How do I adjust the statuses of subcontractors?
In this article, you'll learn how to manage the progress of subcontractors by manually updating their statuses or by using automatic status updates provided by the subcontractors themselves.
What will you find in this article?
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Automatic status updates: How changes made by specialists become immediately visible.
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Manually managing statuses: The steps to update the status yourself.
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Status types and privacy: An overview of the available statuses and their visibility.
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Visual representation: Adding colors to statuses for a better overview.
Summary
Statuses in 12Build are automatically updated when a subcontractor responds to a request. You can also manually adjust these statuses in the communication overview if you receive updates outside the system. For a better overview, an administrator can assign colors to the different statuses.
Prerequisites and Target Audience
This article is intended for project planners and buyers who monitor the status of quotation processes in 12Build. Setting colors requires administrator rights on the company profile.
Manually updating statuses for subcontractors
When a subcontractor calls or emails you directly, you can manually update the status in 12Build to keep the project overview current.
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Go to the Communication section within your project.
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Click on the current status in the row for the relevant Subcontractor.
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Select the desired new status from the menu. As the general contractor, you have the following options:
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Unknown
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Pending
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Calculating
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Not billing
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Proposal to follow
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Proposal
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Within budget
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Awarded
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Not awarded
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Privacy: Do you see an icon of an eye with a line through it? This means that the subcontractor cannot see this specific status in their own dashboard; the status is then for internal use only.

Assign colors to statuses
To make the communication overview easy to scan, you can assign a unique color to each status.
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Have an administrator log in and navigate to the company profile.
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Navigate to Settings.
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Here, assign the desired colors to the different statuses.
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After saving, these colors will immediately appear in the communication overview for all active projects.

Tracking status changes by subcontractors
You automatically receive a notification (by email and in the app) as soon as a subcontractor who previously indicated they would submit a proposal changes their status to "declining to quote". This allows you to take immediate action, such as contacting another subcontractor or supplier.
This notification is automatically activated as soon as you have created a project and sent the Request for Proposal to subcontractors.
Where can you find this?
- Go to the project dashboard.
- View the blue Followed box

- Click on the i next to the blue box for an explanation of the notifications you receive when a status changes.

- Pay attention to the Eye icon: this icon indicates that a project is being followed and is also visible in the All projects overview.

Adjusting notification settings
- Go to My account.
- Click on the Notifications tab.
- Set per project whether you want to receive notifications, or turn off the email notifications here if desired.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Question: Why doesn’t the subcontractor see my status change? Answer: The “eye with a line through it” icon is likely enabled for that status. This means the status is only visible internally to you and your colleagues.
Question: Can I create new status titles myself? Answer: No, the list of statuses (such as Calculating, Proposal to follow, etc.) is defined in the 12Build system to ensure consistency.
Troubleshooting
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Symptom: The status automatically reverts to 'Unknown'.
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Cause: This usually occurs when an action by the subcontractor overwrites the manually set status, or when the change was not saved properly.
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Solution: Check that your internet connection is stable and click outside the dropdown menu to permanently save the status.
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Symptom: I don’t see any colors for the statuses.
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Cause: The colors have not yet been set in the company profile, or the browser cache needs to be cleared.
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Solution: Ask your administrator to set the colors in the profile settings.
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