Square Takeoff Review: Good for takeoffs but not an allrounder

One of our clients wanted to increase the time to residential and commercial bids so our consultants explored Square takeoff as a potential solution.

Here is an unbiased review of Square Takeoff based on real usage and experience using the software for a few days.

What is Square Takeoff and who is it for?

Square Takeoff is a digital solution designed to revolutionize the way construction projects are initiated. It provides a platform for construction professionals to automate the process of takeoff, estimation, and bid management. This software allows users to upload digital blueprints, take measurements, and export calculations to Excel.

Square Takeoff is primarily intended for businesses in the construction industry, ranging from small to large-sized companies. It is particularly beneficial for those looking to replace manual project material calculations with an automated system. This includes both commercial and residential construction businesses. The software aims to reduce human error, decrease rework, and increase job site efficiency.

Square Takeoff – Opinion

As the name suggests Square Takeoff does the Takeoff job well. But if you’re looking to have a well-rounded estimation software with the proposal and proper bidding management system, you should look for Square Takeoff alternatives.

Also read: Square Takeoff Review: Good for takeoffs but not an allrounder

Feature review of Square Takeoff

We used Square takeoff for the full trial length to test advertised features and have reported the pros and cons here. If you are a medium-sized business with an eye to landscaping construction projects, this review should help you decide if you should purchase Square Takeoff.

Measurement in Square takeoff

There are primarily two ways you can do takeoffs and estimate any project: Using blueprints or Google Maps.

We tested both features and here is what we think:

Site measurement using blueprints

Pro

For every project you create, Square Takeoff allows you to upload multiple documents (blueprints or landscaping plans) for takeoff and estimation purposes.

The blueprint uploader works with most jpeg, tiff, png, bmp, gif, and pdf files.

We used a sample landscaping blueprint to try to measure the area in Square Takeoff. The blueprint uploaded perfectly and we were able to start working on it within a few seconds.

Another good thing about the document uploaded is how neatly you can manage your documents. Even though it is not as advanced as Bluebeam, it’s still pretty much sufficient for your day-to-day bids.

Con

Even though the software is feature-packed, it does take a while to get a hang of it. While we were able to mark areas in the blueprint that we uploaded as a PDF, there were intuitive features that were missing.

• There is no undo button while you are marking up the area in the blueprints for area measurement. For some markings, you can use the Ctrl + Z option or cmd + Z but if you’ve selected the area using the layer, then you cannot undo resizing the marked-up area.
• You cannot delete a fraction of your selection. This means if you messed up in between, you would have to start again.

Also, you can add an image to an existing blueprint – helps you compare in some cases. But apparently, you can only add another image and not a PDF or a different file format.

This is not a big issue since the way around is that you convert your PDF plan into an image and then use it along with your original blueprint file.

Pro

One thing that surprised us was how easy it was to manage your documents for a single project in the platform. You can work on multiple docs using the tools that you have and use additional helpful tools from the top toolbar.

This makes working on multiple documents for takeoff a breeze. It’s certainly helpful for medium-sized commercial projects that require you to do quick takeoffs using the same materials on multiple different files.

Con

Though you can work on multiple pages easily, to reuse the same layers, we could see a drawback in that we weren’t able to copy and reuse the same count layer in another document. Contractors would appreciate it if they could copy and re-use at least 50% of the values from the previous page and then modify what is different in the new blueprint page.

If Square Takeoff was 100% specialized in the landscaping industry, they would know that we need to add similar plants at many places throughout a property, and it would help to reuse the same properties for adding the count that way.

Site measurement using Google Maps in Square Takeoff

Pro

We used the Google Maps(GMap in green button in the image above) feature to test measuring properties using the satellite system. It is less advanced than doing takeoffs using blueprints but much more convenient. This feature is best for small-time jobs where you just need to get the area of a lawn or an area for simple lawn care jobs.

The elevations and wood structures would be a problem if you were to measure a sloped area with garden structures. If you are only looking for this feature, then there are a lot of free tools available online (See online property measurement tools list).

One good thing about the GMaps feature is that you do not need to scale your drawing. It automatically gets the scale from the API.

Con

When we add measurement using GAMaps, the default page comes as a Google Map page. It could have been the address so it would be easier to track measurements across a region in a single project.

The page overlay feature though a godsend in the blueprint mode is, pretty useless in the GMap mode.

Templates and parts catalog

Under the estimating tab, you can create templates that you use regularly. Within templates, you can organize your templates in a folder or you can add assemblies.

Pro

Within assemblies, you can create folders and manage parts inside it.

Template assemblies have immense use in landscaping project management because if you do certain kinds of projects or even use similar structures for your customers, then you can use these templates while you estimate jobs.

The parts that you define in your templates can be added to a separate parts catalog. Square takeoff has some sample parts dimensions (2192 parts in the default database). You can add each part manually or directly upload your catalog with a fixed format.

