eSUB
If you have been asked to work in Autodesk Forma Build, you may know it by its former name, Autodesk Build. Here is how the name changed.
Autodesk launched Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) in 2019 to connect construction teams, workflows, and project data. In 2023, Autodesk introduced Forma, initially focused on planning and design. On March 24, 2026, Autodesk brought ACC into the Forma industry cloud and renamed Autodesk Build to Forma Build. The change updated the product branding without requiring customers to migrate existing projects or relearn their established workflows.
Autodesk Forma Build is construction management software for handling project information, drawings, RFIs, submittals, issues, meetings, and other project workflows. It helps connect field and office teams through shared project information.
For a subcontractor working in a general contractor’s project, knowing the current product name is only the first step. You also need to understand which tools and permissions the GC provides and which workflows your company still needs to manage separately.
Key Takeaways
- Autodesk Build is the construction project management product inside Autodesk Construction Cloud, now packaged under the Forma naming.
- It covers documents, drawings, RFIs, submittals, issues and model coordination, with its strength coming from Autodesk’s design software lineage.
- Autodesk Docs and Autodesk Build are different products; Docs is the common data environment, Build adds project management on top.
- It is licensed per user and is not included with an AutoCAD or Revit subscription.
- It is built around the general contractor workflow, so a specialty subcontractor still runs T&M, AIA billing and labor tracking elsewhere.
What Autodesk Build Is
Autodesk Build is construction project management software for managing project information, communication, and field workflows across the office and jobsite. It brings documents, drawings, RFIs, submittals, issues, meetings, schedules, and cost management into a connected construction platform.
Build is part of Autodesk’s construction technology ecosystem, which connects project management with Autodesk’s tools for drawings, models, and project data. Autodesk’s current product materials place these construction workflows under the Autodesk Forma brand. That includes the project management capabilities now presented as Forma Build.
For a project manager, Build provides tools to manage RFIs, submittals, meeting records, issues, schedules, and project costs from a connected system. Field teams can access current drawings, files, models, issues, and daily reports through web and mobile workflows.
The naming can be confusing if you are researching older Autodesk documentation. Autodesk Build is now called Forma Build, while some Autodesk resources still use the Autodesk Build name. Autodesk confirms that the underlying workflows remain applicable as its product names move to the Forma brand.
For a specialty subcontractor, the important question is what those workflows cover for your team. You also need to identify which trade-specific processes, such as labor tracking, T&M documentation, or billing, require another system.
Autodesk Build, Forma and Construction Cloud: The Naming Untangled
If a GC says your project is in Autodesk, that does not tell you which Autodesk product your crew will use. You may see Autodesk Build, Autodesk Docs, BIM 360, PlanGrid, or the newer Forma names in project instructions and documentation.
Here is the current structure:
- Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) → Autodesk Forma: ACC is now part of Autodesk Forma, Autodesk’s broader industry cloud for construction and other built-environment workflows.
- Autodesk Build → Forma Build: Autodesk Build is now branded Forma Build. It covers project management workflows such as RFIs, submittals, issues, meetings, schedules, costs, drawings, and field work.
- Autodesk Docs → Forma Data Management: Autodesk Docs is now Forma Data Management. It provides the common data environment for managing project files and information. It is not the same product as Forma Build.
- BIM 360: BIM 360 is an earlier Autodesk construction platform. You may still encounter it when working on existing GC projects or reviewing older project documentation.
- PlanGrid: PlanGrid is another older Autodesk construction product. Autodesk says it is no longer available to net-new customers, while Forma Build incorporates capabilities from PlanGrid and BIM 360.
For a specialty subcontractor, these names matter because your access depends on the GC’s project setup. If you are told to log into an Autodesk project, confirm which product you are using and which workflows your team can access. That tells you whether you are working in Forma Build, Forma Data Management, BIM 360, or another Autodesk environment.
If you are evaluating Autodesk’s construction products more closely, see our guide to Autodesk Construction Cloud pricing for the licensing side. The key distinction is that knowing the product name does not tell you whether it covers every workflow your subcontracting team needs.
What Autodesk Build Actually Does
Autodesk Build gives construction teams tools to manage drawings, project documents, RFIs, submittals, issues, meetings, schedules, and costs within a project environment. It also connects with other Autodesk products for document management and model coordination.
