Skip to content
English - Australia
Contact us
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Initial AutoDesk integration setup guide

End-to-end steps to connect Breadcrumb to Autodesk Construction Cloud for the first time.

This guide walks you through connecting Breadcrumb to Autodesk Forma (formerly Autodesk Construction Cloud) for the first time. Once connected, your projects, companies and project members flow from Autodesk into Breadcrumb, and the inductions, permits, forms and worker hours captured in Breadcrumb flow back into Autodesk.

Setup happens across both systems. Some steps are done in Autodesk by someone on your team, some are done in Breadcrumb, and one is done by your Breadcrumb Customer Success Manager (CSM). Each step below says who does it.

Before you start

You will need:

  • An Autodesk admin. Someone on your team with Hub Admin access in Autodesk, who can add members, manage roles and edit project templates.
  • A Breadcrumb company admin. Someone who can open the Integrations page on the web.
  • Your CSM. They switch the integration on from the Breadcrumb side.

Check these in Autodesk before you connect anything. They are the most common causes of a messy first sync.

  • Duplicate companies. Go to Hub Admin > Companies and remove any duplicates. Breadcrumb does not need a unique identifier such as an ABN or NZBN to match companies, so any duplicates in Autodesk will come across as duplicates in Breadcrumb.
  • Project numbers. Make sure the projects you want to connect have a project number. The project name, number and address are used to create the site in Breadcrumb.
  • Phone numbers. Project members only sync to Breadcrumb as Site Hosts if they have a phone number in Autodesk. Autodesk does not let admins add a phone number on someone else's behalf, so ask your team to log in to Autodesk and add their own.
  • Your Daily Report template. Decide which Daily Report form template worker hours should post to. If different projects use different templates, pick a default.

Step 1: Install the Breadcrumb app in Autodesk

Who: your Autodesk admin

  1. Open the Autodesk App Marketplace.
  2. Find the Breadcrumb app and install it on your Autodesk account.

Step 2: Ask your CSM to set up your service account

Who: your CSM

In Breadcrumb, go to Integrations. If the Autodesk integration has not been set up yet, you will see a message asking you to contact Breadcrumb to get started.

Contact your CSM. They will create a service account for your company. This is a unique account that Breadcrumb uses to talk to Autodesk on your behalf. Autodesk limits how many of these accounts can be created, which is why this step sits with your CSM rather than being self-serve.

Once it is set up, the service account email appears on the Integrations page.

Step 3: Add the service account to Autodesk

Who: your Breadcrumb company admin and your Autodesk admin

  1. In Breadcrumb, go to Integrations and copy the service account email.
  2. In Autodesk, go to Hub Admin > Members.
  3. Click Add members, paste the service account email and save.

This creates a member in Autodesk called Breadcrumb Dev. It is a system account used only for the connection between the two systems. No one at Breadcrumb can log in to your Autodesk account with it.

Step 4: Give Breadcrumb Dev a role

Who: your Autodesk admin

Breadcrumb Dev needs a role with the right access, otherwise projects will not sync and worker hours will not post.

  1. In Autodesk, go to Hub Admin > Roles.
  2. Create a role for the integration, for example Dev Role, or use an existing IT or integration role.
  3. Make sure the role has:
    • Default access level: Project Administrator
    • Product access: Build
  4. Go to Hub Admin > Members.
  5. In the Default role column, assign this role to Breadcrumb Dev.

Step 5: Add Breadcrumb Dev to your projects

Who: your Autodesk admin

Only projects that have Breadcrumb Dev as a project member will sync. Adding it at the hub level in Step 3 is not enough on its own. Add it to at least one project before moving on to Step 6.

New projects: set up your project template

Do this once so every new project you create already includes Breadcrumb Dev.

  1. Go to Hub Admin > Project Templates and select your template.
  2. Open Project Members (not Template Members) and add Breadcrumb Dev. Check that the role from Step 4 carries over.
  3. Still in the template, go to Build > Forms and open your chosen Daily Report template.
  4. Set the contributor collaboration mode to Collaborative.
  5. Add the role from Step 4 to the Edit, View and Manage dropdowns, then save.

