Questions builders ask before they trust an estimate

Treat it as a preliminary estimate whose accuracy follows the design stage you set: concept sketches -30 % / +50 % (AACE Class 5, AIQS Cost Plan A), a DA set -20 % / +30 % (Class 4, Cost Plan B), CC documentation -15 % / +20 % (Class 3, Cost Plan C), tender documents -10 % / +15 %. The range shown on every estimate is built from each line's own uncertainty - figured dimensions and schedule counts are tight, scaled or assumed quantities are wide - so a narrow range means the drawings said a lot, and a wide one tells you what to ask for. It is not a quote and does not replace a quantity surveyor or your own subcontractor pricing.

A rate library of about 200 items - Sydney metro, AUD ex GST, subcontract supply-and-install rates in three quality tiers - compiled from published Australian cost guides, quantity-surveyor escalation reports and current trade quotes, dated on every estimate. The AI never prices catalogue items; it only measures them. Where something is not in the library it adds a clearly labelled allowance with a rationale, which you can change or delete. Your own rates (My Rates) override the library on all your estimates.

The postcode maps to one of 26 pricing regions, each with an index relative to Sydney (for example Melbourne 0.97, Brisbane 1.02, regional NSW 1.05, Pilbara 1.45) and its own forecast escalation rate. On top of that, site factors - slope, rock, access, coastal / bushfire / flood exposure, heritage - multiply the trade groups they actually affect: rock makes earthworks and drainage dearer, not painting. You can override the index and every factor, and duplicate an estimate as a scenario for another region.

Three things. Rates carry an as-of date and are refreshed by the operator. Escalation compounds from that date to your target start at the region's forecast annual rate (2026 forecasts run about 4 to 6 % pa across Australia). And the Market pulse tab is a web-researched summary of the latest published cost indicators for your region - QS escalation forecasts, ABS producer price indexes, material and labour notes - with links to the sources and a suggested escalation figure you can apply with one click.

The architectural set is essential: site plan with site calculations, floor plans, elevations, sections, window and door schedules, BASIX notes. Add the structural concept or engineering (slab type, retaining, steel), the civil / stormwater plan (pits, pipes, tanks, easements), landscape plans, survey, geotechnical report and site photos if you have them. PDF up to 150 MB per file; vector PDFs read best because the figured dimensions are captured as text.

Everything. Change any quantity or rate, exclude or delete lines, add catalogue items or your own lines, change the tier, region, index, site factors, margins and dates - the totals recompute immediately and the engine keeps the AI's original quantity so you can reset a line. Re-run the take-off after adding documents without losing lines you edited yourself.

Documents and estimates are private to your account and stored outside the web root on our Sydney-region server. Pages are sent to Anthropic's API to be read (their API terms do not use customer data for training). Share links are off unless you turn them on, and can be revoked. See the privacy policy.

Itemised preliminaries (fencing, amenities, scaffold, crane, waste, supervision by programme) plus a small general preliminaries percentage on the remaining trade cost, then the builder margin, then Home Building Compensation Fund insurance and the long service levy assessed on the contract value where the state applies them. That gives the contract sum - the builder price today. Design contingency (default 10 % at DA stage, 5 % at CC / tender) and escalation to the start date are then added to give the client budget. Each is a setting and each is shown as its own line in the summary.

Yes. When the set shows more than one building the take-off tags lines per building and the summary shows a per-building split. Use the brief to tell the estimator about staging or exclusions (for example "pool to be retained, landscaping by owner").

A$295 inc GST per estimate, paid by card through Stripe when you press Start. That covers one full AI reading, take-off and pricing of the drawing set you upload, and everything you do with it afterwards: re-runs after adding documents, unlimited scenarios, editing, the share link, PDF and Excel exports. There is no subscription. Quick estimates (the $/m2 calculator) are free. A tax invoice is emailed with each payment; if we cannot produce an estimate from your documents, the fee is refunded in full.