RFIs that close as a change order
Verbal orders are the most expensive leak on a job: somebody settles a question over the phone, nobody writes it down, and months later that change can't be billed. An RFI is simply that question put in writing and addressed to whoever has to answer it. That's why in Matterial you don't request one from a separate screen: you request it from the conversation where it was born — the pin on the drawing, the package, the contract — by choosing "Outside the company" when you assign it. There it gets a number (RFI-001, RFI-002...), a due date, and a link so the designer or the owner can answer without an account. If the answer means money or time, you close it as a draft change order with the cost and the days already loaded.
- You request it from the comment thread: it inherits the anchor and the text; all you say is who and by when.
- Assigning has two destinations: "My team" is an internal assignment; "Outside the company" is an RFI with its own number.
- The numbered log lives in the job's record: Documents → RFIs.
- The external link (/rfi/...) lets people answer without an account; the answer is written down and time-stamped.
- Closing it with impact creates a draft change order: the cost as a line entry in the anchored budget line item, plus the days.
- Closing with no impact counts too: a closed RFI is evidence that the question was settled and when.
- The ones you're chasing show up in /today and in Notifications → Assignments: nobody has to remember to go look for them.
- 1
Write the question where you see it
On the drawing, mark the spot and write down what doesn't add up. The same works from a package, a contract, or a schedule task: any comment can turn into an RFI, and it carries the anchor and the conversation with it.
- 2
Assign it to whoever has to answer
In the comment's "···" menu, choose Assign. If it's on a teammate, leave "My team" and it's a regular assignment. If it's on the designer, the engineer of record, or the inspector, switch to "Outside the company," type their name and the date: it goes out with a number and a link to answer without an account. Copy it and send it by WhatsApp or email.
- 3
Or answer it yourself, from the inside
If the answer came over the phone or in the meeting, go to Documents → RFIs and write it in yourself. What matters is that it's documented with a date and an author.
- 4
Close it with or without impact
From Documents → RFIs, when you close it you decide: if the answer means cost or days, enter the amount and the time extension and Matterial creates the draft change order with the entry in the anchored budget line item. You then formalize it with the owner from Change Orders, with its own approval link.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an RFI and a change order?
The RFI is the documented QUESTION ("does the wall on line 4 get exposed finish?"); the change order is the financial CONSEQUENCE of the answer. Matterial links them: an RFI closed with impact generates the change order, and both stay cross-referenced in the job's record.
Who can answer through the link?
Anyone who has the link while the RFI is open: designer, inspector, owner. The answer is logged under whatever name they type. If you'd rather keep full control, answer from the inside and use the link for reference only.
What happens if nobody answers on time?
It shows up as overdue on your Today screen and in Notifications → Assignments, with the name of the person who owes it. That visibility — who owes what and since when — is in practice what makes the answers come in.
Why are RFIs no longer in the menu?
Because nobody wakes up thinking "I'm going to create an RFI": they think "this wall on line 4 doesn't add up." That question comes up while you're looking at the drawing, not in a separate section. So the RFI is requested from the thread where it's born, and the numbered log lives in the job's record (Documents → RFIs), next to meeting minutes and approvals, which are the same thing: paperwork that carries evidentiary weight. Nothing was lost: the numbers, the answer links, and closing into a change order all work exactly the same.