Methods tab
5. Add your credit card details

How to allow Planyard to send emails from your domain

To ensure Planyard can send emails from your company address (e.g., invoices@yourcompany.com), you need to verify your domain by adding specific DNS records. This enables white-labeled sending so emails appear to come directly from your company.

1. Get your DNS records from Planyard

1. Go to Company in the main menu.
2. Click Settings under the company section.
3. Open Company-wide features.
4. Scroll to Email identities and click Manage configuration.
5. Select the domain you want to use and click Set up for this domain.
6. Click Copy DNS record values to clipboard.

These values include the necessary CNAME records for DKIM email authentication.

2. Add the records to your DNS provider

1. Log in to your DNS provider (e.g., GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap).
2. Go to the DNS settings for your domain.
3. Add the 3 CNAME records copied from Planyard.

Tip: These records authenticate Planyard as a trusted sender and help prevent your emails from being marked as spam.

3. Wait for verification

Once the records are added, Planyard will automatically detect and verify them. No further action is needed.

Need help?

If you’re not sure how to access your domain settings, contact your IT administrator or domain provider.

Before you can register credit notes in Planyard, the feature must be enabled in your company account settings.

Who can activate the feature?

Only users with permission to manage company-wide settings can activate credit notes. If you don’t see the option, contact your company account owner or admin.

Steps to activate credit notes:

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right of the company menu.
3. Go to the Company-wide features tab.
4. Find the Credit notes setting and toggle it on.

Once activated, the credit note option will be available when processing cost documents in your projects.

In this article, you’ll learn how to enable and manage approval workflows for cost documents in Planyard.

Introduction

Cost approval workflows help ensure tight control over project budgets. When activated, all costs must be reviewed and approved by selected users before being fully processed. You can configure approval flows either across the entire company or locally within individual projects. Each flow is round-based, meaning costs must be approved in a specific order before being finalized.

1. Activate the approval workflow feature

Before setting up any approval flows, the Approval workflow feature must be enabled.

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right.
3. Open the Company-wide features tab.
4. Enable Approval workflow.

Once enabled, a new Approvals button will appear in the top header:

• Approvers can see all documents pending their approval.
• Users with the correct permissions can see everything pending approval across the company.

2. Set up cost approval at the company level

Company-level approval flows apply globally across all projects. When a cost is processed (regardless of which project it belongs to), it will be routed through the approval rounds set at the company level.

This is ideal for organizations that want centralized financial control, where department leads or finance managers approve all cost documents before they’re finalized.

To configure:

1. Scroll to Cost approval flow under Company-wide features.
2. Toggle the feature on. A popup will appear.
3. Choose one of two options:
   • Add approver – Select a user from the dropdown and click Create workflow round.
   • Configure separately within projects – Skip company-level approvals and manage approvals per project only.
4. To add additional approval rounds, click Add next round.
   • Approval rounds are sequential: each round must be approved before the next one begins. For example, if Claire is Round 1 and Timothy is Round 2, Timothy won’t see the cost until Claire has approved it.
5. You can update any round by clicking Update approvers, removing the current user, and selecting a new one.

3. Set up cost approval at the project level

Project-level approval flows apply only to a specific project. When costs are processed within that project, they will go through the defined project approval rounds.

This is useful for delegating control to project managers or site leads without requiring central approval for every single cost.

To configure:

1. Navigate to the relevant project.
2. Click Settings in the project menu.
3. Scroll to Cost approval workflow.
4. Click Select approvers, choose a user from the dropdown, and click Create workflow round.
5. To add another round, click Next round and select another user.
6. You can update rounds at any time using Update approvers.

Note: A user must have access to the project to be added as an approver.

If both project-level and company-level approval flows are active, the cost must first be approved at the project level. Only after all local rounds are completed will the cost move on to the company-level approval sequence.

4. Notifications

Approvers receive notifications both via email and inside Planyard when action is required.

To disable email notifications:

• Click your name in the top right corner
• Select Settings
• Turn off Approval workflow notification

Retention management lets you automatically track retention on client contracts and subcontractor orders.

1. Go to Company
2. Open Settings
3. Click Company wide features
4. Find Contract retention and activate it

Once enabled, you’ll see an option to add retention when creating client contracts or subcontractor orders.

In this article, you’ll learn how to enable and manage approval workflows for purchase orders in Planyard.

Introduction

The purchase order (PO) approval workflow helps you maintain control over procurement by requiring approval before any PO is issued to a vendor. This is especially useful in projects where team members (e.g., site engineers) create orders but require approval from a project manager or other decision-maker.

Once activated, all purchase orders must be reviewed and approved before they can be sent out. The full approval process is tracked, ensuring transparency and accountability across your projects.

1. Activate the approval workflow feature

Before configuring purchase order approvals, the Approval workflow feature must be enabled.

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right.
3. Open the Company-wide features tab.
4. Enable Approval workflow.

Once activated, a new Approvals button will appear in the top header:

• Approvers will see all documents waiting for their review.
• Users with the correct permissions can see everything pending approval across the company.

2. Activate purchase order approval

To require approvals before POs can be issued:

1. Stay in Company-wide features.
2. Scroll to Purchase order approval workflow.
3. Toggle the setting to enable it.

Note: Only users with permission to edit company settings can activate this feature.

Once enabled, PO approval becomes mandatory for all projects in the account.

3. How the approval workflow works

After activation, a required Approver field will appear whenever a purchase order is created.

1. The user creating the PO selects an approver before submitting.
2. Once submitted, the approver receives a notification via email and in-app.
3. The approver can:
   • Review and approve the PO directly from the Approvals section.
   • Reject it if changes are needed.
4. Upon approval, the purchase order can be issued directly from Planyard.

All POs awaiting approval are listed in the Approvals overview for easy tracking and action.

This article provides an overview of locking accounting periods and how to set it up in your Planyard account.

Introduction

Locking accounting periods helps centralise control over how costs are allocated in your projects. It prevents costs from being assigned to months that are already closed in your accounting system.

This is especially useful for companies with strict accounting practices. For example, if your accounting system has closed November, but a delayed invoice is entered in Planyard, it could still be allocated to November. Locking the period prevents this kind of discrepancy.

Locked periods are also respected in the cash flow forecast, ensuring consistency between forecasts and actuals.

How to lock an accounting period

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Click Company-wide features.
4. Scroll to the section labeled Lock accounting period.
5. Select the month you want to lock.

Once locked:

• No invoices can be allocated to the locked month or any earlier periods.
• All new costs will be allocated to open periods only.

This ensures that Planyard remains in sync with your finalized accounting records.

Enhancing the process of uploading cost documents to Planyard not only saves time but also minimizes manual effort. This guide introduces multiple methods for collecting documents and shows how to set up efficient workflows to keep your projects running smoothly.

1. Forward emails from the accounts payable inbox to Planyard

If your company has a dedicated accounts payable email address, you can automatically forward incoming invoices to Planyard.

Each Planyard company account has a unique Inbox email address. Any documents sent to this address will be uploaded to the company inbox in Planyard.

Each project also has a project-specific inbox, where documents sent to that address are uploaded directly into that project’s files.

To find these email addresses:

• Company inbox email: Click Inbox in the top menu to view the address.
• Project inbox email: Navigate to the project and click Settings in the project menu to find the project-specific address.

Once you have the email, set up an automatic forwarding rule in your accounts payable inbox to send all incoming emails to this Planyard address.

See:

• Set up auto-forwarding in Outlook
• Set up auto-forwarding in Gmail

2. Use the Planyard email plugin

Install the Planyard plugin for Outlook or Gmail to upload cost documents from your inbox directly to Planyard.

Download the plugin from:

• Microsoft AppSource
• Google Workspace Marketplace

Gmail

When viewing an email, click the Planyard logo on the right side.

Select the relevant project and confirm — that’s it.

Outlook

• Open the email and click Upload to Planyard under more actions.
• Log in to the Planyard add-in and select a project.
• Optionally, add a comment to help with processing.
• The attachment is visible in the add-in. You can remove unnecessary files and upload only what’s needed.

Uploaded documents appear in Files for the selected project, ready for review.

3. Manual upload

You can also upload documents manually at any time.

Upload to company inbox

1. Click Inbox in the top menu.
2. Drag files into the upload area or browse to select them.

Upload to project

1. Navigate to the project and click Files in the project menu.
2. Click Upload files on the right.
3. Drag and drop files or browse to upload.

You can manage multiple legal entities in Planyard by creating separate company accounts. Each account has its own settings, integrations, and users, but all can be linked to your profile for easy switching.

1. Contact your Planyard representative

Before creating additional accounts, confirm with your Planyard representative that your contract supports multi-account use. Planyard staff also need to enable the relevant settings for linked accounts.

2. Understand how company accounts work

Each company account in Planyard is treated as a distinct legal entity. This includes:

• Separate company logo, address, and registration number
• Independent integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, or MYOB
• Isolated financial data for better control and reporting

You can link your user profile to all your company accounts, allowing you to switch between them without logging in and out.

3. Create an email alias

Planyard requires a unique email for each company account. You can use an email alias to register new accounts without needing new email addresses.

Example: If your email is steven@company.com, you can create an alias like steven+sx@company.com.

Tip:

Use a clear alias that reflects the company name to make it easier to manage accounts (e.g., steven+subsidiary@company.com).

4. Register the new account

1. Register a new account
2. Fill in your new company’s details
3. Use your email alias when registering

Once registered, you can configure settings and integrations for the new account.

