Measure construction drawings in the browser — counts, linear feet, square feet and cubic yards — with AI proposing quantities across every sheet and an estimator confirming them. No plugin, no workstation licence, and no export step between the takeoff and the estimate that uses it.
A construction takeoff is the measurement stage of a bid: reading the drawings and recording how much of everything the project requires. Counts of doors and fixtures. Linear feet of wall, pipe and conduit. Square feet of drywall, roofing and flooring. Cubic yards of concrete and excavation. Takeoff software replaces the printed set, the scale rule and the highlighter with a digital plan set where every measurement is recorded, adjustable and attached to the place it was taken.
The reason to care is that takeoff is where estimating time goes. On a mid-size commercial project an estimator can spend days measuring before a single price is applied, and the work is both tedious and unforgiving — miss a wing of a floor plan and the error propagates silently into the bid. Digital takeoff cuts the tedium; AI-assisted takeoff cuts it further by proposing the measurements and leaving the estimator to review them.
BidcoreAI runs takeoff on PDF drawing sets in the browser. Set the scale on a sheet, and the platform measures across the whole set rather than page by page — every level, every enlarged plan, every detail. Quantities are grouped by scope item, carry their own waste factors, and stay linked to the sheet and coordinates where they were measured, so a reviewer can click a number and land on the drawing that produced it.
Because the takeoff and the estimate are the same system, there is no export in the middle. Confirmed quantities are immediately available for pricing against your cost database, for splitting into subcontractor bid packages, and for the material summaries a supplier needs. And when a revised set lands, the platform compares it against the previous version and flags the sheets that changed, so an addendum costs you an afternoon of checking rather than a full re-measure.
Every measurement type a construction takeoff needs, on the same plan set, in the same units your suppliers quote in.
Symbol counts for anything that repeats — the measurement type most vulnerable to a tired estimator losing their place.
Lengths traced on the drawing, with segment breaks kept so a run can be split by type or by level.
Polygon areas with deductions, because gross area and net area are not the same number and the difference is money.
Depth or thickness applied to an area, so volumes come from the sections rather than from a plan-area shortcut.
Door, window, fixture and finish schedules read directly, then reconciled against what was counted on the plans.
One measurement that generates several quantities — measure a partition once and get studs, track, board, tape and insulation.
The ones that decide whether a 400-sheet bid set takes two days or two weeks.
The platform finds and measures repeating conditions across the set, then presents them for confirmation rather than applying them silently.
Measure across the whole plan set at once — every level and detail sheet — instead of opening and calibrating one page at a time.
Vector and scanned PDF plan sets, including hand-marked and photocopied drawings that older tools refuse to calibrate.
Set the scale once per sheet, verified against a known dimension, with the calibration recorded so a reviewer can confirm it.
A new issue is overlaid on the previous one and the differences highlighted, so an addendum means checking what changed, not re-measuring.
Subtract openings, penetrations and excluded zones from an area rather than measuring around them by hand.
Quantities grouped by trade, level, phase, room or bid package, and reported however you need to hand them on.
Waste, laps and conversion factors applied per item and shown as applied, so nobody has to guess whether 10% is already in there.
A colour-coded PDF of the measured set, so a client or reviewer sees exactly what was counted and what was not.
Quantity sheets export to Excel or CSV with the sheet reference on every line, ready for a bid form or a supplier request.
Two estimators can split a set — one takes structural, one takes finishes — and the quantities merge into one project.
Confirmed quantities flow straight into cost estimating, with no export, re-key or version mismatch in between.
One plan set, measured for whichever divisions you are responsible for.
From a tenant fit-out to a hospital tower — the measurement types are the same, the volume is not.
Upload, calibrate, measure, review, price. The review step is the one nobody should skip.
Speed is the obvious gain. Auditability is the one that saves a job.
Measuring is the largest single block of estimating time. AI-proposed quantities across the whole set turn most of it into review, which is faster and considerably less error-prone.
Every quantity records its sheet, scale and author. When a number is questioned — by a client, a partner or your own PM after award — you can show where it came from.
Revision comparison turns a re-issued set from a full re-measure into an afternoon of checking the sheets that actually changed.
Working across the whole set rather than page by page is what stops a mezzanine or an enlarged plan being left out — the classic quiet omission in a manual takeoff.
Browser-based takeoff means a laptop, an iPad or a hotel room works as well as the office desktop, and a new estimator needs an invitation rather than an install.
Because the quantities are already in the estimating workspace, there is no export, no re-key and no risk of pricing a superseded takeoff.
Most takeoff tools stop at the measurement. This one is the front half of a bid.
Quantities are proposed with their evidence and confirmed by a person. The measurement is auditable, which a black-box number never is.
The set is measured as a set. Levels, enlarged plans and details are handled together rather than as a sequence of unrelated pages.
No export step. Confirmed quantities are already in the estimating workspace and already coded to CSI divisions.
Browser-based, on Windows, macOS or an iPad on site. No plugin versions, no licence server, no install ticket.
Marked-up PDFs and Excel quantity sheets — the two formats a client, a supplier or a subcontractor will actually accept.
When the volume spikes, the same platform backs onto a takeoff service that works inside your project rather than beside it.
Software fixes the per-bid cost of measuring. It does not create hours in a week where five sets land at once. BidcoreAI also provides professional takeoff services: send the plan set and estimators working in this platform return measured quantities, a marked-up drawing set and a written assumptions list, normally in 24 to 72 hours.
One platform, one cost database, one set of drawings — whichever scope you are pricing today.
Bring a plan set you have already taken off by hand. Comparing the two is the only demo worth sitting through.