If you use more than one project template, repeat this for each one.

Existing projects: add Breadcrumb Dev to each one

Repeat these steps for every existing project you want to connect.

  1. Open the project and go to Project Admin > Members.
  2. Click Add members, search for Breadcrumb Dev and add it. Check that the role from Step 4 carries over.
  3. Go to Build > Forms > Templates and open your chosen Daily Report template.
  4. Set the contributor collaboration mode to Collaborative.
  5. Add the role from Step 4 to the Edit, View and Manage dropdowns, then save.

Without the Daily Report permissions, projects will still sync but worker hours will not post to Autodesk.

Step 6: Verify the connection and choose your hub

Who: your Breadcrumb company admin or your CSM

  1. In Breadcrumb, go to Integrations and click Verify. Breadcrumb checks that the service account can reach your Autodesk account.
  2. Once verified, select your Autodesk hub from the dropdown.
  3. Click Save.

The remaining dropdowns on the page then fill in automatically from Autodesk, including your Daily Report templates, roles and projects.

Step 7: Finish your configuration

Who: your CSM, with input from your team

Your CSM will work through these settings with you on the Integrations page.

Daily Report template

Choose the Daily Report template from Step 5. Breadcrumb posts live headcount and worker hours into the Work Log section of that form.

Work performed column

Choose what Breadcrumb writes into the Work performed column of the Work Log:

  • Disable: leave the column free for your supervisors' own notes.
  • Full name, mobile and check-in summary: each worker's name, mobile number and whether they are checked in.
  • Full name only.
  • Mobile only.

Sync users by roles

By default, any project member with Project Administrator access to Build and a phone number syncs to Breadcrumb as a Site Host. That can include external members such as subcontractors or architects.

Turn on Sync Users by Roles and select the roles that should become Site Hosts, for example Project Manager and Site Manager. Only members with a phone number and one of the selected roles will sync. Leave the dropdown empty to sync all roles.

Check it is working

Run a quick test on one connected project:

  1. Confirm the project has been created as a site in Breadcrumb.
  2. Add a team member with a phone number and a synced role to the project in Autodesk, and confirm they appear in Breadcrumb as a Site Host.
  3. Check in to the site in Breadcrumb, then open that day's Daily Report in Autodesk and confirm the Work Log shows your company and headcount.

Troubleshooting

Verify keeps saying not verified

  • Check that the service account has been added at both the hub level (Step 3) and to at least one project (Step 5).
  • Wait 15 to 20 seconds and click Verify again. Autodesk can take a moment to update.
  • If it is still failing after two minutes, contact your CSM.

A team member did not sync as a Site Host

  • They do not have a phone number in Autodesk. They need to log in and add it themselves.
  • Their access level on the project is Project Member rather than Project Administrator.
  • Sync Users by Roles is on and their role is not selected.

Worker hours are not appearing in the Daily Report

  • The Daily Report has been closed. It must stay in In Progress status for Breadcrumb to keep updating it.
  • The Breadcrumb Dev role is missing from the Edit, View or Manage dropdowns on the Daily Report template.
  • The project uses a different Daily Report template from the one selected in Breadcrumb.

Duplicate companies appeared after the first sync

The duplicates already existed in Autodesk. Remove them in both systems: in Autodesk go to Hub Admin > Companies, and in Breadcrumb go to Companies, then archive the duplicate from the menu next to it. Contact your CSM if you need a hand.

A second Breadcrumb folder appeared in Autodesk Files

Breadcrumb creates a 1Breadcrumb folder in Autodesk Files for synced documents. If that folder, or any folder inside it, is renamed, the next sync creates a new folder with the original name. Leave these folder names as they are.

Changing or removing the connection

To connect a different Autodesk hub or switch the integration off, contact your CSM. They will unlink your current hub and walk you through the next steps.