Drawings and project documents
Forma Build connects project teams to drawings, models, specifications, and other project files through Forma Data Management. Teams can publish sheets, add markups, and access current project information from the field. The mobile app also supports access to project data when working offline.
For a subcontractor, this matters when a GC publishes updated drawings or specifications. Your crew can work from the project information available in the Autodesk environment instead of relying on an older file saved locally.
See how eSUB handles construction document management.
RFIs and submittals
Forma Build provides dedicated workflows for creating, routing, tracking, and closing RFIs and submittals. RFIs can be assigned, reviewed, and tracked by status. Submittals can be organized, routed for review, and tracked through the submittal log.
For a trade contractor, that can include equipment, materials, shop drawings, and product data submitted for review. The submission, attachments, responses, and status remain connected to the project record.
See how eSUB handles submittals.
Issues and meetings
Forma Build also provides workflows for project issues and meetings. Teams can create and assign issues, track their status, and document meeting information, including agendas, minutes, and commitments.
That gives the project team a record of open issues and meeting decisions instead of leaving those details across separate emails, notes, and files.
Cost management and model coordination
Forma Build Cost Management covers project budgets, contracts, payment applications, change management, and cost forecasting. These workflows give project teams a centralized view of financial activity and changes affecting the project.
For model coordination, Forma Build connects with BIM Collaborate Pro for design collaboration and model coordination workflows. This matters on projects where multiple trades need coordinated model information. A mechanical contractor, for example, may need coordinated models when routing ductwork, piping, equipment, and other building systems.
See how eSUB supports mechanical contractors.
These capabilities cover many of the project records and coordination tasks a GC may require from a subcontractor. They do not necessarily cover every internal trade workflow. Your team may still need separate processes for labor tracking, T&M documentation, and billing.
Autodesk Docs vs Autodesk Build
Autodesk Docs and Autodesk Build handle different parts of a construction project. Autodesk Docs, now called Forma Data Management, manages project files through a common data environment. Teams use it for drawings, specifications, models, and other project documents. Autodesk Build adds construction workflows such as RFIs, submittals, issues, meetings, schedules, and cost management.
The difference is important when a GC adds your company to an Autodesk project.
With Forma Data Management, your team can access the project files the GC has shared with you. That can include the current drawing set, specifications, and other documents needed to perform your scope.
Forma Build goes further. It gives project teams dedicated tools for managing RFIs, submittals, issues, meetings, schedules, and costs. A Build subscription also includes Forma Data Management, so those construction workflows work alongside the project files.
Access still depends on the project setup. Autodesk allows project administrators to assign product access and permissions to project members. A subcontractor invited to an Autodesk project does not automatically receive access to every Autodesk product or every workflow.
That is why “You have Autodesk access” is not specific enough. Ask the GC which Autodesk product your account uses and which permissions your team has.
For a specialty subcontractor, the distinction matters. Access to the GC's drawings and specifications helps your crew work from the project record. It does not tell you whether your team has the tools it needs to manage labor, T&M records, change orders, job costs, or billing on your side of the job.
How Autodesk Build Is Licensed
Autodesk Build uses per-user licensing. Autodesk’s current product page lists Forma Build as a separate subscription, with per-user plans and an unlimited-user option through sales. An AutoCAD or Revit subscription does not automatically include the Build service.
That distinction matters if your company already pays for Autodesk design software. A Revit seat gives a user access to Revit. It does not automatically give that user access to Forma Build’s RFIs, submittals, cost management, or other Build workflows.
Autodesk also sells bundled subscriptions that include Forma Build. For example, Forma for Construction Operations includes Forma Build, Forma Data Management, AutoSpecs in Forma, Pype AutoSpecs, and Pype Closeout. Forma Data Management is also included with Forma Build.
Access also depends on the project setup. A project administrator can assign users to specific Autodesk products. Under Autodesk’s Bring Your Own Subscription model, an invited project member can use Build through their own subscription or active trial.
For a subcontractor, check which users need Build access and which workflows they need. For current licensing details, see the Autodesk Construction Cloud pricing guide.
What It Means for a Specialty Subcontractor
A GC may require your team to work in its Autodesk project. That gives you access to the drawings, documents, RFIs, submittals, issues, meetings, and other workflows assigned to your company. Your access depends on the products and permissions the GC provides.