Next steps

See how to link accounts and switch between them for instructions on connecting your profiles and managing multiple entities.

If you work across multiple company accounts in Planyard, you can link your user profiles to easily switch between them without logging in and out. This is ideal for consultants or developers managing several legal entities.

1. Confirm linking is enabled

Account linking must be activated by Planyard. Contact your Planyard representative to enable this feature.

2. Link your user accounts

Once linking is enabled, follow these steps:

1. Click your name in the top right corner
2. Select Settings from the dropdown menu
3. Scroll to Linked Planyard Accounts and click Add Linked Account
4. Enter the login credentials for the other account you want to link
5. Click Link Account

You’ll see a green confirmation message once the link is successful.

3. Switch between linked accounts

To switch accounts:

1. Click your name in the top right corner
2. You’ll see a list of your linked accounts
3. Click on any account name to switch to it

Each linked account is shown with the company name and user initials.

How to set up and use the Xero integration

Planyard’s Xero integration streamlines your financial workflows by automatically transferring approved cost documents directly to Xero. This eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and keeps your project financials in sync.

1. Watch the Xero integration video tutorial

Watch the tutorial for a full overview of setup, data exchange, and configuration.

2. What data is transferred between Planyard and Xero

• Approved costs: Sent from Planyard to Xero with references to original documents.
• Chart of accounts: Imported from Xero and linked to Planyard budget items.
• Tracking categories: Synced from Xero and attached to costs.
• Contacts: Synced bidirectionally between systems.

3. Set up the Xero integration

Only users with the required permissions in both Planyard and Xero can set up the integration.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Click Connect under the Xero logo
4. Log in with your Xero credentials
5. Once connected, approved costs will sync automatically to Xero

4. Connect chart of accounts

Link budget line-items to specific Xero accounts so costs are coded correctly on transfer.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to assign Xero accounts:
   • Line-item column shows your budget items
   • Accounting account column lets you assign a Xero account
   • Double-click a cell to select an account
   • To bulk-assign, click a category or subcategory cell

Tip: Use Auto match accounts to automatically link items with Xero accounts of the same name.

5. Use tracking categories

Tracking categories help attribute costs to the right project within Xero.

Activate tracking categories

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Settings > Integration Settings
3. Enable Tracking categories

Assign a tracking category to a project

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Click Change Tracking Category
3. Select a category from the dropdown and click Save

All future costs sent to Xero from this project will include the selected tracking category.

This Planyard Xero integration video provides a complete overview of how the integration works, including data exchange between systems, setup instructions, and how to configure your chart of accounts and tracking categories.

To enable the Xero integration, you must have permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the correct access rights in Xero.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the Xero logo, click Connect
4. Log in using your Xero credentials
5. Authorize the connection

Once connected, all approved costs in Planyard will automatically sync to Xero.

Once the Xero integration is active, Planyard automatically syncs key financial and project data to ensure consistency across platforms. Here’s what’s included in the data exchange.

1. Approved costs
   • All approved cost documents in Planyard are sent to Xero.
   • Each entry includes a reference back to Planyard, so you can easily trace and review the original document.
2. Chart of accounts
   • Planyard imports your Xero chart of accounts.
   • When setting up a project, you can assign each budget item in Planyard to the appropriate Xero account.
   • This ensures that all costs are correctly categorised when sent to Xero.
3. Tracking categories
   • Tracking categories from Xero are synced with Planyard.
   • You can assign these to your Planyard projects to help segment and track costs in Xero.
4. Contacts
   • Contact data is synced in both directions.
   • Planyard pulls contact details from Xero and sends contact info back as needed during cost document submission.

Note: All data transfers happen automatically once the integration is enabled—no need for manual exports or uploads.

Linking your chart of accounts ensures that each cost in Planyard is properly categorized when sent to Xero.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to link budget line-items:
   • Line-item shows your budget items
   • Accounting account lets you assign the matching Xero account
   • Double-click a cell to select an account
   • To bulk-assign, click the cell for a category or subcategory

Tip: Click Auto match accounts to automatically link accounts with matching names in Xero.

Tracking categories help you allocate costs to specific projects or segments in Xero. Once enabled, Planyard includes this data with every synced cost.

Activate tracking categories

You’ll need permission to edit company settings in Planyard to activate this feature.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Select Settings
3. Open Integration Settings
4. Enable Tracking categories

Assign a tracking category to a project

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Click Change Tracking Category
3. Select the appropriate category from the dropdown
4. Click Save

All future costs sent from this project will include the selected tracking category in Xero.

Planyard’s QuickBooks integration helps streamline your financial processes by automatically syncing approved cost documents. This eliminates manual entry, reduces errors, and keeps your accounting data in sync with your project budgets.

1. Watch the QuickBooks integration video tutorial

2. What data is transferred between Planyard and QuickBooks

• Approved costs: All approved costs in Planyard are automatically sent to QuickBooks. Each entry includes a reference to the original document in Planyard.
• Chart of accounts: Imported from QuickBooks. You can map budget items in Planyard to the correct accounts to ensure accurate cost categorization.
• Contacts: Contact data is synced both ways — Planyard receives and sends contact information to and from QuickBooks.

3. Set up the QuickBooks integration

You must have permission to edit company settings in Planyard and appropriate access rights in QuickBooks.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the QuickBooks logo, click Connect
4. Log in with your QuickBooks credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, all approved costs in Planyard will automatically sync to QuickBooks.

4. Connect chart of accounts

This links each Planyard budget item to the correct QuickBooks account for seamless financial tracking.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to assign accounts:
   • Line-item: Shows your budget items. A warning icon indicates missing account assignment.
   • Accounting account: Select a QuickBooks account for each line-item by double-clicking the cell
   • To assign in bulk, click the cell of a category or subcategory

Tip: Use Auto match accounts to automatically pair Planyard items with QuickBooks accounts that have the same name.

To enable the QuickBooks integration, you need permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the correct access rights in QuickBooks.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the QuickBooks logo, click Connect
4. Log in with your QuickBooks credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, all approved costs in Planyard will automatically sync to QuickBooks.

Once the QuickBooks integration is active, Planyard automatically exchanges key financial and contact data to ensure consistency between systems.

1. Approved costs All approved costs in Planyard are sent to QuickBooks with a reference link back to the original cost document.
2. Chart of accounts Planyard imports your QuickBooks chart of accounts so you can map each budget item to the correct account. This ensures accurate cost allocation when syncing data.
3. Contacts Contact information is synced bidirectionally. Planyard both receives and sends contact details to and from QuickBooks, keeping supplier and subcontractor info up to date.

Linking your chart of accounts ensures that each approved cost in Planyard is correctly categorized in QuickBooks.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to link budget line-items:
   • Line-item: Displays all items in your project budget. A warning icon appears if no account is assigned.
   • Accounting account: Double-click a cell to select the matching QuickBooks account

To assign accounts in bulk, click the cell for a category or subcategory — all related line-items will inherit the same account.

Tip: Use Auto match accounts to automatically pair budget items with QuickBooks accounts of the same name.

Planyard’s MYOB integration eliminates manual data entry by automatically syncing approved cost documents. This ensures your accounting data stays up to date and aligned with your project budgets.

1. What data is transferred between Planyard and MYOB

• Approved costs: All approved cost documents in Planyard are sent to MYOB. Each entry includes a reference back to the original cost document for easy tracking.
• Contacts: Contact details are synced both ways — Planyard receives and sends contact data to and from MYOB.

2. Set up the MYOB integration

You need permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the necessary access rights in MYOB.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the MYOB logo, click Connect
4. Log in with your MYOB credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, Planyard will automatically send all approved costs to MYOB.

Planyard’s Sage integration simplifies your financial workflows by automatically syncing approved cost documents to Sage. This keeps your accounting records accurate and aligned with your project data in real time.

1. What data is transferred between Planyard and Sage

• Approved costs: All approved costs in Planyard are sent to Sage. Each entry includes a reference to the original Planyard document for easy traceability.
• Contacts: Contact data is synced in both directions — Planyard receives and sends contact details to and from Sage.

2. Set up the Sage integration

You must have permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the appropriate access rights in Sage.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the Sage logo, click Connect
4. Log in using your Sage credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, Planyard will automatically send all approved cost documents to your Sage account.

Planyard allows you to send automated notifications to your accountant’s email. This is especially useful if you use accounting software that doesn’t integrate directly with Planyard.

By adding the correct email recipients and choosing which notifications they receive, you ensure that key stakeholders stay informed and can act quickly on financial updates.

1. Add a recipient of notifications

To add an email recipient, you need permission to edit company settings.

You can add recipients with or without a Planyard account:

• Recipients without a Planyard account will still receive emails with relevant documents attached.
• However, they won’t be able to access the platform directly.

Follow these steps to add a recipient:

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Go to Integrations in the company menu row.
3. Find the integration labeled Accountant’s email and click Connect.
4. Enter the email address and tick the checkboxes for the notifications you want the recipient to receive.
5. Click Save.

You can return to this section anytime to update notification preferences.

2. Set notification preferences

Once an email is added, you can choose from the following notification types. Each one sends an email with relevant documents and links to Planyard.

• Integration errors: Notifies the recipient if a cost document fails to upload to the accounting software.
• Archived cost documents: Sends a notification when cost documents are archived in any project, including what was removed.
• Approved purchase invoices: Triggers an email as soon as a purchase invoice is approved in Planyard.
• Approved consolidated invoices: Notifies the recipient when a consolidated invoice is approved, including all relevant documentation.
• Approved prepayments: Sends notifications for approved prepayments under subcontracts or purchase orders.
• Processed credit notes: Sends documentation and details whenever a credit note is processed in Planyard.
• Sales invoices: Automatically notifies the email address when sales invoices are processed.
• Created purchase orders: Sends a notification with documents and details whenever a new purchase order is created.