Con

While you can import a catalog file or a template file, there is no sample format to follow. We searched the help documentation (just kidding, Square takeoff doesn’t have any, it’s just YouTube videos) – We couldn’t find a sample format file for the parts catalog that we could use to upload.

Company and project management

The bidding management system though not an advanced one depends on the companies you maintain and the projects you assign to each company.

Pro

It is also connected to the calendar view and your upcoming deadlines. There is not a lot to review here so we’ve attached the how-to video from the company that explains the feature better.

Learning the software

Most features in Square Takeoff have an added button to watch a video related to that feature. You can also look at their playlist to learn how to use the solution.

Con

That being said, the learning curve for Square Takeoff is a bit steep. You have to depend on your patience to watch YouTube videos and then ask for support using the live chat feature.

There are no tooltips on Square Takeoff. As a complete newbie, we were unable to figure out most functions without watching support videos on YouTube, which added to the learning time.

Pro

On the plus side, the support is pretty good during business hours so you can ask them anything related to the software.

Estimations from Takeoffs and Quoting

Pro

Since Square takeoff has a strong takeoff platform, estimations are easy. You only need to know the pricing for each part be it equipment, labor, material, or other.

Once you are done with takeoff, we recommend checking the prices for each part in an assembly or a template. After you are done, use the report option to create estimates. It will show you the parts, prices

From your estimations, you can quickly select which page you want the quote for, and you have the option to include a digital version of all these documents attached to the quote.

With quote creation, you have a few options.

If you have suppliers already listed in the system, you can select the supplier and the location. If not, you can enter an email address for sending quotations.

From our test, we found the PDF attachment better than selecting the “Share project” option. Because with the share project option, your recipient would have to register for a trial or they have to be a registered Square takeoff user.

Con

We tested both options but only ever got the email for a shared project. We tried with different email addresses but we couldn’t send any estimate in PDF using the email address.

Another thing we feel missing here is component pricing management. It would have been great to manage pricing at the go for all components in the estimate. Currently, you now have to manage pricing by going into the parts and then doing it in the More Properties tab.

Mobile app testing

Square Takeoff currently is only available on the web. There are no tablet or dedicated mobile apps.

We tried using the platform on Chrome mobile, but we weren’t able to properly use the software because of the inconsistent layout.

Square Takeoff Pricing

Below is Square takeoff pricing as per their website:

$200 we think is justified if you are doing a lot of landscaping construction projects that require you to do complex takeoffs. If you have commercial projects, Square takeoff is the right choice for material and equipment takeoffs provided you know how to price your labor and overheads.

Live Chat & Email Support Speed & Quality

For support and training, you have a few options:

• Get support via phone
• Get support via email
• Get support using live chat on the platform and the website.
• For training, you only have YouTube videos as an option to train yourself.

We recommend using the live chat function since you get help in real-time and you can share files or the support can help you with more documentation. Email is a bit slow and support on the phone has inherent limitations.

We tested the support by using the live chat feature. The live chat feature is connected with Buildertrend, so you get answers from the database of Buildertrend documentation as well as Square takeoff.

Square Takeoff uses AI to answer basic questions on Live chat. You can interact with a bot, but if you do not have your question answered, then you can always talk to a real person.

Pro

The support staff is really friendly and if they’re unable to answer your query right away, this will escalate the issue so that it does get answered by an expert.

Square takeoff support goes out of the way to help you use the software and they also help you with the best practices in the industry for your takeoff and estimation work.

Con

They do not have 24/7 support. Also, if you are looking for answers specifically from Square takeoff using AI, it’s a futile effort. You might be better off getting an answer from a real person.

We also sent an email to support asking for some templates. We’ll update you when we hear back from them.

Update: it was an unreasonable ask (we didn’t get the templates) but Square Takeoff’s email support response time is good.

Chat support response time

Pro

Chat support from Square takeoff is ‘real-time’ support. You wouldn’t need to wait longer before you get a reply. So if you are unable to find a feature, then you just need to wait a few moments until support comes back to you with a solution.

While testing the page overlay feature and Gmaps tool, we discovered that our page was rotated at a 45-degree angle, and our measured area was in the same original space. Not knowing how it happened, we asked the support team and they replied within a few minutes with a video.

At first, AI answered, but we were able to connect to a real person very soon.

Here is the clip that they shared with us:

With the video, we were able to level that page back to its original position.

Alternatives

See BEST Landscaping Estimation Software [+Takeoff, AI, Automated Picks].

Affiliate Disclosure

We did not receive any compensation for doing this review of projectquoting.com. Our reviews are completely unbiased based on actual usage and suitability according to our experience experts.

The aim of publishing this review is purely to help you make an informed decision.

Read our review and editorial disclosure here.