For some trades, Autodesk’s model workflows can be valuable. Mechanical contractors are a clear example on model-heavy projects. Ductwork, piping, equipment, and other building systems often require coordination with architectural, structural, electrical, and plumbing models. Autodesk’s model coordination tools can help teams review combined models and identify clashes before installation.
That value depends on the project. A mechanical contractor working from coordinated models may get more day-to-day benefit from Autodesk’s model workflows than a subcontractor whose scope relies less on model coordination. The same applies to other trades when their work requires frequent model review and coordination.
But the GC’s project environment does not automatically cover the records your company needs to run its side of the job.
Your team may still need to document T&M tickets, track labor against your own cost codes, price internal change orders, and prepare AIA billing. Those records support your job-cost, revenue, and payment processes. They also capture information the GC may not need in the same form.
Consider a field change. Your foreman may record the added labor, materials, equipment, and hours needed to support a T&M ticket. Your office may then use those records to calculate the change order price and prepare the appropriate billing. The GC's Autodesk workflow can handle the project-facing record, but your company still needs its own process for the financial and production details behind that work.
That can leave a subcontractor working across two systems. The GC may require Autodesk for RFIs, submittals, drawings, or model coordination, while your team uses another system for field reporting, labor tracking, T&M, change orders, job costs, and billing.
That distinction matters when you compare construction software. Autodesk can be a strong fit for the GC-facing workflows and model coordination that your project requires. It does not automatically become the system for every workflow your specialty contracting business needs.
Fusion by eSUB is built around those subcontractor workflows. It brings field reporting, change orders, job costs, billing, RFIs, and submittals into one system for commercial trade contractors.
For T&M work, see our time and materials tools. For billing, see our progress billing capabilities.
Where Fusion Fits
Fusion by eSUB is built specifically for commercial subcontractors. Its workflows cover the records and processes a trade contractor manages across its own projects, including field reporting, change orders, job costs, billing, RFIs, and submittals.
That matters when a GC requires your team to work in Autodesk Build. You can use the GC’s Autodesk environment for the drawings, RFIs, submittals, and other project workflows assigned to your company. You can still use Fusion to manage your own field and office records.
Fusion also uses a modular pricing model. You pay for the modules your team needs and add modules as your business grows. Discounts scale with users and modules. Revenue growth does not automatically increase your software bill.
The two platforms do not have to serve the same purpose. Autodesk Build can handle the GC-facing workflows required on a project. Fusion handles the subcontractor workflows your company manages across its jobs.
If you are evaluating both platforms, compare the workflows your team owns, including field reporting, change orders, job costs, billing, RFIs, and submittals.
See how Autodesk Build compares with Procore to understand how Autodesk fits within the broader construction software landscape.
FAQs
What is Autodesk Build used for?
Autodesk Build is used for construction project management, including drawings and documents, RFIs, submittals, issues, meetings, schedules, and cost management. It also connects with Autodesk’s model coordination tools for projects that require coordinated design models.
What is Autodesk Build now called?
Autodesk Build is now called Forma Build. Autodesk uses the Forma name across its current construction products, while existing projects and older resources may still refer to Autodesk Build.
What is the difference between Autodesk Docs and Autodesk Build?
Autodesk Docs is now Forma Data Management, which provides the common data environment for storing, organizing, reviewing, and sharing project files. Forma Build adds construction workflows such as RFIs, submittals, issues, meetings, schedules, and cost management.
How much does Autodesk Build cost?
Forma Build uses per-user licensing, with subscription options and bundles available. Pricing depends on the products and users involved. See our Autodesk Construction Cloud pricing guide for current licensing information.
Is Autodesk Build included with AutoCAD or Revit?
No. An AutoCAD or Revit subscription does not automatically include Forma Build. Build is licensed separately, although some Autodesk bundles include Build with other construction products.
Can subcontractors use Autodesk Build?
Yes. A GC or project administrator can give a subcontractor access to the project and assign specific product permissions. That access can cover drawings, RFIs, submittals, issues, schedules, and other project workflows. It does not replace the subcontractor’s own systems for T&M tickets, AIA billing, labor tracking, cost codes, change order pricing, or job costs.
Run Your Jobs Your Way
If a GC requires your team to use Autodesk, you do not have to run your entire subcontracting operation around the GC’s system.
See what software built for subcontractors looks like. Get a custom Fusion quote based on how your team actually runs jobs.