Bentley OpenUtilities Designer provides tools for creating new macro units, compatible units, materials, and custom costs. The extent to which this feature is utilized by your user group will depend on the way your company manages unit data. If the data is maintained in an external database (and especially if the unit ownership is external), then the system must include a process for managing additional public units created by Bentley OpenUtilities Designer's authorized users as well as customized units in the form of modified public units or private units.

To create a public unit, you must be a member of a user group with this specific capability. A private unit can be created by any user. The process for creating a new unit is initiated with the New command on the File menu.