Why it’s time to leave manual take-offs behind

When you’re bidding for an upcoming project, the take-off is an essential aspect and this is the case across virtually all construction trades. This phase of the bidding process is vital as this is where you’re able to identify all the materials and parts that are required for you to see your project through to the end.

While the technology that enables take-off to be carried out digitally has existed for many years now, a large number of contractors out there are still using the more traditional manual paper-based methods and are not yet enjoying the advantages that digital take-off can offer.

So, why is now the best time to dump manual take-offs?

Lower the margin for errors

As much as we do try our absolute best to avoid mistakes, we are human and it is completely natural for us to make one or two on occasion. While this is normal, this can cause a lot of frustration and possibly even unnecessary expense for your business.

A key example of how errors can be expensive for your business is over- or under-estimating the amount of materials and labour required for your project, which can present a few different issues. If you over-order, your profit margin could be negatively impacted. Meanwhile if you underestimate, you will face additional cost throughout the project and even delays (due to work being completed slower than you predicted or the project being held up by a lack of required materials), which could sour your relationship with the client.

Complete your bids up to 70% faster

First of all, we’re going to ask the question – who wouldn’t want to produce their bids in less time than usual? You’ll be pleased to know this is a key advantage of making the jump to digital take-offs, as you’ll be able to ditch the longwinded paper-based drawings, slide rule and calculator, as well as any time wasted double and triple checking your take-off to avoid errors.

You can work up to 70% faster once you ditch manual take-offs and go digital as you will be able to toss out the stacks of printed drawings and stop having to measure and count parts manually. As you’re able to use electronic drawings and add the materials you need on screen, this greatly reduces the overall time you spend completing a take-off.

Why RapidBid?

RapidBid is a software package that has been specifically designed to enable tradies to complete both their take-off and estimating digitally through the use of electronic drawings. Our program is suitable for contractors working in a wide variety of trades and there are several pricing options available. From the Contractor level upwards, the software includes estimating capabilities in addition to take-off, which enables you to complete both tasks quickly in the same program and switch between the two at any time should you need to.

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