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How Notifications Work

Readybuild notifies you when something changes on work you are part of — you were assigned a project, someone @mentioned you, a client replied, a contract was signed.

Notifications reach you in two places, and you control both:

  • RB Inbox — a list inside Readybuild, reached from Inbox in the left navigation. A dot appears when something is unread.
  • Email — sent to the address on your user account, from ReadyBuild Notifications.

Both, one, or neither can be on, and you choose that separately for each kind of notification.

The Three Pieces​

PieceWhat it isWhere
InboxWhere notifications land, are read, and are archived. Clicking one takes you to the record it is about.Inbox in the left navigation
FollowingDetermines which items' activity reaches you. You follow projects, contacts, activities, and estimate lines, either deliberately or automatically.The bell icon on a project, contact, or activity
Notification SettingsWhich types you receive, and on which channel.Inbox → gear icon, or your avatar menu → Notification Settings

How a Notification Reaches You​

Every notification travels the same four steps.

  1. Something happens. A project is assigned, a comment is posted, a contract is signed, a form is submitted.
  2. Readybuild determines the recipients. There is no distribution list to maintain — the event decides. An assignment goes to the person assigned. A comment goes to everyone following that item. A won project goes to everyone whose settings ask for it.
  3. Your preferences are checked. For that one notification type, on each channel.
  4. It is delivered — to your inbox, to your email, or to both.

Two rules apply throughout:

  • You are never notified about your own action. Assigning a project to yourself, or commenting on something you follow, notifies everyone else and not you. The one exception is a notification sent by a workflow, which has no person behind it.
  • Turning a type off everywhere means it is never recorded. If RB Inbox is off and Email is Off for a type, nothing is created — no inbox entry, no email, no stored record. Turning it back on later does not recover what was skipped. If you only want to stop the email, set Email to Off and leave RB Inbox on; the notification is still filed for you to find.

What You Will Be Notified About​

Ten notification types, in four groups. The full list, with exactly what triggers each and what it defaults to, is in Notification Settings.

GroupTypesReaches you because
Directed at youMentions, Project Assignments, Activity Assignments, TimesheetsSomeone named you — in a comment, in a role on a project, on an activity, or by approving your timesheet
On items you followComments, Project StatusYou follow the project, contact, activity, or estimate line it happened on
On threads you are inMessagesYou are a participant in that message thread — internal messaging or the client portal. Following does not apply.
Company-wideNew Records, Form SubmissionsEvery active team member is a recipient. Both start off — turn them on if you triage incoming leads
AutomatedWorkflow NotificationsA workflow automation was set up to notify you

Most types arrive in both your inbox and your email by default. No configuration is required to start receiving notifications.

Following​

Comments and project status changes reach followers. You start following automatically when:

  • You comment on an item
  • You are @mentioned in a comment
  • You are assigned to an activity, or added to its team
  • You are assigned to a project through a role such as Project Manager or Sales Person

You can also follow an item deliberately with the bell icon on a project, contact, or activity, and unfollow it the same way once you are no longer working on it. Unfollowing projects you have finished reduces notification volume without turning off Comments entirely.

See Following for the full details.

Adjusting Your Settings​

  1. Open your notification settings — the gear icon in your Inbox, or your avatar menu in the top-right corner.
  2. Review the list. The defaults suit most users, so look for the exceptions that apply to you.
  3. For anything you want to see but not be emailed about, set Email to Off and leave RB Inbox on.
  4. Expand Project Assignments and switch off any roles you are never assigned in.
  5. If you track the whole pipeline rather than your own projects, set Project Status scope to All Projects.

Changes save the moment you make them. There is no Save button.

Common Questions​

How much email will I receive? Email is sent only for types set to Immediate, and only for events you are part of. To reduce the volume, set Email to Off on the types you do not need emailed; those notifications still arrive in your inbox.

Can my administrator change my settings? Yes. Administrators can open your notification settings from Settings > My Company > Team Members and see exactly what you see. Nothing they set is locked — you can change it back from your own inbox at any time.

I am not receiving a notification I expect. Check the specific type in your settings, then check that you are following the item — comments only reach followers. See Troubleshooting.

Do clients receive these notifications? No. These are internal notifications for your team, and client-facing email is separate. You receive a Messages notification when a client writes to you, including from the client portal.