Tip: Use this feature to keep external accountants or finance teams up to date without needing to give them full platform access.

In this article, you’ll learn how to activate and use the feature that allows you to prevent specific cost documents from being sent to your accounting software.

Introduction

Planyard allows you to stop individual cost documents—such as overheads or internal labour—from being pushed to your accounting integration. This is useful for costs that have already been recorded in your accounting system or should be excluded from syncing for any reason.

How to activate the feature

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Click Integration settings.
4. Enable the toggle for Optional do not send to accounting.

The feature is now active.

How to use it

When processing a cost document (e.g., invoice or receipt), a checkbox labeled Do not send to accounting will appear.

• Check the box to stop the cost from being pushed to your accounting integration.

This gives you full control over which documents are synced and helps prevent duplicate entries.

Here’s a quick guide to help you get started with Planyard’s cost estimating and client quoting features.

This 4-minute tutorial video will give you an introduction on how to utilize the estimation feature.

Quick Setup

Company information and branding

1. Go to Company in the top menu row
2. Click Settings and fill in your company details. The information will automatically appear on the PDF quotes you send to customers.

Quote terms, pipeline, VAT (GST) & default expiry date

1. From Settings navigate to the Company-wide features tab
2. In the top of the list, you’ll find options to review and adjust:
   • Pipelinestages
   • Client quote terms template
   • Client quote default expiry days
   • Default VAT

Planyard’s essential features eliminate spreadsheets by streamlining cost estimating, client quotes, invoice processing, and real-time budget tracking with automated budget updates and seamless accounting integration.

Cost estimating & Client quoting

This 4-minute tutorial video will give you an introduction on how to utilize the estimation feature.

Company information and branding

Company information and branding are automatically included in the quote PDF exports.

1. Go to Company in the top menu row.
2. Click Settings and fill in your company details. The information will automatically appear on the PDF quotes you send to customers.

Quote terms, pipeline, VAT (GST) & default expiry date

1. From Settings navigate to the Company-wide features tab.
2. In the top of the list, you’ll find options to review and adjust:
   • Pipelinestages
   • Client quote terms template
   • Client quote default expiry days
   • Default VAT

Project budget control & Invoice processing

Watch this 2-minute intro video to learn how to process subcontractor and vendor invoices with automated budget updates and seamless accounting integration.

How to collect vendor and subcontractor invoices onto Planyard

1. Auto-import invoices via your accounts payable email (most popular).
2. Process invoices directly from Outlook or Gmail while browsing email.
3. Scan paper receipts via mobile—anytime, anywhere. iPhone & Android

Start your next project on Planyard

1. Navigate to Projects in the top menu row.
2. Click Create project in the top right corner.
3. Add your project information and click Create project.
4. Watch the 1–2 minute video guides on uploading your initial project budget from a spreadsheet.

Automate invoice processing to accounting

1. Integrate with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, or MYOB to eliminate manual data entry.
2. Or let Planyard automatically send project manager- or quantity surveyor-approved invoices directly to your accountant’s email. (Fit while just testing)

This guide is designed for the Planyard champion (usually a project lead or manager) tasked with rolling out the platform across their team. Follow these eight straightforward steps to configure your account, get rid of your spreadsheets, and begin managing costs in real time.

1. Log in to your account

If you don’t have one, start your 14-day free trial here.

2. Update company profile

Your company name, registration code, and logo will appear on all documents (POs, applications, quotes etc.).

1. Click Company in the top menu row.
2. Navigate to Settings in the company menu row.
3. Use the pen icon to edit the company details and upload your logo.

3. Invite your team

Add project managers, QSs, site engineers, finance staff, or even the client to allow them to track the project in real-time.

1. Click Company in the top menu row and navigate to User management.
2. Click Add new user in the top right corner.
3. Choose whether it’s a full or a limited user.
4. Enter their email, choose permissions, and click Create.

Planyard will email them the account access details and quick setup guides.

Decide project visibility

Set whether users can access each other’s project item cost data. Shared visibility improves estimating and market benchmarking.

• Select the user right: “View projects”, either Everyone’s or Own & Shared

“Sharing this information allows team members to quickly check budget item costs in colleagues’ projects for cost estimating or to understand market prices better when negotiating subcontractors. It’s especially useful if you use the same cost codes for all the projects, allowing the users to one-click print item cost breakdowns across all portfolio projects—active and historic.”

Lock budget estimates for accountability

Prevent QSs and PMs from editing original estimates so you can always backtrack:

“Restricting edits to budget estimates increases accountability and allows backtracking what was estimated vs. what actually happened.”

• Set “Edit Estimates and Target Budgets” permission to No

5. Upload your first project

Go to Projects and click Create Project in the top right corner. Start by uploading your initial project budget, our short video guides walk you through the process step by step. You can use any budget item names and cost codes, fill them in accordingly on the import file:

• Simple project: 2-minute video for uploading the budget spreadsheet or download a sample template
• Complex project with multi-level budget subcategories: 3-minute video for uploading the budget spreadsheet or download a sample template
• Or convert a winning quote directly in the Sales module into a live project

To ensure consistency, we recommend having a single manager upload all initial projects. Once uploaded, you can assign the appropriate project owner in the project settings. This helps standardize how projects are set up across your team.

6. Collect subcontractor/vendor invoices as you receive them

Best way to collect accounts payable invoices to Planyard:

• Auto-import from your AP email (recommended)
• Outlook Add-in: How to download & tutorial
• Planyard Gmail Add-on: Download & tutorial
• Planyard application: iPhone & Android

7. Automate invoice forwarding to accounting

Avoid manual entry by integrating it with your accounting software:

• Connect to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, or MYOB
• Or let Planyard automatically forward approved invoices to your accountant’s email

8. Supporting roles for your projects

You can share access to your Planyard project with stakeholders such as the client (view-only), site engineers, and foremen (to register change orders, raise purchase orders, etc.). To do this, start by inviting the user to your company account; refer to Step 3 for guidance. Then follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the project.
2. Click Settings in the project menu row.
3. Click Share project in the top right corner.
4. Select the team member in the dropdown and assign appropriate user rights

9. Custom Purchase Order Terms Template (Recommended)

This configuration lets you define a purchase order terms template that your team can customize before sending POs to vendors. It’s helpful for reminding suppliers about:

• Payment terms
• Where to send the invoice
• Including the Purchase Order number as a reference

This ensures all purchase orders from your company follow a consistent and professional format.

1. Click Company in the top menu row
2. Navigate to Settings and click Company-wide features
3. Find the Custom purchase order terms in the list and add your terms.

11. Sending emails to vendors from your work email address (Recommended)

This setup allows Planyard to send emails using your company’s work email domain. It’s especially useful when sending purchase orders, RFQs, and payment applications to subcontractors or vendors, helping avoid spam filters and improving trust.

1. Click Company in the top menu row
2. Navigate to Settings and click Company-wide features
3. Find the Email identities feature in the list
4. Copy the configuration details and send them to your IT support. They only need to make a small update to your email service provider.

Advanced setup (optional) – support@planyard.com

• Invoice approval workflows
• PO approval workflows
• Subcontractor bid comparisons

This guide is designed for the Planyard champion (usually a project lead or manager) tasked with rolling out the platform across their team. Follow these eight straightforward steps to configure your account, get rid of your spreadsheets, and begin managing costs in real time.

1. Log in to your account

If you don’t have one, start your 14-day free trial here.

2. Update company profile

Your company name, registration code, and logo will appear on all documents (POs, applications, quotes etc.).

1. Click Company in the top menu row.
2. Navigate to Settings in the company menu row.
3. Use the pen icon to edit the company details and upload your logo.

3. Invite your team

Add project managers, QSs, site engineers, finance staff, or even the client to allow them to track the project in real-time.

1. Click Company in the top menu row and navigate to User management.
2. Click Add new user in the top right corner.
3. Choose whether it’s a full or a limited user.
4. Enter their email, choose permissions, and click Create.

Planyard will email them the account access details and quick setup guides.

Decide project visibility

Set whether users can access each other’s project item cost data. Shared visibility improves estimating and market benchmarking.

• Select the user right: “View projects”, either Everyone’s or Own & Shared

“Sharing this information allows team members to quickly check budget item costs in colleagues’ projects for cost estimating or to understand market prices better when negotiating subcontractors. It’s especially useful if you use the same cost codes for all the projects, allowing the users to one-click print item cost breakdowns across all portfolio projects—active and historic.”

Lock budget estimates for accountability

Prevent QSs and PMs from editing original estimates so you can always backtrack:

“Restricting edits to budget estimates increases accountability and allows backtracking what was estimated vs. what actually happened.”

• Set “Edit Estimates and Target Budgets” permission to No

5. Upload your first project

Go to Projects and click Create Project in the top right corner. Start by uploading your initial project budget, our short video guides walk you through the process step by step. You can use any budget item names and cost codes, fill them in accordingly on the import file:

• Simple project: 2-minute video for uploading the budget spreadsheet or download a sample template
• Complex project with multi-level budget subcategories: 3-minute video for uploading the budget spreadsheet or download a sample template
• Or convert a winning quote directly in the Sales module into a live project

To ensure consistency, we recommend having a single manager upload all initial projects. Once uploaded, you can assign the appropriate project owner in the project settings. This helps standardize how projects are set up across your team.

