<img height="1" width="1" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=373327176680496&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">

By: Daniel Wal on January 29, 2025

Print/Save as PDF

Finish Your Estimating up to Ten Times Faster using Typical Takeoff

Takeoff & Estimating

When it comes to construction estimating, time is money. The faster you can get your takeoffs and cost estimates out the door, the greater your chances are of winning more bids.

ConstructConnect’s On-Screen Takeoff® digital takeoff and estimating software includes several time-saving tools, including workflows that can simplify some of your more repetitive tasks. Our Typical Takeoff features can measure, count, or copy repeated items in your plans. They include:

Typical Areas

Typical Areas are great for projects where the same objects appear in different areas of your plan, such as a room or floor that occurs a known number of times in a project (think offices, apartments, or hotel rooms that are exactly the same). Instead of drawing that same takeoff multiple times, you simply tell On-Screen Takeoff how many times that typical area occurs in each bid area, and your results are instantly visible.
 
 
 
 
Video Thumbnail
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4:18
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Typical Groups.

Typical Groups show a copy of what you define as your typical group wherever you place a marker in your project plans. While similar to Typical Areas, you see the takeoff, not just the calculated results. When combined with ConstructConnect's Digital Production Control (DPC) software, you can convert your Typical Groups to actual takeoff data. DPC enables your jobsite teams to track completed work and schedule crews as needed, based on any updates to your plan documents. This can then be reported back to your project manager in real-time, and your project stays on-track and on-budget.

 
 
 
Video Thumbnail
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1:55
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Typical/Repeating Pages

Most multi-story buildings have several floors that are exactly the same and likely associated with a single plan. Typical Pages let you takeoff that “typical” plan. On-Screen Takeoff then assigns multiples of that takeoff to account for each, individual floor using “virtual” pages, saving you time doing takeoff on each page of the plan. Again, if you use DPC, you can convert your virtual pages to normal takeoff and send it to your team at the jobsite.
 
 
 
 
Video Thumbnail
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4:56
 
4:34
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

For detailed instructions on using these great time-savers, read our article, Using Typical Takeoff, in the On-Screen Takeoff User Guide.

Results You Can Count On

Many of our customers, like Andrew Skidmore at Connico, use On-Screen Takeoff to help them deliver competitive bids – faster. In his words: “On-Screen Takeoff is a very powerful tool that we use on a daily basis that allows us to do our job quickly, effectively, and accurately. Accuracy is the key.” Watch the whole interview with Andrew to find out more about how Connico is getting real value from On-Screen Takeoff.

 

Whether you're managing a small project or a complex build, these tools can give you the control you need while making it easier to deliver your bids more quickly. Ready to see for yourself? Request your free trial of On-Screen Takeoff today.

About Daniel Wal

Daniel Wal is a Senior Content Strategist at ConstructConnect®, specializing in product documentation, application design and messaging, and customer advocacy. His work often focuses on ConstructConnect’s enterprise-grade takeoff and estimating solutions, including On-Screen Takeoff®, PlanSwift®, and Quote Soft®. With over 25 years of experience in knowledge management, training, customer support, and product design and development, and almost 20 years of industry experience, Daniel understands the unique challenges construction estimators face every day and passionately advocates for them daily.