Troubleshooting and FAQ

First checks for any "I can't see it" or "it's gray" problem

Most "missing button" and "locked entry" problems come from one of four things. Check them in this order:

1. The project phase. Budget, contracts, payment applications, the construction schedule entry and the financial dashboard appear only in the Execution (Изпълнение) phase. See The project page.
2. Your company's role in the project. Investors see Drafts (Чернови), contractors see Offers (Оферти). The contracting schedule and the work calendar belong only to the company that created the project.
3. Your permissions. An entry with a padlock that opens "You don't have access to this section" means your role or your project access lacks the permission. Project access is copied from the role only when you join a project. See Permission reference.
4. The plan and your licence. "This feature is in a higher plan" means the company is on Free, you have no license, or the plan invoice is more than 5 days overdue. See Subscription, plans and billing.

Also check whether you are looking at an older version (a banner and a Go to latest version or ← Back to current button), and whether the right company is selected in the Organization (Организация) chip.

Account and sign-in

I registered but never got the confirmation e-mail

Cause: the e-mail is in Spam or Promotions, or the address was mistyped. Fix: on the Check Your Email! page click Resend (Изпрати отново); if the tab is closed, register again with the same address, which sends a fresh link. See Create an account and sign in.

"Sign-in failed" although the password is right

Cause: usually the e-mail address is not confirmed yet; otherwise a typo in the e-mail or a deactivated account. Fix: click the link in the confirmation e-mail, then sign in again. See Create an account and sign in.

"Your session was ended because another device signed in."

Cause: BuildColab allows one web session per account; a sign-in in another browser ended this one. Fix: sign in again. If it was not you, change your password in My profile (Моят профил) at once.

"This password has appeared in a known data breach and cannot be used."

Cause: the password is on public lists of leaked passwords. Fix: choose a new, unique password. Note that the uppercase and lowercase rules count only Latin letters; Cyrillic letters count as special characters.

The password reset link is invalid or expired

Cause: each link works once and only the latest one is valid. Fix: click Send Reset Link again and use the newest e-mail.

"Current password is incorrect." when changing the password

Cause: often the keyboard layout (Latin or Cyrillic) or Caps Lock. Fix: check them; otherwise sign out and use Forgot your password?. See Your profile and account security.

Company, members and permissions

I was invited but my invitations page is empty

Cause: invitations are matched to your confirmed login e-mail, and the invitation went to another address. Fix: ask the company to invite exactly the address you registered and confirmed. See Create or join a company.

After joining, most menu entries have a padlock

Cause: your role does not include those modules, or no license seat was free when you joined. Fix: ask an administrator to check your role and the Licence (Лиценз) column on Admin → Employees (Служители). See Members, invitations and licences.

Suddenly most modules show "This feature is in a higher plan"

Cause: the plan invoice is more than 5 days overdue, or the paid period ended more than 5 days ago and the company moved to Free. If only some people are affected, they have No licence (Без лиценз). Fix: pay the open invoice on Subscription (Абонамент), or assign licenses. See Subscription, plans and billing.

I paid the invoice but it still says Unpaid

Cause: bank transfers are matched by BuildColab by hand. Fix: wait a few working days; then write to support@buildcolab.com with the invoice number.

"Confirm your email first" when changing the plan

Cause: a paid plan needs a confirmed company e-mail. Fix: on Admin → Organization click Resend email (Изпрати отново имейл) and open the link from the company mailbox; it is valid for 48 hours. See Organization profile.

"Existing email or a request with 2 identical email addresses" when inviting

Cause: an address already has a pending or accepted invitation, appears twice, or is your own. The other rows were sent. Fix: check Sent invitations (Изпратени покани). See Members, invitations and licences.

A member shows "No licence" or "Assign license" is gray

Cause: no free seat, or an unpaid seat or plan invoice older than 5 days. Fix: buy seats with Buy licenses (Закупи лицензи) or pay the invoice, then use Assign license (Назначи лиценз).

"The company owner cannot leave"

Cause: a company must always have an owner. Fix: transfer ownership with Transfer role first, then leave.

