---
title: "Materials"
description: "The Materials section lets you add the materials a job needs — paint, panels, fixings — to a quote, with their units and prices. How materials differ from line items, how the materials catalogue works, and how a freshly typed material is saved for next time."
locale: en
category: quotes
slug: materials
updatedAt: 2026-06-15
---
# Materials

Some jobs are priced on labour alone; many also bill the materials. The **Materials** section of the quote editor is where you list those materials — paint, panels, fixings, anything you buy in to complete the work — each with a quantity, a unit and a price.

Materials are totalled **separately** from your work. The quote summary headlines the services total — what you earn for the labour — and lists the materials as their own total beneath it, because materials are really the client's cost passed through rather than part of your fee. The quote detail view and the PDF the client receives keep the same split: a services summary and a separate materials summary.

## Adding a material to a quote

Open a quote and scroll to the **Materials** card. The search field works like the rest of the editor:

- Start typing and pick a material from your catalogue. Its unit and price are filled in for you.
- Or type a name that isn't in your catalogue yet and choose **Add material “…”**. The material is added to the quote with the name you typed; set its quantity and price inline.

Each material row shows quantity × unit price = value. Tap the quantity or the price to edit them in place. Use the bin icon to remove a row. If you are a VAT payer using mixed rates, each material row also carries its own VAT rate — tap it to change it, exactly like services and additional items.

## Your materials catalogue

The materials you reuse live in **Services → Materials**. It's a simple list: each entry has a name, a unit (m², lm, pcs, set, kg or l) and a price.

- **Add material** opens a short form — name, unit, price.
- Click a material's name, unit or price to edit it in place.
- The menu on each row lets you edit or remove a material. Removing one never touches quotes you've already saved.

A cleaner catalogue means faster quotes: once a material is on the list, you pick it from the search instead of typing it out each time.

## Materials you type are saved automatically

When you type a brand-new material straight into a quote (rather than picking an existing one), Bulido saves it to your materials catalogue for you when you save the quote. There's nothing extra to tick — the next quote you write will offer it in the search straight away.

Built-in materials are marked **Built-in** in the list. You can add them to quotes but not edit or remove them; create your own entry if you need a different unit or price.

## What's next

Once materials and services are in place, decide whether prices show net or gross — see [Net or gross prices](/helpcenter/quotes/net-or-gross-prices).