All guides
The tools 6 min read

Plan takeoffs: from drawings to a quote

Drop the whole plan set, check the materials beside the drawings, set your waste and standing notes once, then export a materials list or put it on a quote with one button.

This guide is hands-on. Follow along in the app.
A free trial takes two minutes: 25 project views or 14 days, whichever comes first. No card.
Open this as a guided tour in the appQuotes & Takeoffs, with Scout · 9 steps on the real screen. Sign in first if you are not already.Start
The takeoff page: the plan sheet on the left, the materials grouped by section on the right with quantities, the sheets each came from, prices from the price book and a Create quote button
The drawings on the left, the materials on the right. One button at the top says what to do next.
  1. 1
    Drop the whole set
    Quotes & Takeoffs → Takeoffs. Drop every file at once, up to 30 PDFs or photos of 100 MB each. Say what to take off, a trade or the exact items ("framing only, skip the garage", "windows and exterior doors from the schedule"), and only the sheets for it are read; you see which ones before it starts. It runs in the background, so leave the page and you get an email when it lands.
  2. 2
    Check it beside the drawings
    Tap a sheet tag on any line to jump to that sheet. Check these filters to the lines worth a second look, Needs price to the ones without a price. Open a line to see how it was measured, and tap Show on drawing to see where it was counted (approximate).
  3. 3
    Fix what's off
    Type a new quantity, rename a line, add or remove one. A number you type is final. Or ask: where did the 412 studs come from? The answer comes from the drawings, and any fix arrives as a change you apply.
  4. 4
    Price it
    Lines are priced from your price book or Product Brain; the rest say Needs price. Type a price on the line and it is saved to your price book, so the next takeoff fills it in.
  5. 5
    Export or quote
    More → Materials list / purchase order (PDF) gives you the list in your letterhead, with or without prices, before any quote exists. Create quote puts it on a quote; change a quantity later and Update Q-#### brings it across while keeping your prices and your own lines. A quote already sent is never changed.

Your takeoff rules

Set a waste % (one for everything, or a different one for a section like Sheathing) and a few standing notes ("we don't supply joist hangers") once, and every takeoff you start uses them. Waste goes on top of the counted quantity; sheets and pieces round up. Each takeoff shows the rules it used, and Waste on this job switches it off for one job. Your rules are yours: a manager's rules are never applied to a rep.

TipKeep fixing the same thing? After a few takeoffs the Takeoffs tab offers it as a rule (for example "You removed joist hangers on 3 takeoffs. Add a note?"). Nothing changes until you press it.
NoteA price on a takeoff always comes from your own price book or Product Brain, never a guess. A line with no price stays at "Needs price" and never reaches a client's document as $0.
Keep reading
Product Brain: your price list in plain English
The tools · 5 min
Quote → Contract → Invoice → Job
The tools · 7 min
Import your contacts and watch the builders you know
The tools · 4 min

See it on your own area

Everything in this guide runs live in BuildMapper: a scored map, the right time to call, Scout, your AI assistant, and a pipeline. Free trial: 25 project views or 14 days, whichever comes first, no card.