"You do not have permission to access this feature. Contact an administrator." on Roles

Cause: changing roles needs Members at Edit. Fix: ask the owner or an administrator. See Roles.

I changed a colleague's role but nothing changed in the projects

Cause: project access is copied from the role only when the person joins a project. Fix: open each project, Project team (Проектен екип) → Access level (Достъпност), and change it there. See Project team and access.

A colleague sees an edit button but gets an access error when saving

Cause: the project access is Edit, but the company role has only View for that permission; the server checks the role. Fix: raise the permission in the role, or lower the project access. See Permission reference.

"Error creating company: …" when saving the organization

Cause: the same text is used when an update fails, for example "Only Company Owner can update company details". Nothing new was created. Fix: ask the company owner to make the change.

Projects and navigation

I can't see a project my colleague sees, or it disappeared

Cause: you are not on its project team, or it was archived. Fix: ask someone with Projects at Edit to add you on Project team; archived projects are under Admin → Organization → Archived projects. See Project list and creating a project.

"This project hasn't been shared with you"

Cause: you are not on the project team. Fix: ask a colleague with Projects at Edit to add you. See The project page.

"You don't have access to this section"

Cause: your role or your project access lacks the permission for that screen. Fix: ask an administrator to raise it in your role or in the project's Access level.

The bell shows a number although I've read everything

Cause: the counter counts open action items, not unread ones. Fix: do the work in the Needs action (Изисква действие) tab; the counter drops when each item is done. See Notifications and their settings.

"You cannot remove the only company member from the project"

Cause: your company needs at least one person on the project. Fix: add a colleague first. See Project team and access.

"The field must be at least 2 characters" in the area fields

Cause: area fields accept 2 to 50 characters. Fix: enter "50" or "5.0" instead of "5".

Bill of quantities (BoQ)

I can't edit anything in the BoQ

Cause: you are on an old version, the BoQ is an accepted budget or a signed contract, or your role has Offers only at View. Fix: click Go to latest version, change a budget or contract through a change order, or ask for Edit. See Working in the BoQ editor.

"The data has changed. Please reload and try again."

Cause: a colleague or BORO changed the BoQ after you opened it. Fix: reload and repeat your change.

"Can't delete a billed item"

Cause: the position has a claimed quantity in a payment application. Fix: remove the quantity from the payment application first.

"An accepted investor budget cannot be edited directly — change it through a change order." or "A signed contract's quantity list cannot be edited directly — change it through a change order."

Cause: budgets and signed contracts are locked so both sides keep the same numbers. Fix: use Budget changes (Промени по бюджет) or Contract changes (Промени по договор). See Change orders and extensions.

The Budget acceptance button is gray

Cause: the draft total is 0, a position has unit price 0, or an acceptance is running. Fix: price the positions, or accept the priced part with Accept part of the budget (Приемане на част от бюджета). See Partial acceptance.

"Error deleting the BoQ"

Cause: the BoQ has an accepted contract or positions committed in an active subcontract. Such BoQs cannot be deleted.

"The name must be at most 50 characters"

Cause: BoQ names are limited to 2–50 characters. Fix: shorten the name.

Save version is gray with a lock

Cause: the current version is already locked. Fix: make a change; after the warning a new version opens. See Versions, comparing and locking.

Every position is doubled after an import

Cause: an import always adds rows; the file was imported twice. Fix: filter by the label of the second import, select the positions and delete them. See Importing a BoQ from Excel.

Save to project is gray in the import, or everything became categories

Cause: an open banner (unmapped required column, rows without description, unit or quantity, unit-price conflicts), or the description is read from the numbering column. Fix: clear every banner; correct the mapping with Edit columns.

"Someone else changed this import."

Cause: a colleague changed the import meanwhile. Fix: check the reloaded version and repeat your step.

The resource analysis panel does not open, or Complete is gray

Cause: no Resource analysis permission, Free plan or no license, a quantity-only BoQ, or a locked latest version. Fix: check permission and license; edit the BoQ to open a new version. See Resource analysis.

Export: "Failed to generate the export"

Cause: a generation error or a missing File manager Edit permission. Fix: try again; check the permission. See Exporting.

