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Good, Better, Best material tiers

Every scope in BuiltUp automatically generates three price tiers. Here's how they work, how to control them, and why sending all three to your client is often the right move.

Before you start
  • A project with a scope on it (AI-generated or manual)

Most builders quote one number and hope the client says yes. BuiltUp generates three — a Good (entry), Better (mid), and Best (premium) version of your scope, with different materials at each level and the same labour. Clients get to choose their budget instead of haggling on yours, and you look consultative instead of expensive.

1
Step 1

Find the tier switcher

On the Estimate tab (Scope → Estimate), look at the top right — there's a three-way toggle showing Good / Better / Best with a total price next to each. Click between them and you'll see:

  • The room totals update live
  • Individual material picks swap to each tier's version
  • Labour stays the same across all three (you're selling skill, not product)
  • The overall total shifts — typically 15-30% between tiers

The tier you're currently viewing is the one highlighted in orange. That's also the tier the quote will default to when you send it.

BuiltUp
DC
SummaryScope
Good
£16,820
Better
£19,946
Best
£23,140
Material picks by tier
ItemGoodBetterBest
FlooringLaminateEngineered oakSolid oak
WorktopLaminateQuartz compositeNatural granite
TilesCeramic 300×300Porcelain 600×600Marble effect large format
SocketsWhite plasticBrushed chromeScrewless black nickel
Send all three to the client
When you send a quote, you can include all tiers so the client picks their own level — or send one tier and keep the others in reserve.
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Step 2

How BuiltUp decides the tiers

Each material in your price book can have three variants — a Good, Better, and Best version. BuiltUp generates these automatically for most common materials using supplier data, and you can edit them by hand any time.

For example:

  • Flooring — laminate / engineered oak / solid oak
  • Worktop — laminate / quartz composite / natural granite
  • Tiles — ceramic 300x300 / porcelain 600x600 / marble effect large format
  • Sockets — white plastic / brushed chrome / screwless black nickel

If a material only has one variant, all three tiers use the same one. If you want tighter control, override the tier picks per-material from Settings → Suppliers → Material variants.

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Step 3

Send all three in one quote

When you send a quote, you've got three options in the dropdown:

  • Send single tier — default; just sends the tier you're currently viewing
  • Send with tier comparison — client sees all three side by side and picks
  • Send specific tier — you choose which one, regardless of what you're viewing

The "send with comparison" option is underused. Clients love it because it feels like they're in control — you're not upselling them, you're presenting options. And it quietly anchors them to the Better tier (the middle option), which is usually where you want them anyway. This is basic anchoring psychology and it works.

tip
The Goldilocks effect
When you show three prices, clients overwhelmingly pick the middle one. This isn't a trick — it's how people make purchase decisions under uncertainty. Set your Better tier at the price you actually want to win, and let Good/Best frame it for you.
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Step 4

Override tiers per-project

Sometimes a specific job calls for different tier behaviour than your default. Common cases:

  • Budget job — downgrade Better to match what you'd otherwise call Good, and hide Best from the quote
  • High-end fit-out — skip Good entirely, make Better your old Best, introduce a new Best above it
  • Commercial — one spec, one price; tiers are more of a residential thing

You can override tier selection per room, per material, or per whole scope from the tier switcher. The override only applies to that one project — your workspace-wide tier rules stay intact.

Tiers change the conversation. Instead of "that's too expensive," you hear "we'll go with the middle one." That's the difference between quoting and selling.

Next up

Suppliers, materials, and BuiltClip

Your price book is the backbone of every accurate quote. Here's how to add suppliers, organise materials, and use the BuiltClip browser extension to import products from any supplier website in one click.

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