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How It Works

Eight steps. Evidence at every step.

From plan upload to bid submission. The pieces are simple in isolation; the leverage is in the integration. Watch the workflow end-to-end.

The full flow

One bid, start to finish

  1. 01

    Upload the plan set

    30 seconds

    Drag a PDF (vector or scanned), DWG-export PDF, or image into the project's Documents tab. We accept up to 100 MB per file.

    Why it matters
    Most contractors already have plans in PDF. No CAD round-trip required, no Bluebeam markup migration. Drop and go.

  2. 02

    Parallel parsing

    60-120 seconds for a 50-page set

    We run vector text extraction (pdfplumber), vision analysis (Claude/GPT/Gemini consensus), and symbol-library cross-check against your org's trained recognizer — all in parallel.

    Why it matters
    Vector PDFs encode text + lines + rects losslessly. Vision-only tools throw away that signal. We use vector as the source of truth and vision as a cross-check, not the other way around.

  3. 03

    Multi-AI consensus reconciliation

    Instant — runs alongside parsing

    Each vision claim gets reconciled against vector text grounding, the per-org symbol library, and the sheet's classified trade. Confidence-adjusted up for grounded claims, down for unsupported ones.

    Why it matters
    A single model can hallucinate. Three models that agree, plus a vector text match in the same bbox, is hard to fake. Confidence becomes a real signal, not a marketing number.

  4. 04

    Takeoff generation with evidence trails

    Instant after parsing completes

    Every takeoff line ships with: description, quantity, unit, CSI division, confidence, and a back-pointer to the exact crop on the exact sheet that produced it. Plus a rationale string explaining the confidence.

    Why it matters
    When the PM challenges the count, you click the line and the plan jumps to the spot. No 'trust the AI' — verify in one motion.

  5. 05

    Confidence-gated review queue

    Typically 10-30 minutes per bid

    Items below the auto-OK threshold (default 0.85) land in a review queue. You confirm, edit, or reject each one. Bulk-confirm at ≥95% is one click for the high-confidence pile.

    Why it matters
    You spend your time on the items that need judgment, not on counting receptacles. Every confirm/reject is also training data — the recognizer learns your drawings over time.

  6. 06

    Cost estimation with sanity checks

    5-10 minutes for review

    Pricing is auto-derived from the takeoff using your org's cost database, RSMeans fallback, and historical-bid averages. Regional bound checks + history outlier detection flag typos before submission.

    Why it matters
    Decimal-place errors in cost estimating kill bids. We catch the $160-vs-$16 typo before the bid leaves the building.

  7. 07

    Scope packages + bid documents

    Instant after estimate approval

    Auto-generated scope packages organized by CSI division (or per-trade), pre-populated proposal templates, and bid clarifications. Editable before final close.

    Why it matters
    The bid hand-off becomes a hand-off, not a re-build. PMs and subs get a structured package they can act on.

  8. 08

    Ship + audit-grade history

    Instant + 7-year retention

    Submit the bid via your standard channel (Building Connected, Procore, BidSync, email). Every revision, every confirm, every reject is logged with audit-grade history.

    Why it matters
    Owner challenges, post-bid audits, SOX/ISO requirements — you have the trail. Years later, you can still show why this line item was that number.

The whole flow on one screen

Total time per bid

Plan upload

30 sec

AI processing

1-2 min

Review queue

10-30 min

Estimate review

5-10 min

Total time for a representative commercial bid: a fraction of the estimator-attention a manual workflow would consume. Specific time savings depend heavily on trade, drawing dialect, and the team's current process — calibrated with your CSE during pilot scoping; specific cohort numbers shared under NDA on reference calls.

Try it on your bid

See the workflow on your real data

Live demo

30-min screen-share

Bring a real bid. We run OmniTakeoff against it on screen. No staged demos.

Schedule a demo

Pilot

4-week paid pilot

Real bids, your team, our outcomes guarantee. Credit-back if the numbers don't hit.

Apply to pilot

Ready?

The fastest path is a 30-minute demo on your bid.

No commitment. Bring a real plan set; we'll show you the workflow against it.

How OmniTakeoff Works