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Digital takeoffs let you measure quantities directly from uploaded blueprints and construction documents — no printed plans, no manual calculations. Once you’ve measured everything, push the quantities into a new estimate with a single click.

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The takeoff workflow

Every takeoff follows the same four-step process:
  1. Upload a blueprint, PDF, or image file
  2. Measure quantities using the on-screen measurement tools
  3. Match costs — AI suggests items from your cost database for each measurement
  4. Convert to estimate — Turn the completed takeoff into a full estimate

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Uploading a document

1

Create a new takeoff

Go to Estimating > Takeoffs in the sidebar and click New Takeoff.
2

Upload your file

Drag your file into the upload area or click to browse. The file processes and opens in the takeoff viewer.
3

Set the scale

Before measuring, calibrate the drawing scale. Find a known dimension on the blueprint (such as a labeled wall length), draw a line along it, and enter the real-world measurement. All subsequent measurements use this scale.
Supported file types: PDF, PNG, JPG, and TIFF. Maximum file size is 50 MB. Multi-page PDFs are fully supported — each page becomes a separate sheet you can navigate between and measure independently.

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Measuring quantities

The takeoff viewer toolbar contains four measurement types. Select the right tool for each item you need to quantify.

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Tips for accurate measurements

  • Zoom in for detail-heavy areas — precision improves significantly at higher zoom levels
  • Use layers to color-code different trades or measurement categories, keeping your takeoff organized
  • Label every measurement with a descriptive name so you know what each item represents when you review costs later
  • Use descriptive names (e.g., “1/2 inch drywall — garage ceiling”) rather than generic labels — this helps the AI cost-matching step find better matches

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AI cost matching

After measuring, open the Match tab. The AI reviews each of your measurements and suggests matching materials and labor items from your cost database. For each suggestion, you can:
  • Accept — Use the suggested cost item as-is
  • Modify — Accept the item but adjust the unit cost or description
  • Reject — Skip the suggestion and assign a cost manually
Items where the AI has high confidence are auto-matched by default. You can adjust the auto-match confidence threshold in Settings.

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How the AI builds suggestions

The AI compares your measurement descriptions against three sources:
  • Your materials catalog — your own pricing and supplier data
  • Your historical estimates — patterns from past jobs with similar items
  • Industry-standard cost databases — a baseline when your own data is sparse
The more estimates you complete in Contractor Co-Pilot, the more the AI learns your specific pricing patterns. Accuracy improves over time as your history grows.

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Pushing quantities to an estimate

Once all measurements have matched costs:
1

Click Convert to Estimate

From the takeoff, click Convert to Estimate in the top toolbar.
2

Select client and project details

Choose an existing client or create a new one, then enter the project name and any description.
3

Review the generated estimate

Every measured item becomes a line item in the new estimate, pre-populated with the matched costs. Review each line and adjust quantities or unit costs as needed.

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Importing from a spreadsheet

If you completed your takeoff in Excel or another tool, you can import it instead of re-measuring:
  1. Click Import on the Takeoffs page
  2. Upload your Excel file — it needs columns for Description, Quantity, and Unit
  3. Map your spreadsheet columns to the expected fields
  4. Confirm the import, then proceed to the cost matching step
Imported takeoffs skip the on-screen measurement step. Make sure your quantities are already accurate before importing — there is no way to retroactively attach measurements to imported rows.

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Next steps

Estimates

Work with the estimate generated from your takeoff — add categories, apply a cost profile, and export to PDF.

Materials catalog

Keep your materials catalog current to improve AI cost-matching accuracy.
Last modified on May 5, 2026