6. Collect subcontractor/vendor invoices as you receive them

Best way to collect accounts payable invoices to Planyard:

• Auto-import from your AP email (recommended)
• Outlook Add-in: How to download & tutorial
• Planyard Gmail Add-on: Download & tutorial
• Planyard application: iPhone & Android

7. Automate invoice forwarding to accounting

Avoid manual entry by integrating it with your accounting software:

• Connect to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, or MYOB
• Or let Planyard automatically forward approved invoices to your accountant’s email

8. Supporting roles for your projects

You can share access to your Planyard project with stakeholders such as the client (view-only), site engineers, and foremen (to register change orders, raise purchase orders, etc.). To do this, start by inviting the user to your company account; refer to Step 3 for guidance. Then follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the project.
2. Click Settings in the project menu row.
3. Click Share project in the top right corner.
4. Select the team member in the dropdown and assign appropriate user rights

9. Custom Purchase Order Terms Template (Recommended)

This configuration lets you define a purchase order terms template that your team can customize before sending POs to vendors. It’s helpful for reminding suppliers about:

• Payment terms
• Where to send the invoice
• Including the Purchase Order number as a reference

This ensures all purchase orders from your company follow a consistent and professional format.

1. Click Company in the top menu row
2. Navigate to Settings and click Company-wide features
3. Find the Custom purchase order terms in the list and add your terms.

11. Sending emails to vendors from your work email address (Recommended)

This setup allows Planyard to send emails using your company’s work email domain. It’s especially useful when sending purchase orders, RFQs, and payment applications to subcontractors or vendors, helping avoid spam filters and improving trust.

1. Click Company in the top menu row
2. Navigate to Settings and click Company-wide features
3. Find the Email identities feature in the list
4. Copy the configuration details and send them to your IT support. They only need to make a small update to your email service provider.

Advanced setup (optional) – support@planyard.com

• Invoice approval workflows
• PO approval workflows
• Subcontractor bid comparisons

Planyard’s Cost Estimating feature helps you create structured, accurate estimates without manual errors or versioning issues.

With a spreadsheet-style interface, it centralizes all estimating data—enabling real-time budget tracking, version control, and easy team collaboration.

How to configure company settings for estimating

To get the most out of Planyard’s estimating features, set up key company settings first. This ensures your quotes are consistent, accurate, and tailored to your workflow.

1. Add or update company information

Company details are automatically included in every quote. To set them up:

1. Go to Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings.
3. Use the pencil icons to edit company name, address, contact details, and other fields.
4. To upload or replace your company logo, click Upload new logo.

The logo appears at the top of the quote PDF, while your company info shows in the footer.

2. Customize your estimation pipeline

Define and order the stages in your estimation workflow:

1. Go to Company > Settings.
2. Open the Company-wide features tab.
3. In the estimating pipeline section:
   • Add new stages
   • Reorder existing stages
   • Edit stage names
   • Delete unused stages

This helps track estimates through a clear, structured pipeline.

3. Set default client quote settings

Standardize quotes with the following default settings:

• Client quote notes – Pre-fill notes included in every quote
• Quote expiry days – Set how long quotes remain valid
• Default VAT/Sales tax rate – Apply a consistent tax rate to all estimates

4. Enable material breakdown

For more detailed cost estimates:

1. Go to Company-wide features in Settings.
2. Find the Estimate material breakdown option.
3. Enable the feature.

This allows you to break down each line item by materials, labor, machinery, and subcontractor costs.

Tip: These settings apply across your entire company account, ensuring consistency across all projects.

You can grant users access to the estimation pipeline in two ways: full access to all estimates or access to specific estimates only.

1. Grant full access to all estimates

To allow a user to view and edit all estimates and access the entire estimation pipeline:

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Select User management.
3. Click the three dots next to the user and choose Edit.
4. Set Edit estimates and target budget for projects to Everyone’s.
5. Click Save.

The user now has full access to all estimates and the estimation pipeline.

2. Grant access to a specific estimate

To assign a user as the estimator for a specific estimate:

1. Click Sales in the top menu.
2. Open the desired estimate.
3. Go to the Summary tab.
4. Click the pencil icon next to Estimator.
5. Select the user you want to assign.
6. Click Save.

The user now has access to that specific estimate and can contribute accordingly.

How to create a new client bid request

You can start a new estimate in Planyard either from scratch or by using a pre-made template. Templates are useful for similar projects, letting you reuse existing structures. To use one, make sure it’s already created—see how to set up templates for details.

1. Navigate to the estimate creation form

1. Go to Sales in the top menu.
2. Click New estimate in the top right corner.

2. Fill in estimate details

Complete the form with the following:

• Estimate name – Required
• Quote number – Auto-generated, but editable after creation
• Template – Select an existing template if available
• Client company – Choose from the list or click Add new client
• Contact person – Select from the list or click Add new contact
• (Optional) Add a description and project address
• Responsible user – Assign the estimator
• Attach any relevant files to the file manager

Tip: For a quick setup, just enter the estimate name and contact person. You can complete the rest later.

3. Start the estimate

Click Start estimating to create the estimate. You’ll be taken to the estimation view where you can begin adding items.

How to add items to your estimate

After creating an estimate, you can build its structure by adding categories, subcategories, and line items. You have the option to create these manually or import them from existing budget codes.

1. Open your estimate

1. Go to Sales in the top menu.
2. Click on the estimate you want to edit.

2. Add categories and line items

You can structure your estimate by adding categories and line items:

• Add category: Creates a new top-level category.
• Add subcategory: Click the plus sign next to a category to create a subcategory.
• Add line item: Start typing in a blank row to create a new line item.
• Cost code: Optionally, add a cost code to any category or line item.
• Duplicate: Click the copy icon to duplicate a line item.
• Delete: Click the red cross to remove a line item. Note: Categories can only be deleted after all their line items have been removed.

3. Import items from budget codes

If your company has predefined budget codes, you can import them:

1. Click Add from budget codes in the top-right corner.
2. Browse the list of available budget codes and categories.
3. Check the boxes next to the items and categories you want to include.
   • Selecting a category will automatically select all items within it.
   • Selecting an item will also include its parent category.
4. Click Add to incorporate the selected items into your estimate.

Next, proceed to add costs and markup to your items.

How to add costs to items in your estimate

You can enter costs manually by filling in quantity and unit price, or calculate the unit price using a detailed cost breakdown.

1. Enter quantity and unit price (basic)

Navigate to the estimate

Go to Sales, then open the estimate you want to edit.

Add cost data

1. For each line item, enter the quantity.
2. Enter the unit price.

Planyard will automatically calculate the total cost based on quantity × unit price.

Tip: This is the quickest way to add costs without using detailed breakdowns.

2. Use a cost breakdown to calculate unit price (advanced)

For more detailed estimating, you can break down the unit price into components. Planyard will then calculate the unit price based on those inputs.

Open the cost breakdown

Click the calculation symbol on the line item.

Add cost components

Enter items estimated quantity that would be needed for creating one unit of the item. The breakdown is done in four categories:

• Material
• Labor
• Machinery
• Subcontractor

Planyard totals these components to generate the unit price.

Tip: After entering your breakdown, you can apply markup and tax for accurate client pricing.

All changes are saved automatically and can be updated later.

Markup can be added directly in the Markup % column of the estimate table. You can enter percentages for individual items or categories, or apply a uniform markup across the entire estimate using the Set markup option.

1. Add markup to items or categories

In the Markup % column:

• Enter a percentage on a line item to apply markup to that specific cost
• Enter a percentage on a category row to apply the same markup to all items within that category

The Client price column will update automatically based on your input.

2. Apply markup across the entire estimate

To apply the same markup to all items at once:

1. Click the dollar sign icon labeled Set markup above the estimate table
2. Enter the markup percentage
3. Confirm to apply it across all items in the estimate

Note:

You can still override the markup on any individual item or category by editing the Markup % or Client price directly in the table.

You can generate a quote directly from an estimate and export it as a PDF or XLSX file. Before downloading, you can choose what information to include.

1. Open the estimate

Navigate to the estimate you want to convert into a quote.

2. Click 

Download Quote

In the top-right corner of the estimate view, click Download Quote.

A pop-up will appear with format and content options.

3. Select the export format

Choose between PDF and XLSX by selecting the appropriate radio button.

4. Customize the quote content

Use the available checkboxes to control what’s included:

Include in the document

• Bid notes – Appends bid notes at the bottom of the quote.

Include in table

• Subheadings – Shows subheadings in the quote table.
• All detailed line-items – Displays individual line items.
• Free-of-charge line-items – Includes items with no client cost.
• Comments and specifications column – Adds a column for additional item notes or descriptions.

Column display options

• Quantity column – Shows quantities for each item.
• Unit column – Displays units of measurement (e.g., m, pcs).
• Price column – Adds unit prices.
• Unit-based price column – Shows cost per specific unit (e.g., per shed).
• Total column – Displays total cost per item.

Tip: Adjust these settings based on how much detail your client needs.

The estimation pipeline view gives you a centralized overview of all your estimates, helping you stay organized and maintain visibility throughout the bidding process.

1. Understand the pipeline view

The Sales Pipeline Overview displays all estimates as cards, organized by customizable pipeline stages. Each card shows:

• Estimate name
• Client
• Client price
• Profit
• Main estimator
• Version count (in a blue badge).

