Installing and signing in

The SmarteBuild mobile app gives site staff access to documents, purchase orders and tasks on a phone.

Getting it

Android phones and tablets: install SmarteBuild from Google Play, or search the Play Store for “SmarteBuild”. It needs Android 7 or later and is listed in Australia and New Zealand.

iPhone and iPad: the App Store version is on its way. Until then, iPhone users can use SmarteBuild in the phone’s browser at app.smartebuild.com.au.

The app is included in the Builder and Enterprise plans. What each person sees in it depends on the modules and jobs their account has been given — see Before someone’s first day on site.

Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.

Which version is installed

The version and build number are printed at the foot of the sign-in screen (“App version 1.2.6 (18)”) and under the tiles on the Home screen. If support asks what you are running, or an update does not seem to have arrived, that line is the answer — the number in brackets goes up with every release.

Signing in

Use the same email address and password as the desktop application. There is no separate mobile account to create.

If sign-in fails:

Symptom	Usually
Password rejected	Wrong password — reset it on the desktop first
“No access” after signing in	The user has no module or project access
Signs in, sees nothing	No project permissions
Cannot connect at all	Reception, or the device is offline

The middle two are the common ones for a new starter, and both are fixed on the desktop rather than on the phone. See Roles and access.

One account per person, on mobile too

Site staff sharing a login is even more tempting on phones than on desktops, and just as damaging — every action recorded against a shared account is attributable to nobody. Give each person their own.

Choosing a project

After signing in you pick which job you are on. The list shows the projects your account has access to.

Everything you then see — documents, orders, tasks — is that job’s.

If a job you expect is missing, it is project permissions rather than the app. An office administrator can grant them in seconds.

Before someone’s first day on site

Worth doing at the desk rather than in a driveway with one bar of signal:

1. Create their user account.
2. Give them module access to Documents, Purchase Orders and Schedule.
3. Give them project permissions for their jobs.
4. Install the app and sign in on wi-fi.
5. Open each of their jobs once, so the app has them.

Five minutes, and it removes the most common reason a supervisor gives up on the app in the first week.

Staying signed in

The app keeps you signed in between uses. You should not have to enter a password every morning.

If it does keep asking, the device is probably clearing app data — check its battery optimisation and storage settings, which on some Android phones will quietly evict apps that are not used daily.

Security on a phone

A phone on a building site gets lost.

• Use a device passcode. It is the thing protecting your job costs and client details.
• If a phone goes missing, have the user’s password changed straight away, or disable the account until it is found.