Comment, mention, and assign
Conversation about a job almost always happens far away from the data being discussed: the "why did this package go up?" lives in a WhatsApp group, and three weeks later nobody remembers who decided what or why. In Matterial, comments are anchored to the thing itself: a drawing note, a bid package, a vendor quote, a progress billing waiting to be paid. You write right there, you use @ to mention whoever needs to know, and that person gets the alert in their Notifications center and in their email. Because the comment lives attached to the record, the next person who opens that package six months from now reads the whole discussion without having to ask anyone.
- The comment is anchored to the data: the drawing note, the bid package, the vendor quote, or the progress billing.
- With @ you mention a teammate from your company; they get an in-app alert and an email using your brand's template.
- A mention is a PERSONAL alert: your bell rings, not the whole company's.
- Everything gets reviewed in one place: Notifications, with the "Mentions" tab.
- A comment with an owner and a due date becomes an ASSIGNMENT: the person gets an alert and sees it in Today.
- If the person who needs to answer is OUTSIDE your company, that same thread goes out as an RFI with its own number and a link.
- Threads get resolved, not deleted: they stay marked as resolved and remain in the record.
- Comments are INTERNAL. They never show up in the public links you share with contractors or buyers.
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Comment where the data lives
Open the drawing note, the package on the bid board, the vendor quote, or the progress billing. Underneath each one there's a comment thread: write there instead of sending the message outside the system.
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Use @ to mention whoever needs to know
Type @ and your company's teammates show up. Pick the right one. Only members of your organization are listed: a subcontractor or a buyer never appears in that list.
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The other person gets two alerts
An in-app alert that rings only their bell (nobody else sees it) and an email with the text of the comment and a button to go straight there. If they'd rather, they can come in through Notifications whenever they can.
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Reply inside the thread
Replying keeps the conversation together and organized under the original comment, instead of scattered messages.
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Assign it when someone has to do something
In the thread's "···" menu, tap "Assign to someone" and leave the destination on "My team": pick the person and the date. It stops being a message and becomes a commitment: they get an alert and an email, they see it when they open their day in Today, and it shows up in the Assignments tab in Notifications. When it's marked done, the record shows who closed it and when.
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If it's on someone outside the company, it becomes an RFI
In that same assign panel, switch the destination to "Outside the company" and write who it's for: the designer, the engineer of record, the owner's rep. The thread goes out as an RFI with its own number, inherits the anchor and the text, and generates a link so they can answer without an account. You stay on the hook for chasing the answer, and the RFI is filed in the project record (Documents → RFIs). They're kept separate on purpose: sending the designer a question while thinking it was an internal note is an expensive mistake.
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Assign straight from a risk alert
In Alerts, risks that have a concrete cause (an over-budget line item, a late task) come with an "Assign" button: the assignment is born anchored to that line item or task, with the text of the alert already written.
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Mark it resolved once the topic is closed
When you resolve it, the thread dims and gets tagged as resolved, but it doesn't disappear: it's still the record of why that decision was made. It can be reopened at any time.
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Review everything in Notifications
In Notifications you have four tabs: "All", "Notices" (only what the system and the team generate), "Mentions" (every time someone tagged you), and "Assignments" (what's on you, with its date, and in red if it's already past due). One single place to check.
Frequently asked questions
Can the contractor or the client see these comments?
No, never. Comments are internal to your company by design: the public links you share (bid invitations, subcontractor portal, buyer portal, partner report) don't read this information. A "we need to squeeze this guy with retainage" can't reach the contractor.
Can I mention someone who isn't in my company?
No. The @ autocomplete only offers members of your organization. To talk to someone outside, use the channel that already exists for that: the bid link, the RFI, or the subcontractor portal, which are the ones designed to be shared outside.
Can I edit or delete what I wrote?
Yes, your own comments. When you edit, it gets marked as "edited" so the conversation doesn't change meaning behind anyone's back. Other people's comments can't be touched.
Where can I comment today?
On drawing notes, bid packages, vendor quotes, progress billings waiting to be paid, schedule tasks, daily log entries, and quality and safety findings. It's the same piece everywhere, so it'll keep extending to more sections without changing shape.
What's the difference between the responsible party typed in the text and the assigned owner?
On findings, meeting minutes action items, and RFIs, both now coexist: the text field is for EXTERNAL responsible parties who don't have an account (the designer, the client's owner's rep), and the person picker points to someone in your company — that one does get an alert and does show up in their Today. Typing a name in the text doesn't notify anyone; assigning it does.
What if I'd rather not get emails?
The in-app alert always stays in your Notifications center. Email preferences are adjusted on that same page.