2. Use card actions

Click the three dots in the top-right corner of any estimate card to:

• Move to another stage
• Make a copy
• Save as template

3. Switch between views

Click the view toggle to switch between Kanban and List view.

Use Kanban for visual tracking or List view for structured filtering and sorting.

4. View stage summaries

At the bottom of each stage column, see the total client price and profit for all estimates in that stage.

5. Create a new estimate

Click New estimate in the top-right corner to start a new estimation process.

Tip: Use pipeline stages to define your sales process — for example, Draft, Sent, In Negotiation, Won — and track each estimate from creation to close.

You can apply sales tax to your estimate to ensure accurate client pricing. The tax is added as a percentage and only appears in the PDF export.

1. Add sales tax

• Click VAT above the estimate table.
• Enter the desired sales tax percentage.

2. Export behaviour

• PDF export – Includes the tax in the total amount shown to the client.
• XLSX export – Displays net prices only (excluding tax).

Note: Sales tax is not shown in the estimate table within Planyard—it’s only reflected in the exported PDF.

Estimation templates help you save time and maintain consistency across projects by reusing predefined structures. Instead of starting from scratch, you can base new estimates on saved templates.

1. Save an estimate as a template

You can save a template from either the Sales overview or from inside an open estimate.

From the Sales overview

1. Go to Sales.
2. Locate the estimate you want to turn into a template.
3. Click the three dots in the top right corner of the estimate card.
4. Select Save as template.

From an open estimate

1. Open the estimate.
2. Go to the Summary tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the list.
4. Click Save as template.

Tip: You can also create an estimate solely for the purpose of saving it as a template and delete it afterward if not needed.

2. Use a saved template

When creating a new estimate, you’ll be prompted to select a template. Choose one of your saved templates to pre-fill the estimate with standard cost categories and line items.

This helps streamline setup and ensures consistency across similar project types.

Estimate versions let you work on multiple variations of the same quote without changing the original. This is useful for refining pricing, testing scenarios, and presenting different options to clients.

1. Create a new estimate version

1. Open the estimate.
2. Click Create new version in the top-right corner.
3. Enter a name for the new version in the popup window.
4. Click Create a version.

The version number appears next to the estimate name. Click it to switch between versions.

2. View and compare versions

Go to the Quote Versions tab to see all versions.

Each version includes details like:

• Client price
• Profit
• Total cost

This view helps you compare performance across versions.

3. Delete an estimate version

1. Open the version via the version number or the Quote Versions tab.
2. Click Delete estimate in the top-right corner.

Warning: If only one version exists, deleting it will remove the entire estimate.

In this article, you’ll learn how to add budget codes manually or import them in bulk using an XLSX file, helping you streamline your estimating process.

Overview

Budget codes help streamline the estimating process by allowing you to quickly pull in predefined categories and line items relevant to your estimate. Instead of adding items manually each time, you can store budget codes in your company account and import them as needed.

You have the option to add budget categories and line-items manually or upload them in bulk. Additionally, you can upload more items at any time, whether manually or in batches.

Manually Adding Budget Codes

To manually add budget codes, click Sales in the top menu and navigate to the Budget codes tab. From here:

• Select Add category to create your initial budget category, or choose Add a line item to begin with an individual line item.
• After adding your first category or line item, you can continue to expand your budget code structure as needed.

To build your budget structure:

• Click Add a category to create a new main category.
• Click the plus sign to create a new subcategory within a category.
• Start writing a name on a blank item to add a new item.
• Only the name field is mandatory.
• Optionally add cost codes and comments to categories, subcategories, or line items.
• For line items, you can also add a unit and unit price — unit prices will be included when adding budget codes to an estimate.
• Use the red cross to delete categories, subcategories, and items.

Importing Budget Codes via Spreadsheet

For bulk importing, you can upload an XLSX file containing budget codes. Click Sales in the top menu and navigate to the Budget codes tab, then follow these steps:

1. Click Import XLSX (located in the top right corner if you already have items in the list).
2. Download the example template file.
3. Fill out the template using the correct format (explained below).
4. Upload the completed file back into Planyard.

Spreadsheet Format

Each column in the spreadsheet defines a specific part of your budget structure:

• Category level – Defines whether an entry is a main category, subcategory, or line item.
  • 1 → Main category
  • 2 → Subcategory under the main category
  • 3, 4, 5, etc. → Further subcategories as needed
  • Blank → Line item under the last defined category or subcategory
• Cost code – Assigns unique identifiers to categories and items for easier tracking. Optional but recommended.
• Line item – The name of the category or line item (mandatory)
• Unit – The unit of measurement (e.g., kg, m, pcs)
• Unit price – Optional; sets a predefined price per unit, which will be included in the estimate if used
• Comments – Optional; additional notes for reference

Tip: You can update or expand your budget codes at any time — either manually or via spreadsheet upload — to keep your estimating structure up to date.

When an invoice with a purchase order reference is uploaded to Planyard, it’s automatically matched to the correct project, supplier, and purchase order. If the reference isn’t detected, you can link it manually.

1. Go to the relevant project.
2. Open the Files tab and click on the invoice you want to process.
3. In the Select company dropdown, choose the company receiving the invoice.
4. In the Select document type dropdown, select Invoice for a purchase order.
5. Fill in the invoice name, invoice number, invoice date, and due date.
6. In the Select purchase order dropdown, choose the correct PO linked to this supplier.
7. Review the purchase order line items shown below and allocate amounts to each item.

Tip: If the invoice is for the full purchase order amount, click Receive all remaining to auto-fill the values.

8. Click Submit to finalize the invoice

In this article, you’ll learn how to register credit notes in Planyard to keep your project budgets accurate and aligned with financial changes.

Introduction

Planyard makes it easy to process credit notes—whether standalone or linked to a purchase order. When registered correctly, credit notes automatically adjust the project’s budget and committed costs, reducing manual work and minimizing errors.

How to activate the credit notes feature

Before using credit notes, the feature must be enabled in your company settings. Only users with permission to edit company-wide settings can activate it.

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right of the menu.
3. Open the Company-wide features tab.
4. Enable the toggle for Credit notes.

You can now register credit notes in your projects.

How to register a credit note

There are two ways to register a credit note in Planyard:

1. Standalone credit note

1. Navigate to your project.
2. Click Files in the project menu.
3. Upload the credit note file.
4. Click on the uploaded file to start processing.
5. Select the Supplier from the dropdown.
6. Set Document type to Credit Note.
7. Add any relevant document details.
8. Under Line-items, click Select in bulk, check the applicable items, and click Update selection.
9. Enter the Unit, Quantity, and Unit price for each selected line item. Use a negative quantity to register the credit.
10. Click Submit.

2. Credit note for a purchase order

1. Navigate to your project.
2. Click Files in the project menu.
3. Upload the credit note file.
4. Click on the uploaded file to start processing.
5. Select the Supplier from the dropdown.
6. Set Document type to Credit Note.
7. Add any relevant document details.
8. Select the Purchase Order the credit note is linked to.
9. Line items from the PO will auto-populate. Enter the negative quantity for the credited amount.
10. Click Submit.

Once submitted, the credit note is saved to your project, and the corresponding budget totals are automatically updated.

Once an invoice or receipt has been processed in Planyard, it becomes a cost entry in your project. If a cost was added by mistake or needs to be removed for any reason, you can delete it. The associated budget values will update automatically.

Permissions

To delete a cost, you must either:

• Have access to all company features,
• Be the project owner, or
• Be invited to the project with permission to handle cost documents.

Note: Deleted costs cannot be restored. However, they remain visible in the company account for traceability.

How to delete a cost

1. Navigate to the relevant project.
2. Click Costs in the project menu.
3. Open the cost entry you want to delete.
4. Click Delete in the top right corner.
5. Enter a reason for deletion when prompted.
6. Click Delete to confirm.

The cost is now removed from the project and automatically excluded from the budget calculations.

This video walks through how project managers review and approve sales invoices in Planyard. After the accountant exports the invoice from the accounting system and uploads it, the project manager can check the details, leave comments if needed, and finalise the approval.

How to add retention to subcontracts

Retention can be configured on a subcontract either during its creation or after it’s been created, provided no invoices or payment applications have been submitted yet. Retention ensures that a percentage of each payment is held back until project milestones or final delivery is confirmed. You can choose to apply retention automatically or manage it manually per invoice.

1. Add retention while creating a subcontract

1. Go to your project and open the Subcontracts tab.
2. Click Create new subcontract.
3. Fill in the required fields.
4. Choose one of the following options:
   • Add subcontract retainage:
     • Enter a name for the retention.
     • Add a percentage scheme. This percentage will be automatically applied to all future invoices and payment applications for this subcontract.
   • Manually book retention:
     • Enter a name for the retention.
     • Leave the percentage at 0%. You’ll manually enter the retention percentage each time you process an invoice or payment application.

2. Add retention to an existing subcontract (with no invoices or payment applications)

1. Go to the Subcontracts tab and open the relevant subcontract.
2. Go to the Summary section.
3. Scroll to the Total retention booked line.
4. Choose one of the following:
   • Click Add retainage:
     • Enter a name for the retention.
     • Add a percentage scheme. This will automatically apply to all future invoices and payment applications.
   • Click Manage retention manually:
     • Enter a name for the retention.
     • You’ll need to book retention manually for each invoice or payment application.

Note: You can only add retention to subcontracts that have no invoices or payment applications yet.

In this article, you’ll learn how to create a new project in Planyard and upload a budget using the spreadsheet template.

