The takeoff system

The takeoff system lets you measure quantities directly from construction plans instead of calculating them by hand or guessing from a site visit. Upload a plan sheet, set the scale, and draw measurements — areas, lengths, and point counts flow directly into your bid line items.

Uploading plans

1. Open a bid and navigate to the Plans tab
2. Click Upload and select a PDF or image file (supports PDF, PNG, JPG, TIFF)
3. Multi-page PDFs are split into individual sheets — each becomes a separate plan page
4. Name each sheet for easy reference (e.g., 'Grading Plan', 'Utility Layout', 'Site Plan')

Setting the scale

Before measuring, set the plan scale so Gradeworks knows the real-world dimensions. Click Set Scale, draw a line between two points of known distance on the plan (like a scale bar or a dimension line), and enter the real-world distance. Gradeworks calibrates all measurements on that sheet to the scale. If the plan has a standard engineering scale noted (e.g., 1"=20'), you can enter it directly.

Measurement tools

• Area — draw a polygon by clicking points around a region. Gradeworks calculates the area in square feet (or your preferred unit). Use this for grading areas, paving sections, and landscaping zones.
• Length — draw a line or polyline along a path. Returns the total length in linear feet. Use for trenching, curbing, pipe runs, and fencing.
• Count — click to place markers on repeating items. Returns the total count. Use for catch basins, manholes, trees, light poles, and other discrete items.

Linking measurements to line items

Each measurement can be linked to a bid line item. When linked, the measured value automatically populates the line item's quantity field. If you update the measurement (add an area, extend a line), the line item quantity updates too. This eliminates the transcription errors that happen when copying numbers from plans to spreadsheets.