Offer requests and offers

I can't send offer requests

Cause: sending needs a paid plan or trial and Outgoing bid requests (Изходящи запитвания) at Edit in this project; new project members get View. Fix: ask an administrator. See Creating and sending an offer request.

"A sent request's lines can't be changed — revise the request instead."

Cause: positions cannot be edited after sending. Fix: click Revise the request (Ревизирай запитването). See Revisions, withdrawing and closing.

"The deadline cannot be in the past."

Fix: pick today or a later date.

"This request is already closed."

Cause: closed requests cannot be edited or sent. Fix: create a new request.

I can't close my request

Cause: closing notifies nobody, so it is allowed only after the deadline or when every partner declined ("The request's deadline has not passed yet.", "Partners are still active in the request — withdraw it to notify them."). Fix: withdraw the request instead.

Revising says "A contract already exists for this offer" or "A contract is already signed on this request."

Cause: a contract exists on one of the offers. A draft contract has no delete button; complete it with Propose contract or leave the request as it is. Once a contract is signed on the request, it can no longer be revised or withdrawn. See Revisions, withdrawing and closing.

"An error occurred while responding to the offer" (subcontractor)

Cause: the request was closed or withdrawn meanwhile, or your company is not invited. Fix: reload the request page. If the page does not load at all, switch to the company the request was sent to. See Incoming offer requests (subcontractor side).

I declined a request by mistake

Cause: declining is final. Fix: ask the client to revise the request or send a new one.

"Error sending offer" or "An offer is already recorded for this list; request an update to revise it"

Cause: no offer ticked, the offer was already sent, the request was closed or withdrawn, or you are not in the answering company. A sent offer cannot be withdrawn. Fix: send a variant, or ask the client for an update request. See Preparing and submitting an offer.

The Request update button is missing

Cause: an update request is already open, the bidder is self-managed, or the page was opened without a response. Fix: wait for the answer, or edit the self-managed offer yourself. See Comparing offers.

I can't award a position to a bidder

Cause: the bidder did not price it ("no price"), it is awarded on another request, or it is under a contract. See Awarding (whole or by line items).

Create contract on the award screen gives an error

Cause: that button cannot currently finish a contract with another company. Fix: open the winner's offer with Review (Разгледай) and use Propose contract (Предложи договор), or Create contract on their behalf for a self-managed subcontractor. The draft already created can be reused.

I can't undo the award on an offer

Cause: a contract, even a draft, exists on that offer. A draft contract cannot be deleted from the screens. Fix: complete it or leave the award as it is.

Contracting schedule: "No start on site — no schedule covers the lines and no date was entered"

Fix: open the package, click Change the scope and enter the start, or link its positions to schedule activities. See Contracting schedule and packages.

Contracting schedule: "Nothing was created" when saving a package

Cause: selected positions are already in another active package. Fix: click Remove them from the selection.

I don't see the Contracting schedule

Cause: your company did not create the project, the plan is Free, the project is still in Budgeting or Offering, or your role lacks the Contracting schedule permission.

Contracts and change orders

I don't see Propose contract

Cause: your own project is not in Execution. Fix: accept your client's contract, use Turn into contract, or accept your budget first. See Contract proposals.

Send to partner is gray on the contract panel

Cause: a term is missing. Fix: hover the button; "Fill in first: {fields}" lists them.

"A contract proposal for this order has already been sent."

Cause: a proposal for this contract version waits for an answer. Fix: wait for the contractor.

"You cannot propose a contract for an offer with a total price of 0." or "A contract with zero-priced line items cannot be created"

Cause: the offer or a position is priced 0. Fix: ask the bidder for an updated offer with every position priced.

"Some tasks are already under a signed contract"

Cause: positions of the offer are in another signed contract ("Already contracted to {company}"). Fix: contract only the rest, or change the award.

Make a change or Propose change is gray

Cause: a change proposal is waiting for an answer, or the draft does not differ from the signed contract yet. Fix: wait for the answer, or edit the BoQ or terms first. See Change orders and extensions.

"There is a contract proposal on top of an existing update request, accept or decline it to create a new one"

Cause: a change proposal on this contract is pending. Fix: answer it before sending a new update request.

