Review counts and measured geometry by scope, keep trade labels explicit, and check complete-document coverage before export. BuildVision AI supports quantity review; the GC owns coordination, bid coverage, subcontract leveling, pricing, and risk.
Count, length, area, rectangle, and calibration tools
Complete
Document coverage is checked before export or quoting
CSV + quote
Reviewed quantities stay editable downstream
01 · Estimator review
General Contractors takeoff checks before pricing
Counts, lengths, and areas by scope
Review visible repeated items and calibrated geometry without combining unrelated trades, alternates, phases, or bid packages into one total.
Quantities require scope ownership, assembly, and specification review before pricing.
Trade labels and cross-sheet coverage
Use estimator labels and CSI categories to organize work across sheets, then inspect the document rollup for missing or incomplete pages.
A cross-sheet total does not resolve duplicate scope, schedule conflicts, or subcontractor coverage.
Alternates, exclusions, and bid forms
Keep base scope, alternates, allowances, owner-furnished items, exclusions, and bid-form requirements visible as separate review decisions.
Plan recognition does not interpret commercial instructions or complete bid forms automatically.
Revisions, specifications, and bid scope
Trade coordination, means and methods, subcontractor coverage, bid leveling, schedules, logistics, general conditions, allowances, code, contract terms, and risk require GC judgment. Confirm the current drawing issue, addenda, specifications, exclusions, and responsible scope before pricing.
Estimator approval remains required before quantities become a bid.
02 · Review workflow
From reviewed plans to ready-to-price scope
01
Open the current plans
Open the current architectural, structural, civil, and building-services plan set with specifications, schedules, addenda, and bid forms available for review.
02
Review the AI first pass
Inspect pending marks on each source sheet. Accept useful detections, dismiss incorrect groups, and keep ambiguous work out of approved totals.
03
Complete the takeoff
Add missing trade counts and calibrated geometry, rename items by bid package or phase, and keep unresolved specification, addendum, allowance, or subcontractor scope outside approved totals.
04
Review and export
Review complete-document totals, then export CSV or create editable quote lines. Apply workspace costs, labor, and commercial terms separately.
03 · Product controls
Estimator controls for general contractors
Plan-linked AI review
Run an AI first pass for visible counts, lengths, and areas by scope, trade labels and cross-sheet coverage, alternates, exclusions, and bid forms. Pending groups stay on the source sheet for individual or bulk review.
Accept useful suggestions and dismiss the wrong ones before downstream use.
Manual takeoff completion
Add missing trade counts and calibrated geometry, rename items by bid package or phase, and keep unresolved specification, addendum, allowance, or subcontractor scope outside approved totals.
The estimator can correct, add, erase, undo, and redo the working takeoff.
Scale calibration
Draw a known line, enter its real distance in feet or metres, and recompute measured quantities when the sheet needs an explicit measurement basis.
Lengths and areas remain editable and tied to a verified scale.
Labels and CSI categories
Rename selected work, apply CSI categories, and choose explicit labels so different systems, areas, or bid scopes do not collapse into one unexplained total.
Reviewed quantities stay organized for estimator and team review.
Document totals and CSV
Roll quantities up by label across loaded pages. Complete-document export collects every page and stops with a clear message when the full result cannot be built.
No silent partial total is presented as complete.
Workspace costing and editable quotes
Use workspace-owned material, labor, and subcontractor cost or sell rows, then carry accepted AI and manual items into editable grouped quote lines.
Company pricing and commercial approval stay under estimator control.
04 · Estimator decisions
Apply Your Trade Knowledge to Finish the Estimate
AI output is a first pass
Visible plan suggestions can be accepted or dismissed, but they do not prove that every item, note, schedule, detail, or concealed condition has been captured.
Trade interpretation stays with the estimator
Trade coordination, means and methods, subcontractor coverage, bid leveling, schedules, logistics, general conditions, allowances, code, contract terms, and risk require GC judgment.
Revisions require controlled review
Confirm the current issue, changed sheets, addenda, and conflicting documents. Do not treat a new AI run as an automatic revision comparison or scope decision.
Quantities are not a final estimate
Current supplier quotes, maintained cost rows, labor productivity, waste, equipment, subcontract scope, code, exclusions, overhead, markup, and risk remain separate decisions.
Buyer questions
General Contractors Takeoff Software FAQ
What can general contractors review in BuildVision AI?
Use the plan-linked workflow to review counts, lengths, and areas by scope, trade labels and cross-sheet coverage, alternates, exclusions, and bid forms. The exact result depends on visible drawing information, scale, labels, and estimator corrections; representative plan testing is essential.
Does BuildVision AI calculate the final materials and estimate automatically?
No. Trade coordination, means and methods, subcontractor coverage, bid leveling, schedules, logistics, general conditions, allowances, code, contract terms, and risk require GC judgment. BuildVision AI supports the reviewed takeoff and editable outputs; the estimator completes assemblies, pricing, labor, exclusions, and commercial approval.
Can I change the AI takeoff?
Yes. Accept or dismiss pending groups, add manual counts or geometry, calibrate measured work, rename items, apply CSI categories, and keep working with undo or redo before export.
What output can I use after review?
BuildVision AI exports every takeoff row to CSV with its source and review state. Quote creation uses accepted AI and manual items only. Missing pages block either output, while uncalibrated measurements appear blank in CSV and must be scaled before quote creation.
How does the trial work?
The current trial lasts 14 days. Test representative plans and review the pricing page for current plan limits and billing terms.
Your next bid
Review Your Next Takeoff on the Plan
Open a representative plan, review the AI first pass, complete the scope with manual tools, then export every row with its review state or build quote lines from accepted and manual work.