Introduction

Creating a project in Planyard is quick and straightforward. Once set up, you can upload a complete project budget using a spreadsheet template, helping you get started fast and maintain a consistent structure.

How to create a new project

To create a project, you must have permission to create, edit, and archive projects. If you don’t have access, contact your company account owner.

Steps to create a project:

1. Click Projects in the top menu.
2. Click Create Project in the top-right corner.
3. Fill out the following fields:
   • Project name (required)
   • Currency (required) – Used for all budgeting and cost tracking
   • Project code (required) – Used to generate reference numbers
   • Project address (optional) – Used as the default delivery address
   • Project dates (optional)
   • Project template (optional) – Use a predefined budget structure, if applicable
4. Click Create Project.

After the project is created, you will land on the Budget tab where you can upload your budget using a spreadsheet.

Uploading your budget using the spreadsheet

You can upload your entire project budget at once using a spreadsheet template. The structure supports categories, subcategories, and line items. All financial values and groupings are calculated automatically once imported.

1. Download and complete the template

Click Download template file from the Budget screen to get started.

Spreadsheet columns explained:

Net estimated cost:

• E – Quantity (optional)
• F – Unit price (optional)
• G – Total cost (required if quantity/unit price not used)

If you only enter a total cost, Planyard will assume a quantity of 1.

Budget submitted to client (optional):

• H–J – Quantity, Unit price, Total

Target budget (optional):

• K–M – Quantity, Unit price, Total

N – Comment (optional)

Notes:

• Do not delete any columns, even if you leave some blank.
• You can use formulas—Planyard reads the final value in each cell.
• Columns beyond N are ignored and can be used for notes or internal calculations.

2. Upload the spreadsheet

Once your file is ready:

1. Return to the Budget tab in the project.
2. Click Browse Files or drag and drop your file into the upload area.
3. The system will process the spreadsheet and create your full budget structure.

Tips

• Use the category level column (1, 2, 3, etc.) to create a clear and organized budget.
• Line items must follow a category or subcategory.
• You only need to enter quantity and unit price if relevant—otherwise, just include the total cost.

Once uploaded, your budget is live and ready for tracking, forecasting, and cost control in Planyard.

To add a user to the company account:

1. Go to Company in the top menu and select User Management
2. Click Add New User
3. Choose a user type:
   • Full user: For users who need full platform access, including managing and creating projects
   • Limited user: For users who only need access to specific data or features (e.g. clients, site engineers)
4. Select the user’s company role from the dropdown
5. Enter the user’s email address
6. Set company-level permissions:
   • Create, edit, and archive projects: No, Own, or Everyone’s
   • View projects: Own and shared or Everyone’s
   • Edit estimates and target budgets: No or Everyone’s
   • Accounts payable manager access: Own, Shared, or Company files
   • Access company settings and integrations: Yes or No
   • Manage users and permissions: Yes or No
7. Click Create

The invited user will receive an email with login instructions. Once they’ve joined the company account, you can assign them to projects and define their project-specific access.

See also: How to manage project-level permissions

Before you can assign project access to a user, they must first be invited to the company account. Once that’s done, you can define their access and permissions on a per-project basis.

To share a project with a user and set their permissions:

1. Go to Projects in the top menu and open the relevant project
2. Click Settings in the project menu
3. In the top right corner, click Share Project
4. Select the user from the dropdown
5. Tick the boxes for the permissions they should have on this project

That’s it—permissions are saved automatically. The user now has access based on the settings you’ve selected.

Managing existing permissions

• In Project settings, scroll to the bottom to see a list of users who already have access to the project.
• To edit a user’s permissions, click the three dots on the far right of their name, then click Edit.
• Adjust the permissions using the same feature tick boxes, then Save.

See also: How to add a user to the company account

Add your payment method to activate your subscription automatically when the trial ends.

1. Go to Company in the main menu
2. Click Billing
3. Select Manage Account
4. Open the Payment Methods tab
5. Add your credit card details

This video guides you through how to raise purchase orders in Planyard. It also covers handling prepayment invoices, managing change orders (variations), and tracking payment summaries.

This video walks you through how to register client, subcontractor, and vendor change orders in Planyard. It also shows how to track the profitability of each change order. The budget is updated automatically.

This video covers managing the client schedule of values, processing change orders, issuing payment applications, handling prepayment (downpayment) invoices, tracking retention, and approving the sales invoice. See how to approve a sales invoice.

This video shows how the project manager processes a sales invoice in Planyard after the accountant exports it from the accounting system, sends it to the client, and uploads it to Planyard for review.

This video walks you through processing construction project purchase invoices in Planyard. It covers using OCR, labelling invoices against the budget, sending them to accounting, and tracking project costs on the budget.

This video shows how to use Planyard to get ready for a cost control meeting. You’ll learn how to review your budget and committed costs, spot variances and update forecasts, and generate CVR and P&L reports for the meeting.

Learn how to raise purchase orders for materials, track commitments against your budget, update forecasts and CVRs, manage prepayment invoices, review payment summaries, and prevent vendor overbilling.

This video shows how Planyard streamlines the collection of subcontractor payment applications (also known as progress claims or subcontractor valuations), making the billing process easier for project managers, site engineers, and subcontractors.

This video shows how Planyard helps project stakeholders create and send bid requests to subcontractors and vendors, and how all bids are collected in a single, convenient bid evaluation view.

This video walks you through raising a subcontractor order, managing retention, handling change orders (variations) and prepayments, and tracking payment summaries. The budget is updated automatically in Planyard.

This video shows how to process purchase invoices in Planyard when a single invoice includes costs from multiple projects. It also covers how the accountant or secretary can set up the approval process and manage it through a simple team approval workflow.

This video shows how to manage construction project budgets, purchase orders, invoices, and receipts in multiple currencies. Planyard is built by quantity surveyors and project managers to eliminate spreadsheets and simplify multi-currency workflows.

This video guides you through forecasting construction project cash flow using Planyard. It starts with enabling cash flow forecasting in Company Settings and project settings. You’ll learn how to create a cash flow forecast, input percentages, and track projected spending over time.

How to allow Planyard to send emails from your domain

To ensure Planyard can send emails from your company address (e.g., invoices@yourcompany.com), you need to verify your domain by adding specific DNS records. This enables white-labeled sending so emails appear to come directly from your company.

1. Get your DNS records from Planyard

1. Go to Company in the main menu.
2. Click Settings under the company section.
3. Open Company-wide features.
4. Scroll to Email identities and click Manage configuration.
5. Select the domain you want to use and click Set up for this domain.
6. Click Copy DNS record values to clipboard.

These values include the necessary CNAME records for DKIM email authentication.

2. Add the records to your DNS provider

1. Log in to your DNS provider (e.g., GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap).
2. Go to the DNS settings for your domain.
3. Add the 3 CNAME records copied from Planyard.

Tip: These records authenticate Planyard as a trusted sender and help prevent your emails from being marked as spam.

3. Wait for verification

Once the records are added, Planyard will automatically detect and verify them. No further action is needed.

Need help?

If you’re not sure how to access your domain settings, contact your IT administrator or domain provider.

Before you can register credit notes in Planyard, the feature must be enabled in your company account settings.

Who can activate the feature?

Only users with permission to manage company-wide settings can activate credit notes. If you don’t see the option, contact your company account owner or admin.

Steps to activate credit notes:

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right of the company menu.
3. Go to the Company-wide features tab.
4. Find the Credit notes setting and toggle it on.

Once activated, the credit note option will be available when processing cost documents in your projects.

In this article, you’ll learn how to enable and manage approval workflows for cost documents in Planyard.

Introduction

Cost approval workflows help ensure tight control over project budgets. When activated, all costs must be reviewed and approved by selected users before being fully processed. You can configure approval flows either across the entire company or locally within individual projects. Each flow is round-based, meaning costs must be approved in a specific order before being finalized.

1. Activate the approval workflow feature

Before setting up any approval flows, the Approval workflow feature must be enabled.

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right.
3. Open the Company-wide features tab.
4. Enable Approval workflow.

Once enabled, a new Approvals button will appear in the top header:

• Approvers can see all documents pending their approval.
• Users with the correct permissions can see everything pending approval across the company.

2. Set up cost approval at the company level

Company-level approval flows apply globally across all projects. When a cost is processed (regardless of which project it belongs to), it will be routed through the approval rounds set at the company level.

This is ideal for organizations that want centralized financial control, where department leads or finance managers approve all cost documents before they’re finalized.

To configure:

1. Scroll to Cost approval flow under Company-wide features.
2. Toggle the feature on. A popup will appear.
3. Choose one of two options:
   • Add approver – Select a user from the dropdown and click Create workflow round.
   • Configure separately within projects – Skip company-level approvals and manage approvals per project only.
4. To add additional approval rounds, click Add next round.
   • Approval rounds are sequential: each round must be approved before the next one begins. For example, if Claire is Round 1 and Timothy is Round 2, Timothy won’t see the cost until Claire has approved it.
5. You can update any round by clicking Update approvers, removing the current user, and selecting a new one.

3. Set up cost approval at the project level

Project-level approval flows apply only to a specific project. When costs are processed within that project, they will go through the defined project approval rounds.

This is useful for delegating control to project managers or site leads without requiring central approval for every single cost.

To configure:

1. Navigate to the relevant project.
2. Click Settings in the project menu.
3. Scroll to Cost approval workflow.
4. Click Select approvers, choose a user from the dropdown, and click Create workflow round.
5. To add another round, click Next round and select another user.
6. You can update rounds at any time using Update approvers.

