A stack of PDFs and one estimator
A builder emails a set of plans for a two-storey extension and asks for a price on the shell: blocks, bricks, lintels, insulation, cavity trays, timber for the roof. A self-builder sends a planning pack for a whole house. The branch forwards both to the estimator, who already has a dozen in the queue. Each one means opening the drawings, scaling walls, counting openings and building a list line by line.
The builder rings on Thursday. The quote isn't ready. On Friday he gets a price from another merchant, and by the time yours arrives the order has gone.
Why the queue never shrinks
Plan quotes are skilled work. The estimator knows that a cavity wall needs ties at a certain spacing, that openings need lintels and cavity closers, and which of your products a local builder expects. That knowledge sits in one or two heads, and the drawings arrive in every format imaginable: architect's PDFs, phone photos of planning drawings, hand sketches with dimensions scribbled on.
- Measuring is manual, even though most of it is arithmetic on dimensions already on the drawing.
- Each quote is built from scratch rather than from a template for the job type.
- Product codes are looked up one at a time in the merchant system.
- Busy branches pass the quote on without the questions the estimator needs answered.
- There is no view of the queue, so nobody can prioritise the big jobs.
What the backlog costs
A plan quote is often the biggest single order a branch will see that month, and it tends to go to whoever answers first with a sensible price. A slow quote loses the job. A rushed quote either misses items, which the customer later buys elsewhere, or overestimates and loses on price. Your estimator's time is also the scarcest resource you have for large projects.
The take-off assistant we build
- Drawings arrive through one inbox or upload page, and the job details the estimator needs are asked up front: specification, wall type, roof covering, what is and is not included.
- An AI model reads dimensioned PDFs and images, pulls out wall lengths, heights, openings and roof areas, and shows each measurement on the drawing so it can be checked.
- Quantities are calculated using build-up rules your estimator writes with us, such as blocks per square metre, ties per square metre and waste allowances by product.
- Each quantity is matched to your product codes, with preferred products per branch.
- The estimator reviews the draft list, adjusts anything the drawing did not show clearly, and pushes it into your merchant system as a quote for pricing.
- A queue board shows every open plan quote by value, age and branch.
| Stage | By hand | With the assistant |
|---|---|---|
| Reading drawings | Scale and measure every wall | Measurements drafted and marked on the drawing |
| Quantities | Worked out line by line | Calculated from your build-up rules |
| Product codes | Looked up one at a time | Matched from your catalogue |
| Checking | Rarely a second pair of eyes | Every line reviewed before it goes |
| Queue | Estimator's inbox | Board by value and age |
The estimator stays responsible for the quote. The assistant is a first draft with its working shown, and drawings it cannot read confidently are flagged rather than guessed.
What your estimator's week looks like
The estimator spends time checking and adjusting rather than measuring. Simple jobs go out quickly, and the complicated ones get more attention because the routine ones no longer crowd them out. Branch managers can see the queue and chase the quotes that matter to their customers.
Recognise this?
- Customers wait more than a few days for a quote from plans.
- One person does most of the take-offs.
- Quotes often come back needing extra items the customer asks for later.
- You don't know how many plan quotes are waiting.
- Big jobs are lost to merchants who reply first.