"This draft has been superseded by another contract change proposal. It is read-only."

Cause: another change on the same contract was accepted first. Fix: start a new change with Make a change.

"Some excluded items are still in use" when accepting part

Cause: a left-out position is in a contract or an open offer request. Fix: include it, or cancel the listed request first. See Partial acceptance.

Payment applications

I don't see Create report

Cause: you need Reports at Edit, your company must be the contractor, and the contract must be signed. The client never sees it; for a self-managed subcontractor it sees Record report (Запиши отчет). See Creating and submitting.

Create report is gray: "The contract is fully claimed…"

Cause: on a fixed-price contract, approved reports cover the full value. Fix: agree a change order first.

Submit for Approval is disabled

Cause: every quantity is 0, or a position outside the contract has no price ("{count} unpriced positions"). Fix: enter quantities and price the new positions.

The quantity cell says "Maximum"

Cause: the contract is fixed-price and the quantity would exceed the contract. Fix: enter at most the maximum, or agree a change order.

Revise is refused: "A newer report already exists."

Cause: a newer report exists, or the contract changed. Fix: create a new report, also with New from a previous version.

I don't see Approve, Counter and Reject

Cause: it is not your company's turn ("Waiting on {company}"), the report is not submitted, or you have Reports only at View. See Reviewing, approving, countering, rejecting.

Approve is disabled although it is my turn

Cause: a new position has no price, or you changed new positions since the last round ("New positions changed since the last round"). Fix: price it, or send a counter-proposal first.

"Another payment application was approved first"

Cause: two reports on one fixed-price contract together exceed the contracted quantity. Fix: counter with lower quantities.

Record report is disabled: "There is a pending report awaiting approval"

Cause: a self-managed subcontractor can have one open report at a time, or the contract is fully claimed. See External payment applications.

Export: "Too many reports matched"

Fix: narrow the period, project or counterparty, for example one quarter at a time. See Register, summary and exports.

Budget and finance

Budget, Contracts with contractors, Report Register or Financial dashboard are missing

Cause: they appear only in the Execution phase and need the matching permission and a paid plan. Fix: accept the budget or sign the contract first. See Budget, costs and reports.

A red margin, or a dash in Committed

Cause: you contracted more than the budget on that line (red), or no subcontract line is attributed to it (dash). Fix: click Committed to see the commitments; link unmatched lines in the Unlinked (Несвързани) block with Link lines (Свържи позиции). See Financial dashboard: committed, certified, margin.

"You do not have access to this report." on Reports

Cause: the screen opens on the materials report, which needs Resource analysis and Nomenclature. Fix: open Filters → Clear to switch to cash flow, or ask for the permissions. See Reports.

Schedule

"Schedule is not available in this environment" or "You do not have access to the schedule for this BOQ list"

Cause: the module is switched off on your server, or the BoQ belongs to another company or you lack Schedule. Fix: contact BuildColab support, or ask your administrator. See Schedule.

I can't move a bar in the Gantt

Cause: Schedule only at View, an older version (← Back to current), or a subcontractor slice. See Gantt view and dependencies.

"This dependency would create a cycle"

Fix: remove one link of the loop.

"Distribution exceeds available quantity" or the window "Schedule over-coverage"

Cause: other rows already carry part of the position's quantity, or a reduced BoQ quantity is over-distributed. Fix: lower a row, use Left quantity, or adjust the rows in the window and click Apply and continue. See Linking the BoQ: distribution and matching.

"A group task cannot be placed inside another group task"

Fix: ungroup the inner group or move it into a category.

"Invalid percentage (0–100)"

Cause: progress accepts whole numbers only. Fix: type 45, not 45.5.

"Failed to send slices to contractors. Please try publishing again." or the subcontractor sees no schedule

Cause: the slices did not go out, or the subcontractor has no signed contract or is not on BuildColab. Fix: create a new draft and publish again; check the contract. See Publishing to subcontractors (slices).

I can't change the work calendar

Cause: only the company that created the project can, with Schedule at Edit. See Working days and holidays.

