A quantity takeoff is the count that comes before the price: every material, area, length and assembly a job needs, read from the drawings or measured on site, with the unit it is bought in and the labor unit it takes to install. The estimate is then arithmetic on the takeoff: quantities at the supplier's price with waste, labor units at the loaded rate, overhead and markup. A contractor who prices without a takeoff is guessing with a calculator. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, cited below, puts the median annual wage for cost estimators at $78,740 in May 2025; the free template on this site takes the takeoff's material total and the hours and prints the lines and the margin.
Count in the units you buy and install
Squares of shingle, feet of conduit, yards of concrete, each in the unit the supplier sells and with the waste the trade expects; a takeoff in the wrong unit is repriced at the counter. Assemblies carry the labor unit so the hours come out of the same count.
Measure, do not estimate the measurement
Areas and lengths from the scaled drawing or the tape, recorded with where they came from, so a dispute about a quantity is settled from the takeoff rather than argued. Takeoff software scales the drawing; the tape and the notebook do the same job on a small one.
Feed the template, keep the takeoff with the estimate
The takeoff's material total and hours are the first two inputs on the template on this site; the waste, the rate, the overhead and the markup turn them into the estimate. Pro keeps the takeoff with the estimate against the job, so the number can be explained when the customer asks.
Questions people ask about quantity takeoff
What is the difference between a takeoff and an estimate?
The takeoff is the count of what the job needs; the estimate is that count priced at the company's rates, overhead and markup. The template on this site is the second step.
Do I need software for a quantity takeoff?
On a small job the tape and a sheet do it; on a drawing-based job, takeoff software that scales the plan and carries assemblies saves the hours that make the difference.
How should takeoff quantities be recorded?
In the unit the material is bought in, by area or by room, with the drawing revision noted, so the waste is real and the count can be repriced when the drawings change.