Note: A user must have access to the project to be added as an approver.

If both project-level and company-level approval flows are active, the cost must first be approved at the project level. Only after all local rounds are completed will the cost move on to the company-level approval sequence.

4. Notifications

Approvers receive notifications both via email and inside Planyard when action is required.

To disable email notifications:

• Click your name in the top right corner
• Select Settings
• Turn off Approval workflow notification

Retention management lets you automatically track retention on client contracts and subcontractor orders.

1. Go to Company
2. Open Settings
3. Click Company wide features
4. Find Contract retention and activate it

Once enabled, you’ll see an option to add retention when creating client contracts or subcontractor orders.

In this article, you’ll learn how to enable and manage approval workflows for purchase orders in Planyard.

Introduction

The purchase order (PO) approval workflow helps you maintain control over procurement by requiring approval before any PO is issued to a vendor. This is especially useful in projects where team members (e.g., site engineers) create orders but require approval from a project manager or other decision-maker.

Once activated, all purchase orders must be reviewed and approved before they can be sent out. The full approval process is tracked, ensuring transparency and accountability across your projects.

1. Activate the approval workflow feature

Before configuring purchase order approvals, the Approval workflow feature must be enabled.

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right.
3. Open the Company-wide features tab.
4. Enable Approval workflow.

Once activated, a new Approvals button will appear in the top header:

• Approvers will see all documents waiting for their review.
• Users with the correct permissions can see everything pending approval across the company.

2. Activate purchase order approval

To require approvals before POs can be issued:

1. Stay in Company-wide features.
2. Scroll to Purchase order approval workflow.
3. Toggle the setting to enable it.

Note: Only users with permission to edit company settings can activate this feature.

Once enabled, PO approval becomes mandatory for all projects in the account.

3. How the approval workflow works

After activation, a required Approver field will appear whenever a purchase order is created.

1. The user creating the PO selects an approver before submitting.
2. Once submitted, the approver receives a notification via email and in-app.
3. The approver can:
   • Review and approve the PO directly from the Approvals section.
   • Reject it if changes are needed.
4. Upon approval, the purchase order can be issued directly from Planyard.

All POs awaiting approval are listed in the Approvals overview for easy tracking and action.

This article provides an overview of locking accounting periods and how to set it up in your Planyard account.

Introduction

Locking accounting periods helps centralise control over how costs are allocated in your projects. It prevents costs from being assigned to months that are already closed in your accounting system.

This is especially useful for companies with strict accounting practices. For example, if your accounting system has closed November, but a delayed invoice is entered in Planyard, it could still be allocated to November. Locking the period prevents this kind of discrepancy.

Locked periods are also respected in the cash flow forecast, ensuring consistency between forecasts and actuals.

How to lock an accounting period

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Click Company-wide features.
4. Scroll to the section labeled Lock accounting period.
5. Select the month you want to lock.

Once locked:

• No invoices can be allocated to the locked month or any earlier periods.
• All new costs will be allocated to open periods only.

This ensures that Planyard remains in sync with your finalized accounting records.

Enhancing the process of uploading cost documents to Planyard not only saves time but also minimizes manual effort. This guide introduces multiple methods for collecting documents and shows how to set up efficient workflows to keep your projects running smoothly.

1. Forward emails from the accounts payable inbox to Planyard

If your company has a dedicated accounts payable email address, you can automatically forward incoming invoices to Planyard.

Each Planyard company account has a unique Inbox email address. Any documents sent to this address will be uploaded to the company inbox in Planyard.

Each project also has a project-specific inbox, where documents sent to that address are uploaded directly into that project’s files.

To find these email addresses:

• Company inbox email: Click Inbox in the top menu to view the address.
• Project inbox email: Navigate to the project and click Settings in the project menu to find the project-specific address.

Once you have the email, set up an automatic forwarding rule in your accounts payable inbox to send all incoming emails to this Planyard address.

See:

• Set up auto-forwarding in Outlook
• Set up auto-forwarding in Gmail

2. Use the Planyard email plugin

Install the Planyard plugin for Outlook or Gmail to upload cost documents from your inbox directly to Planyard.

Download the plugin from:

• Microsoft AppSource
• Google Workspace Marketplace

Gmail

When viewing an email, click the Planyard logo on the right side.

Select the relevant project and confirm — that’s it.

Outlook

• Open the email and click Upload to Planyard under more actions.
• Log in to the Planyard add-in and select a project.
• Optionally, add a comment to help with processing.
• The attachment is visible in the add-in. You can remove unnecessary files and upload only what’s needed.

Uploaded documents appear in Files for the selected project, ready for review.

3. Manual upload

You can also upload documents manually at any time.

Upload to company inbox

1. Click Inbox in the top menu.
2. Drag files into the upload area or browse to select them.

Upload to project

1. Navigate to the project and click Files in the project menu.
2. Click Upload files on the right.
3. Drag and drop files or browse to upload.

You can manage multiple legal entities in Planyard by creating separate company accounts. Each account has its own settings, integrations, and users, but all can be linked to your profile for easy switching.

1. Contact your Planyard representative

Before creating additional accounts, confirm with your Planyard representative that your contract supports multi-account use. Planyard staff also need to enable the relevant settings for linked accounts.

2. Understand how company accounts work

Each company account in Planyard is treated as a distinct legal entity. This includes:

• Separate company logo, address, and registration number
• Independent integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, or MYOB
• Isolated financial data for better control and reporting

You can link your user profile to all your company accounts, allowing you to switch between them without logging in and out.

3. Create an email alias

Planyard requires a unique email for each company account. You can use an email alias to register new accounts without needing new email addresses.

Example: If your email is steven@company.com, you can create an alias like steven+sx@company.com.

Tip:

Use a clear alias that reflects the company name to make it easier to manage accounts (e.g., steven+subsidiary@company.com).

4. Register the new account

1. Register a new account
2. Fill in your new company’s details
3. Use your email alias when registering

Once registered, you can configure settings and integrations for the new account.

Next steps

See how to link accounts and switch between them for instructions on connecting your profiles and managing multiple entities.

If you work across multiple company accounts in Planyard, you can link your user profiles to easily switch between them without logging in and out. This is ideal for consultants or developers managing several legal entities.

1. Confirm linking is enabled

Account linking must be activated by Planyard. Contact your Planyard representative to enable this feature.

2. Link your user accounts

Once linking is enabled, follow these steps:

1. Click your name in the top right corner
2. Select Settings from the dropdown menu
3. Scroll to Linked Planyard Accounts and click Add Linked Account
4. Enter the login credentials for the other account you want to link
5. Click Link Account

You’ll see a green confirmation message once the link is successful.

3. Switch between linked accounts

To switch accounts:

1. Click your name in the top right corner
2. You’ll see a list of your linked accounts
3. Click on any account name to switch to it

Each linked account is shown with the company name and user initials.

How to set up and use the Xero integration

Planyard’s Xero integration streamlines your financial workflows by automatically transferring approved cost documents directly to Xero. This eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and keeps your project financials in sync.

1. Watch the Xero integration video tutorial

Watch the tutorial for a full overview of setup, data exchange, and configuration.

2. What data is transferred between Planyard and Xero

• Approved costs: Sent from Planyard to Xero with references to original documents.
• Chart of accounts: Imported from Xero and linked to Planyard budget items.
• Tracking categories: Synced from Xero and attached to costs.
• Contacts: Synced bidirectionally between systems.

3. Set up the Xero integration

Only users with the required permissions in both Planyard and Xero can set up the integration.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Click Connect under the Xero logo
4. Log in with your Xero credentials
5. Once connected, approved costs will sync automatically to Xero

4. Connect chart of accounts

Link budget line-items to specific Xero accounts so costs are coded correctly on transfer.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to assign Xero accounts:
   • Line-item column shows your budget items
   • Accounting account column lets you assign a Xero account
   • Double-click a cell to select an account
   • To bulk-assign, click a category or subcategory cell

Tip: Use Auto match accounts to automatically link items with Xero accounts of the same name.

5. Use tracking categories

Tracking categories help attribute costs to the right project within Xero.

Activate tracking categories

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Settings > Integration Settings
3. Enable Tracking categories

Assign a tracking category to a project

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Click Change Tracking Category
3. Select a category from the dropdown and click Save

All future costs sent to Xero from this project will include the selected tracking category.

This Planyard Xero integration video provides a complete overview of how the integration works, including data exchange between systems, setup instructions, and how to configure your chart of accounts and tracking categories.

To enable the Xero integration, you must have permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the correct access rights in Xero.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the Xero logo, click Connect
4. Log in using your Xero credentials
5. Authorize the connection

Once connected, all approved costs in Planyard will automatically sync to Xero.

Once the Xero integration is active, Planyard automatically syncs key financial and project data to ensure consistency across platforms. Here’s what’s included in the data exchange.

1. Approved costs
   • All approved cost documents in Planyard are sent to Xero.
   • Each entry includes a reference back to Planyard, so you can easily trace and review the original document.
2. Chart of accounts
   • Planyard imports your Xero chart of accounts.
   • When setting up a project, you can assign each budget item in Planyard to the appropriate Xero account.
   • This ensures that all costs are correctly categorised when sent to Xero.
3. Tracking categories
   • Tracking categories from Xero are synced with Planyard.
   • You can assign these to your Planyard projects to help segment and track costs in Xero.
4. Contacts
   • Contact data is synced in both directions.
   • Planyard pulls contact details from Xero and sends contact info back as needed during cost document submission.

