Initial Setup
Before you build your first module or run your first estimate, a handful of reference tables need to exist. They are small, they rarely change, and they are usually set up once by a Catalog Owner or admin — not touched again on a daily basis. Getting them right first means materials, modules, and price lists never have to hard-code a currency symbol or a tax rate.
This is the one part of the manual you read top to bottom before your first project, not step by step during it.
1. Why Setup Comes First
Section titled “1. Why Setup Comes First”Every material, labor rate, expense, and price list in Darwin points back to this reference layer. Skip it, and the gaps surface downstream: a material with no currency, an estimate with no tax logic, a BIM element with nowhere in your system taxonomy to land.
The first eight screens below are reference data, with no workflow or approval status. The ninth, Users, is an administrator-only role-management screen. Set them up correctly and the rest of Darwin builds on top of them cleanly.
2. The Setup Checklist
Section titled “2. The Setup Checklist”Complete the reference-data screens in order. Then confirm the people who should review or approve work have the appropriate roles.
| # | Screen | Why it comes first |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Currencies | Every priced item in Darwin — materials, labor, expenses, price lists — is denominated in a currency. Set your primary currency before pricing anything. |
| 2 | Systems | The classification tree your modules and BIM/QTO elements map into. Define your top-level systems before building modules. |
| 3 | Categories | The tree that organizes your material catalog. Set this up before adding materials. |
| 4 | Tax Rates | Attached to materials for tax-inclusive cost calculation. |
| 5 | Expense Types | Classifies expenses like permits, equipment rental, and insurance for reporting. |
| 6 | Handling Costs | The fixed per-unit handling fee layered on top of base material price. |
| 7 | Transportation Rates | Rate-per-km used when logistics costs are modeled as expense lines. |
| 8 | Distribution Centers | Origin points for material logistics, used in transportation-cost calculation. |
| 9 | Users | Administrator-only role assignment for Approvers and Price Reviewers. User invitations are managed separately. |
3. What Comes After Setup
Section titled “3. What Comes After Setup”Once the reference data and required review roles are in place, you’re ready to start building the assets your estimates actually reuse:
- Materials, Labor, Expenses — the priced components. See Catalog.
- Modules — your Cost DNA, the reusable logic that combines materials, labor, and expenses into a buildable unit. See Modules.
- Price Lists — the market-conditions layer that prices your modules today. See Price Lists.
With setup and catalog in place, you’re ready to start your first real project: