Setup — Notification Settings
Control when and how your team receives alerts about project activity and task updates.
Who this is for
Builders, subcontractors, and estimators who manage teams and need to control how much notification noise each person receives. Set it once and your team stays informed without being overwhelmed.
What this module is for
Every team member gets notifications when something happens in Core Estimator. A task is assigned, a proposal is sent, a comment arrives. Without notification settings, your phone pings every time anyone breathes near the platform. Notification Settings lets you decide who gets notified about what, and when. You can set defaults for the whole organisation and let individuals tweak their own preferences.
Things worth knowing upfront
Notification settings have two levels: organisation-wide defaults and individual preferences. Individual preferences override the defaults.
Notification channels might include email, in-app alerts, or both, depending on your setup.
Disabling notifications doesn't delete the activity. It only controls whether people get an alert about it.
Some notifications may be locked (cannot be disabled) if they relate to critical information like task assignments or payment status.
How to get there
From anywhere in Core Estimator:
Click the Setup tab at the top of the page.
In the left menu, click Notification Settings.
Setup > Notification Settings
What you'll see
The Notification Settings screen shows notification types grouped by category. Most notification settings screens have two main sections:
Organisation defaults — settings that apply to everyone in your account unless they override them personally.
Your personal preferences — individual toggles for each notification type that override the organisation default for your account only.
Common notification categories include:
Task assignments and updates
Proposal and quote activity
Comment notifications
Project and estimate changes
Communication and messaging
Step-by-step: Setting up organisation defaults
If you manage the account and want to set notification defaults for your team:
Go to Setup > Notification Settings.
Find the Organisation Defaults or Default Notifications section.
For each notification type, use the toggle switch to enable or disable it.
Select your preferred notification channel (email, in-app, or both) if options are available.
Scroll to the bottom and click Save to apply the defaults.
These defaults will apply to all team members who haven't set their own personal preferences.
How it works: Organisation defaults are a baseline. Team members can override any of these settings for themselves without affecting what anyone else receives. If you want everyone to see task assignments but allow them to opt out of quote notifications, set the organisation default that way, then let people adjust individually.
Step-by-step: Setting your personal notification preferences
To change what notifications you personally receive:
Go to Setup > Notification Settings.
Find your personal preferences section or the current user settings area.
For each notification type, toggle it on or off.
Select your preferred channel (email, in-app, or both) if multiple options are offered.
Click Save at the bottom of the screen.
Your personal settings will override the organisation defaults immediately.
Habit to adopt: If you find yourself getting too many notifications, don't just leave them alone. Spend 5 minutes turning off the ones you don't actually need. Less noise means you'll actually notice the important ones when they arrive.
Step-by-step: Setting notification channels
Some notification types let you choose how you want to be notified. To set where notifications go:
Navigate to the notification type you want to adjust.
Look for a dropdown or button next to that notification showing the current channel (Email, In-App, or Both).
Click the dropdown and select your preferred option.
Save your changes.
Email notifications arrive in your inbox immediately.
In-app notifications appear as alerts in the Core Estimator interface while you're using it.
Both means you get both email and in-app alerts.
In-app alerts: You'll usually see a small notification indicator (often a number badge) somewhere on the screen when in-app alerts are enabled. Click it to see all your recent notifications.
Worked example
You're a builder with a team of three estimators and two site supervisors. Here's how you'd set up notifications:
Scenario: Arlow Homes renovation project
You want your team to be notified immediately about task assignments and critical proposal updates, but you don't want email storms every time someone leaves a comment.
Your organisation defaults:
Task assignments: On (Email)
Proposal sent: On (Both)
New comments: Off
Quote description updates: On (Email)
Your personal override:
You want to see everything, so you personally enable:
New comments: On (Email)
Project changes: On (In-App)
The result:
Your three estimators get the organisation defaults automatically. They'll see task assignments and proposals but won't get comment notifications.
Your site supervisors use the same defaults since they haven't changed their own settings.
You receive everything: all the organisation defaults plus comments and project updates. You're the only one getting those extra notifications.
If one estimator asks not to receive proposal emails, they log into Setup > Notification Settings, turn off "Proposal sent" for themselves, and the organisation default doesn't change for anyone else.
Tips
Test your settings: After you save notification settings, ask a team member to trigger a test event (like assigning a task to you) so you can confirm you're getting notifications the way you expect.
Different channels for different urgency: Set urgent notifications like task assignments to Email, and less urgent ones like comment threads to In-App only.
Weekly preference check: If your team seems to be missing important updates, spend 5 minutes reviewing the settings to make sure nothing got disabled accidentally.
New team member onboarding: When you bring in a new estimator, walk them through their personal notification preferences so they know what to expect and can adjust it to their style.
Troubleshooting
Symptom | Cause | Fix |
A task is assigned to me or a proposal is sent, but I don't see a notification | The notification type is disabled in the organisation defaults or your personal preferences, or the channel is set to something you're not monitoring. | Go to Setup > Notification Settings and check both the organisation defaults and your personal preferences. Enable the notification type and select the channel (Email or In-App). If email is selected, check your spam folder. |
My team is getting too many emails or in-app alerts | The organisation defaults have too many notification types enabled, or high-volume events are set to Email. | Go to Setup > Notification Settings, review the organisation defaults, and disable any notifications that are nice-to-know but not critical. For high-volume events like comment threads, change the channel to In-App only. |
I toggled a notification on or off but nothing has changed | You may have edited the organisation defaults instead of your personal preferences, or the page didn't save properly. | Go back to Setup > Notification Settings and confirm which section you're in (Organisation Defaults or Your Preferences). Make the change in the right section and click Save. Wait for the confirmation before navigating away. |
Some notification toggles are greyed out or won't respond | Some notifications are critical for the platform to function and cannot be disabled. | These notifications cannot be turned off — this is intentional. If it's causing a problem, contact support. |
Two team members are receiving different notifications despite the same organisation defaults | One or both of them have overridden the organisation defaults with their personal preferences. | Ask those team members to check their personal preferences under Setup > Notification Settings. They may have deliberately or accidentally disabled a notification. They can manually match their settings back to the organisation defaults. |
Related articles
These modules work closely with notifications:
Tasks & Communication — Understand how task assignments and comments trigger notifications.
Setup — Profile / Security — Manage your email address and communication preferences at the account level.
External Users — Control whether external users (subbies, suppliers, clients) receive notifications and how.
Still stuck?
Reach out through the chat bubble in the bottom right of Core Estimator and we'll give you a hand.