Note: All data transfers happen automatically once the integration is enabled—no need for manual exports or uploads.

Linking your chart of accounts ensures that each cost in Planyard is properly categorized when sent to Xero.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to link budget line-items:
   • Line-item shows your budget items
   • Accounting account lets you assign the matching Xero account
   • Double-click a cell to select an account
   • To bulk-assign, click the cell for a category or subcategory

Tip: Click Auto match accounts to automatically link accounts with matching names in Xero.

Tracking categories help you allocate costs to specific projects or segments in Xero. Once enabled, Planyard includes this data with every synced cost.

Activate tracking categories

You’ll need permission to edit company settings in Planyard to activate this feature.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Select Settings
3. Open Integration Settings
4. Enable Tracking categories

Assign a tracking category to a project

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Click Change Tracking Category
3. Select the appropriate category from the dropdown
4. Click Save

All future costs sent from this project will include the selected tracking category in Xero.

Planyard’s QuickBooks integration helps streamline your financial processes by automatically syncing approved cost documents. This eliminates manual entry, reduces errors, and keeps your accounting data in sync with your project budgets.

1. Watch the QuickBooks integration video tutorial

2. What data is transferred between Planyard and QuickBooks

• Approved costs: All approved costs in Planyard are automatically sent to QuickBooks. Each entry includes a reference to the original document in Planyard.
• Chart of accounts: Imported from QuickBooks. You can map budget items in Planyard to the correct accounts to ensure accurate cost categorization.
• Contacts: Contact data is synced both ways — Planyard receives and sends contact information to and from QuickBooks.

3. Set up the QuickBooks integration

You must have permission to edit company settings in Planyard and appropriate access rights in QuickBooks.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the QuickBooks logo, click Connect
4. Log in with your QuickBooks credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, all approved costs in Planyard will automatically sync to QuickBooks.

4. Connect chart of accounts

This links each Planyard budget item to the correct QuickBooks account for seamless financial tracking.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to assign accounts:
   • Line-item: Shows your budget items. A warning icon indicates missing account assignment.
   • Accounting account: Select a QuickBooks account for each line-item by double-clicking the cell
   • To assign in bulk, click the cell of a category or subcategory

Tip: Use Auto match accounts to automatically pair Planyard items with QuickBooks accounts that have the same name.

To enable the QuickBooks integration, you need permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the correct access rights in QuickBooks.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the QuickBooks logo, click Connect
4. Log in with your QuickBooks credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, all approved costs in Planyard will automatically sync to QuickBooks.

Once the QuickBooks integration is active, Planyard automatically exchanges key financial and contact data to ensure consistency between systems.

1. Approved costs All approved costs in Planyard are sent to QuickBooks with a reference link back to the original cost document.
2. Chart of accounts Planyard imports your QuickBooks chart of accounts so you can map each budget item to the correct account. This ensures accurate cost allocation when syncing data.
3. Contacts Contact information is synced bidirectionally. Planyard both receives and sends contact details to and from QuickBooks, keeping supplier and subcontractor info up to date.

Linking your chart of accounts ensures that each approved cost in Planyard is correctly categorized in QuickBooks.

1. Open your project and go to Settings
2. Enable the Chart of accounts feature
3. Click Assign accounts
4. Use the table to link budget line-items:
   • Line-item: Displays all items in your project budget. A warning icon appears if no account is assigned.
   • Accounting account: Double-click a cell to select the matching QuickBooks account

To assign accounts in bulk, click the cell for a category or subcategory — all related line-items will inherit the same account.

Tip: Use Auto match accounts to automatically pair budget items with QuickBooks accounts of the same name.

Planyard’s MYOB integration eliminates manual data entry by automatically syncing approved cost documents. This ensures your accounting data stays up to date and aligned with your project budgets.

1. What data is transferred between Planyard and MYOB

• Approved costs: All approved cost documents in Planyard are sent to MYOB. Each entry includes a reference back to the original cost document for easy tracking.
• Contacts: Contact details are synced both ways — Planyard receives and sends contact data to and from MYOB.

2. Set up the MYOB integration

You need permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the necessary access rights in MYOB.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the MYOB logo, click Connect
4. Log in with your MYOB credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, Planyard will automatically send all approved costs to MYOB.

Planyard’s Sage integration simplifies your financial workflows by automatically syncing approved cost documents to Sage. This keeps your accounting records accurate and aligned with your project data in real time.

1. What data is transferred between Planyard and Sage

• Approved costs: All approved costs in Planyard are sent to Sage. Each entry includes a reference to the original Planyard document for easy traceability.
• Contacts: Contact data is synced in both directions — Planyard receives and sends contact details to and from Sage.

2. Set up the Sage integration

You must have permission to edit company settings in Planyard and the appropriate access rights in Sage.

1. Go to Company in the top menu
2. Click Integrations
3. Under the Sage logo, click Connect
4. Log in using your Sage credentials and authorize the connection

Once connected, Planyard will automatically send all approved cost documents to your Sage account.

In this article, you’ll learn how to activate and use the feature that allows you to prevent specific cost documents from being sent to your accounting software.

Introduction

Planyard allows you to stop individual cost documents—such as overheads or internal labour—from being pushed to your accounting integration. This is useful for costs that have already been recorded in your accounting system or should be excluded from syncing for any reason.

How to activate the feature

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Click Integration settings.
4. Enable the toggle for Optional do not send to accounting.

The feature is now active.

How to use it

When processing a cost document (e.g., invoice or receipt), a checkbox labeled Do not send to accounting will appear.

• Check the box to stop the cost from being pushed to your accounting integration.

This gives you full control over which documents are synced and helps prevent duplicate entries.

Planyard’s Cost Estimating feature helps you create structured, accurate estimates without manual errors or versioning issues.

With a spreadsheet-style interface, it centralizes all estimating data—enabling real-time budget tracking, version control, and easy team collaboration.

How to configure company settings for estimating

To get the most out of Planyard’s estimating features, set up key company settings first. This ensures your quotes are consistent, accurate, and tailored to your workflow.

1. Add or update company information

Company details are automatically included in every quote. To set them up:

1. Go to Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings.
3. Use the pencil icons to edit company name, address, contact details, and other fields.
4. To upload or replace your company logo, click Upload new logo.

The logo appears at the top of the quote PDF, while your company info shows in the footer.

2. Customize your estimation pipeline

Define and order the stages in your estimation workflow:

1. Go to Company > Settings.
2. Open the Company-wide features tab.
3. In the estimating pipeline section:
   • Add new stages
   • Reorder existing stages
   • Edit stage names
   • Delete unused stages

This helps track estimates through a clear, structured pipeline.

3. Set default client quote settings

Standardize quotes with the following default settings:

• Client quote notes – Pre-fill notes included in every quote
• Quote expiry days – Set how long quotes remain valid
• Default VAT/Sales tax rate – Apply a consistent tax rate to all estimates

4. Enable material breakdown

For more detailed cost estimates:

1. Go to Company-wide features in Settings.
2. Find the Estimate material breakdown option.
3. Enable the feature.

This allows you to break down each line item by materials, labor, machinery, and subcontractor costs.

Tip: These settings apply across your entire company account, ensuring consistency across all projects.

You can grant users access to the estimation pipeline in two ways: full access to all estimates or access to specific estimates only.

1. Grant full access to all estimates

To allow a user to view and edit all estimates and access the entire estimation pipeline:

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Select User management.
3. Click the three dots next to the user and choose Edit.
4. Set Edit estimates and target budget for projects to Everyone’s.
5. Click Save.

The user now has full access to all estimates and the estimation pipeline.

2. Grant access to a specific estimate

To assign a user as the estimator for a specific estimate:

1. Click Sales in the top menu.
2. Open the desired estimate.
3. Go to the Summary tab.
4. Click the pencil icon next to Estimator.
5. Select the user you want to assign.
6. Click Save.

The user now has access to that specific estimate and can contribute accordingly.

How to create a new client bid request

You can start a new estimate in Planyard either from scratch or by using a pre-made template. Templates are useful for similar projects, letting you reuse existing structures. To use one, make sure it’s already created—see how to set up templates for details.

1. Navigate to the estimate creation form

1. Go to Sales in the top menu.
2. Click New estimate in the top right corner.

2. Fill in estimate details

Complete the form with the following:

• Estimate name – Required
• Quote number – Auto-generated, but editable after creation
• Template – Select an existing template if available
• Client company – Choose from the list or click Add new client
• Contact person – Select from the list or click Add new contact
• (Optional) Add a description and project address
• Responsible user – Assign the estimator
• Attach any relevant files to the file manager

Tip: For a quick setup, just enter the estimate name and contact person. You can complete the rest later.

3. Start the estimate

Click Start estimating to create the estimate. You’ll be taken to the estimation view where you can begin adding items.

How to add items to your estimate

After creating an estimate, you can build its structure by adding categories, subcategories, and line items. You have the option to create these manually or import them from existing budget codes.

1. Open your estimate

1. Go to Sales in the top menu.
2. Click on the estimate you want to edit.

2. Add categories and line items

You can structure your estimate by adding categories and line items:

• Add category: Creates a new top-level category.
• Add subcategory: Click the plus sign next to a category to create a subcategory.
• Add line item: Start typing in a blank row to create a new line item.
• Cost code: Optionally, add a cost code to any category or line item.
• Duplicate: Click the copy icon to duplicate a line item.
• Delete: Click the red cross to remove a line item. Note: Categories can only be deleted after all their line items have been removed.