Files

I can't see a file my colleague uploaded to the project

Cause: you see a file only if you own it, it was shared with you, or you are the company owner. Fix: ask the colleague to share the file or folder. See Sharing, comments and mentions.

"You don't have permission to add files to this folder."

Cause: you need File manager at Edit and Edit access to the folder. Fix: ask the folder owner to share it at Edit (Редакция). See Folders, uploading and navigation.

"Storage is full. Free up space or upgrade your plan to upload a new version."

Cause: the company that owns the files used its storage. Fix: delete files, upgrade, or click Expand storage (Увеличи пространството). Files up to 200 MB can be uploaded.

"Name contains disallowed characters"

Cause: names cannot contain script, *, --, ; or /. Fix: replace them.

"Error saving shared users"

Cause: only the file's owner can change its sharing. Fix: ask the owner (shown as Author in Details).

"You do not have permission to comment on this file." or "You are viewing the document in read-only mode."

Cause: your access is Read (or Comment for editing), or you are on an older version. Fix: ask the owner for a higher level, or go to the latest version. See Viewing and editing documents.

"The file must have the same extension as the original." or "Write permission is required to restore a version."

Cause: a new version must be the same file type; restoring needs Edit. See Versions.

"File is too large" in the editor

Cause: browser editing is limited to 25 MB. Fix: download, edit locally and upload a new version.

"Only the item's owner or the company owner can delete it forever."

Fix: ask one of them, or let the item expire after 30 days. See Trash and restoring.

A 3D model shows "Not processed", or "These files are billed to the company that owns the project — only someone acting for that company can process them."

Cause: processing costs credits and is not automatic; project models are paid by the project's owner company. Fix: click Process (Обработи) and confirm the price, or ask the owner company. See 3D/BIM models and processing credits.

I can't upload an .html file, or a Mermaid diagram shows "This diagram couldn't be displayed."

Cause: HTML uploads are blocked (HTML pages exist only as AI artifacts); the diagram has a syntax error. Fix: ask BORO to create the artifact or fix the diagram. See AI features: search, artifacts, diagrams.

"Searching names and descriptions only — document content search is not available yet."

Cause: content search is not enabled for your installation. Fix: add descriptions to important files, or ask BORO to read them.

Task boards, meetings and calendar

"This board hasn't been shared with you", or Sharing is gray

Cause: the board is private and you are not a member; only the owner can share. Fix: ask the board owner. See Boards: create, share, labels.

No New task button, or "This person cannot access this board."

Cause: you are in the "All tasks" view or have only comment or view access; the assignee cannot see the board. Fix: open a single board and ask for Can edit; add the assignee to the board. See Tasks: details, subtasks, comments, activity.

I can't attach a PDF to a task

Cause: tasks accept only JPEG, PNG, WebP and GIF images up to 10 MB. Fix: keep documents in the File Manager.

"The meeting cannot be created without confirming that everyone present was told."

Fix: check I told everyone present that the meeting is being recorded. See Meetings and series.

A meeting failed with "Reason: insufficient_credits"

Cause: the owning company has no credits. Fix: top up, then click Try again (Опитай отново). See Recording, transcript and AI insights.

"This meeting already has a recording." or "This recurring meeting is archived, so no new meetings can be added to it."

Fix: create a separate meeting for a second file; restore the series with Restore.

Meetings, Work tasks or the calendar icon are missing

Cause: the module is not switched on for your installation (then the entry is missing altogether, not padlocked), or no company is selected. Meetings and task boards have no role permission and no plan lock. Fix: select a company; otherwise contact BuildColab support.

BORO and credits

I don't see the BORO button

Cause: no company is selected, or BORO is not enabled in your environment. See BORO — AI assistant.

"Credits exhausted"

Cause: the company balance is 0. Fix: click Top up credits or move to a plan with more monthly credits. See Credits (BORO, file processing).

BORO proposed a change but nothing happened

Cause: every change BORO proposes waits on an approval card. Fix: click Approve (Одобри) on the card. See Approvals and background tasks.

Common questions

Related

• Permission reference
• All statuses explained
• Glossary
• Subscription, plans and billing