📋 Requirements
Before you begin, make sure:
You have access to a project
The Estimate section is enabled and available
What Is {Assembly Qty}?
In Buildern, {Assembly Qty} represents the total number of times an assembly is applied within your estimate.
Once set, it becomes the base value used to calculate quantities for all items inside that assembly (materials, labor, equipment, etc.).
Add and Configure an Assembly
Follow these steps to start using {Assembly Qty}:
1. Add an Assembly to Your Estimate
Open your project
Navigate to Estimate
Click Add Item
Select Assembly from the dropdown
💡 Tip- If you frequently use the same assembly structure, Buildern recommends saving assemblies to your Cost Catalog for reuse in future estimates. This helps standardize calculations, reduce manual work, and automatically reuse quantity formulas such as {Assembly Qty} calculations for materials, labor, and equipment.
👉 Learn more about How to Create and Work with Assemblies in Estimates
2. Configure the Assembly
Once added, define the main details:
Name – e.g., Bedroom Windows
Group – Optional organization
Unit type – e.g., each, set, etc.
Quantity – This is your {Assembly Qty}
and any additional notes or specifications.
3. Set the {Assembly Qty}
Enter the quantity directly in the Quantity field of the assembly.
ℹ️ Note:This measure will later used as the quantity value in the containing items, formulations, and other measurements you implement via Buildern.
💡 Tip- Takeoff measurements can also be used directly as the {Assembly Qty}. For example, you can create a “Brick Wall” assembly for 1 m² that includes bricks, mortar, and labor calculations. Later, when you measure a wall in Takeoff (e.g., 45.8 m²), that measurement can automatically populate the {Assembly Qty}, allowing Buildern to instantly recalculate all required materials, labor hours, and costs for the entire wall.
4. Add Cost Items to the Assembly
Keep adding cost items to your assembly to see the {Assembly Qty} feature in action.
You’ll notice that each item’s quantity is automatically calculated based on the {Assembly Qty} you defined earlier.
This helps streamline your estimating workflow and keeps your project budget calculations consistent and accurate.
If you need to adjust the values, you can simply click on the quantity field of the corresponding assembly and make the corresponding changes.
💡Note: The software will automatically calculate and adjust the estimate numbers for all the assembly cost items
How {Assembly Qty} Works
Once you start adding items inside the assembly, Buildern uses {Assembly Qty} to calculate their quantities automatically.
Example:
Assembly: Bedroom Windows
{Assembly Qty}: 3
If you add:
1 unit of material → becomes 3 units
1 labor task → becomes 3 units
The system automatically multiplies each item by the assembly quantity.
💡 Note - All calculations update in real time when you change the {Assembly Qty}.
Using Formulas with {Assembly Qty}
For more complex scenarios, you can use formulas directly in the Quantity field of an item.
Example:
Each window requires 4 nails:
{Assembly Qty} * 4
If {Assembly Qty} = 3 → Total nails = 12
This allows you to:
Avoid manual calculations
Scale quantities dynamically
Maintain accuracy in large estimates
Adjusting Individual Item Quantities
You can override quantities for specific items without affecting the entire assembly.
Example:
Assembly Qty = 3
Default nails = 3
Required nails = 12
Simply update the item:
{Assembly Qty} * 4
Only that line item changes
The rest of the assembly remains unchanged
Using the Built-In Calculator & Measurement Tools
You can use the tools available inside the quantity field to create more advanced and dynamic quantity calculations.
Calculator icon – Opens the built-in calculator for creating formulas and performing custom calculations directly inside the quantity field.
Ruler icon – Opens the Measurement Selector, allowing you to insert Takeoff measurements directly into the {Assembly Qty} or item quantity calculations.
This is especially useful for assemblies connected to measured work such as walls, flooring, roofing, or concrete areas, where Takeoff values automatically drive material, labor, and cost calculations.
We’ll cover more Buildern features and best practices in future articles.
Happy Building!