On-Screen Takeoff® vs. PlanSwift, by ConstructConnect

I think most of the reasoning was just provided on the previous pros and cons questions. On-Screen Takeoff (OST) is well suited for doing either quick takeoffs or getting into an elaborate, detailed takeoff. All though the viewing tools are quick and easy, I would still very much prefer using BlueBeam for looking through an overall set of drawings. With all of the hyperlink and bookmark functions of BlueBeam, OST doesn't compare and I rarely use OST unless I'm actually doing a takeoff.

Incentivized

I use PlanSwift for all my projects - it has just cut my time by a major percentage when it comes to quantifying a blueprint. At times there are funky areas, which are just hard to calculate on paper. It also has a great tool for scaling according to the dimensions, so if a drawing is missing a scale, you can always allot a scale by giving directions and then marking the points. I use this tool to check the scale as well - sometimes the drawings say something but the scale if off and you are left with an incorrect take-off. The dimension tool is a good way to check that. We don't use it much for pricing purposes though, we have found other software which are more robust when it comes to estimation, but we can see using PlanSwift for pricing sometime in the future.

Incentivized

• The biggest thing for me is that it is so easy to use, which allows it to be used widely throughout our organization without a lot of intense training.
• Another great thing is that it does not matter how big or little the scope of the take off may be, it works just as well for a whole 12 story building take off as it does for a stretch of sidewalk.

Incentivized

• Easy to use and intuitive.
• Accurate data to use for projects, allowing for a central hub for all teams to work from.
• It's a central stop from take off and plan review all the way to plugging numbers into our estimating.
• The ability to link through SharePoint, which always access from any user and location.

Incentivized

• It would be nice if you could select an object that occurs on multiple sheets, copy, and paste it into change orders or alternates.
• If you could search for where a certain condition is being used (which sheet) and go directly to that page or pages, that would be cool.

Incentivized

• Submittals are not user friendly in PlanGrid. In fact, this is the one feature we would like to see improved.
• Billing is based on how many users you have. It would be very nice if they would do it based on revenue or other factors such as other programs do.

Incentivized

It provides invaluable communication, organization, and flexibility to generate a project overview both visually and by the numbers. In addition to the overview it makes getting into the project details easy and quick, so our takeoff is accurate and correct every time

Incentivized

It's become the go to program for our takeoffs. We have tried others but this is the simplest.

Incentivized

On Screen Takeoff is a valuable tool for what it does. Across the board it can keep track of the critical data and corresponding values without extra legwork. While powerful, it is prone to user error, and the problem can compound quickly if not realized up front. Overall a great project tool, but not without limitations

Incentivized

Plan Swift is a user friendly program that makes takeoffs easy to perform. Not a whole lot of knowledge or skill is required.

Incentivized

Never had an issue

Incentivized

Plan Swift is only as fast as your computer system and internet

Incentivized

I have had very few issues with the software which is probably the first sign that there is a good customer support team, since I am sure they are working and fixing problems for everyone when they get a report from somewhere. The few times I have had to reach out to support they have been knowledgeable and on top of helping me quickly get my issues resolved.

Incentivized

I have called once needing support. I was asking about the "compare" tool to compare different versions. They told be about their desktop app and I downloaded. They answered quickly, you could understand them, and they took care of my question

Incentivized

Implementation was as simple as setting up the program and creating databases. Everything else was already in use and this was a supplement to the final organization of the system

Incentivized

just know what use you want to get out of it. In our case it was just to do area take offs.

Incentivized

Being able to train individuals in a single afternoon on the program and trusting them to get you something usable as soon as possible is quite invaluable. It is also something that I feel is unique to this program. It is just easier.

Incentivized

Bluebeam is amazing and can accomplish any take-off needs, but you will spend much more time creating your conditions and take off items. It is not as user-friendly as PlanSwift. OST (On screen takeoff). This product is by far better than PlanSwift, as it is amazingly easy to use. However, it is much more expensive. Cloud-based takeoff software -- this kind of software is difficult for me to use because of how slow the pages load and navigate. It's hard to beat that from PlanSwift or OST.

Incentivized

Several of our departments can use the take off feature to assist them in their job responsibilities.

Incentivized

• The software has more than paid for itself because the company has been able to save lots of money when awarding to subs since it is easy to verify quantities to qualify their bids.
• Less of a chance of under-ordering products since the visible audit trail improves accuracy. Also you spend less since you aren't ordering more than you should be.

Incentivized

• The estimators' productivity is greatly increased, I do takeoffs in less than half the time with more accuracy and detail captured.
• Easy sharing of what was taken off, I'm able to ensure everything is captured.

Incentivized