Why Merging Cost Codes Matters
Over time, duplicate cost codes can make your data harder to manage. Instead of keeping related costs in one place, information gets spread across multiple codes, which can make reporting less accurate and create confusion across teams.
Merging cost codes helps keep your financial data organized by combining similar information into a single category. This improves reporting clarity, reduces duplicate entries, and makes your overall cost structure easier to manage as your projects grow.
How to Merge Cost Codes
Follow these steps to merge multiple cost codes into a single code:
Click the 9-dot (grid) icon
Navigate to Cost Codes
3. Enable multiple selection and select the cost codes you want to merge
4.Click Merge
Configure the Merge
Once you select multiple cost codes and click Merge, Buildern opens a configuration window where you define how the merge will be applied.
In this step, you will see:
A list of all selected cost codes on the left
A dropdown field on the right labeled “Select Cost Code”
At this stage, you are choosing which cost code will remain as the primary active code after the merge, while the other code will be merged into it.
Once you click Save:
All selected cost codes are consolidated into the chosen one
The merged codes are removed from your cost code list
Any existing data linked to those codes is automatically reassigned
ℹ️ Note - The merge action is permanent and cannot be undone
What Happens After Merging
Buildern automatically handles the heavy lifting behind the scenes.
If the merged cost codes were previously used in:
Estimates
Bills
Purchase Orders
Change Orders / Variations
Invoices
Timesheets
All references will be updated to the selected primary cost code. This ensures your data stays consistent without requiring manual updates. Changes apply across all project data in Buildern.
How to Delete Cost Codes
In some cases, you may have cost codes that were created but never used. These can be safely removed.
Use the checkboxes on the left to select one or multiple cost codes
Once selected, a bottom action bar will appear
In the bottom action bar, click the Delete (trash icon)
What Happens Next
Buildern immediately evaluates whether the selected cost codes can be deleted.
If the cost codes are unused → they will be removed
If any cost code is already used → deletion will be restricted
Buildern protects your data by preventing accidental deletion of used cost codes.
If a cost code is linked to:
Estimates
Bills
Purchase Orders
Invoices
Timesheets
The system will display a warning message
When to Delete vs Merge
Use Delete → when the cost code was never used
Use Merge → when the cost code exists in project data
💡 Tip - If you're unsure, merging is always the safer option.
More helpful Buildern tutorials are coming soon.
Happy building!