Stop no-bidding jobs you could win.
AI-measured quantity takeoffs and RFI registers for commercial low-slope roofing. Measured from the drawing's own geometry, verified by a roofing professional before it goes out, priced with your cost data. Delivered within 48 hours, often sooner.
Your first takeoff is free, on a real live bid. If it saves you a day, we'll talk pricing. If it doesn't, you've lost nothing.
Pay per set, or pick a monthly plan. Nothing bills until you choose.
- Total roof square footage41,912.4SFA1.1 p4
- Parapet with coping cap822.3LFA1.1 p4
- Roof drains8EAP1.1 p15
- Edge metal (gravel stop)63.7LFA1.1 p4
How it works
Three steps. Within 48 hours.
You keep bidding. We do the counting.
Upload the plans
Upload the full drawing set and specs as a PDF. However many pages, however large the file. New construction, re-roof or repairs.
The AI reads every page
Not just the roof plan. Drains get counted off the plumbing sheets, curbs off mechanical, deck type off structural, R-value and warranty off the specs. Areas and lengths are taken from the drawings at the printed scale, not guessed from a screenshot. A page with no text gets rendered and looked at, not skipped.
A roofer checks it, then you get it
A roofing professional reviews every paid job before delivery. Delivered within 48 hours, often sooner: the takeoff workbook with its open questions (RFI) list, a material order list when the takeoff supports one, and a client-ready proposal when you send us your costs.
Deliverables
What you get back
Every job gets the takeoff workbook, with the open questions (RFI) list inside it, plus a one-page START HERE and a takeoff summary as PDF. A material order list comes when the takeoff supports one, and a client-ready proposal when you send us your costs. Your marked-up sheets are on your job page.
Takeoff workbook
Field area, tapered, edge metal by profile, penetrations, drains, blocking, flashing. Every quantity carries its source sheet and a confidence grade. If a line says 14,200 SF, you can see exactly where it came from.
Open questions (RFI) list
Plans have gaps. We don't guess through them. The workbook's Questions tab lists each open item with the sheet reference and what we need from you, and your job page carries a drafted RFI when the documents leave something open. Send the RFIs before bid day instead of eating the surprise after award.
Material order list
When the takeoff supports one, a Material list tab in the workbook: quantities rolled up into an order-ready list, so purchasing starts from the same numbers the takeoff did.
Client-ready proposal
When you send us your costs: a clean proposal document built from the takeoff, ready for your markup, your logo, and your signature, plus a re-price sheet. You set the margin. You submit the bid.
Download the full sample package
Not ready to send a set yet? See what a finished package looks like first. It has the same pieces every job gets back:
- A one-page START HERE summary
- The takeoff workbook, with the source sheet and a confidence grade on every quantity
- The open questions (RFI) list
- A material order list and the takeoff summary PDF
Accuracy posture
Where every number comes from
A takeoff you can't trace is a takeoff you can't trust. Here's the standard every line is held to.
Every quantity has a source
Sheet number and a confidence grade on every quantity. You can check any number against the drawings in seconds.
Uncertainty goes on the register, not in the number
Anything below high confidence lands on the RFI register as a question, with the sheet reference and the interim assumption spelled out. You will never get a confident-looking number that was actually a guess.
Your numbers, not ours
Prices come from your material pricing and your labor rates. We never invent a cost. If you haven't given us a price for something, the line prints as UNPRICED with the quantity shown, so you can plug it in yourself. Your cost data stays yours.
Pricing
Pay per set, or pick a plan.
An estimator's day runs $450 to $650. A Sharp Pencil takeoff is delivered within 48 hours, often sooner.
- Your first takeoff is free, on a job you are actually bidding
- $395 covers a new set of drawings, or a new address
- Answer the questions we ask and one re-run of that same job is included in the price
- If we got a number wrong, that included re-run is how we put it right, at no cost to you
- No plan, no minimum, nothing to cancel
- 5 takeoffs a month. $1,495 divided by 5 is $299 a takeoff
- Past 5 in the same month it is $325 a job
- 3 seats included. Extra seats are $49 each a month, and a shared login is fine
- A new set of drawings or a new address uses one takeoff
- Unused takeoffs end with the month. They do not roll over
- Answer our questions and one re-run of that job is included, same as pay as you go
- 10 takeoffs a month. $2,500 divided by 10 is $250 a takeoff
- Past 10 in the same month it is $275 a job
- 3 seats included. Extra seats are $49 each a month, and a shared login is fine
- A new set of drawings or a new address uses one takeoff
- Unused takeoffs end with the month. They do not roll over
- The same full package on every set. Nothing is held back for a bigger plan, because there isn't one
One free takeoff per contractor, on a job you're actually bidding. One is enough to see whether it's any good. If it saves you a day, we'll talk about which way you want to pay. If it doesn't, you've lost nothing.
A further run on the same job is $50, in two cases only: you had us run it before you answered our questions, or you have already used the included re-run and want another pass. It does not use a plan takeoff. Pay it here.
Sending more than 10 a month? Say so and we will quote you. Email hello@getsharppencil.com. There is nothing above Shop to sign up for here, on purpose. At that volume the right number depends on what you actually send, and we would rather ask than guess.
Both plans bill monthly by card through Stripe, and you can cancel anytime. After you pay, we email you within one business day to set up your account and seats. Questions first? Ask in the chat or email hello@getsharppencil.com.
FAQ
Straight answers
What does a takeoff cost?
Your first one is free, on a job you are actually bidding. After that there are three ways to pay. Pay as you go is $395 for a new set of drawings, or a new address. Starter is $1,495 a month and covers 5 takeoffs. Shop is $2,500 a month and covers 10.
Answer the questions we ask along the way and one re-run of that same job is included, whichever way you are paying.
What counts as a new set?
A different building or a different address is a new set. So is a different project at the same address. If we have not measured it before, it is a new set. On pay as you go that is $395. On a plan it uses one of your takeoffs.
Running the same job again is not a new set. That is a re-run, and when you have answered our questions it is already covered.
One case we have not settled: the architect reissuing two sheets, or sending an addendum. An addendum is not a new building, and charging a full set because two sheets changed is not obviously right either. We would rather tell you it is open than have you find out on an invoice. Ask before you send it and you get the answer before anything is charged.
What does the included re-run cover?
One more pass on the same job, as long as you answered the questions we asked. Use it when the architect answers your open items, when you add your costs and want it back priced, or when we got a number wrong.
If the miss is ours, that re-run is how we put it right and you pay nothing extra. Say which number and which sheet you are reading it against. The package shows where every quantity came from on your own drawings, so this is usually a short conversation rather than an argument.
When exactly does the $50 apply?
Two cases, and only two. You told us to run it before you had answered our questions. Or you have already used the re-run that came with the job and you want another pass.
It does not use a plan takeoff, so it never eats a credit. Answer the questions up front and you should never see it.
What happens to plan takeoffs I do not use at the end of the month?
They are gone. Unused takeoffs do not roll over. If you are on Starter and you send three sets in March, you paid $1,495 and you used three. The other two do not show up in April.
That is the least friendly term in the package and we are not going to bury it in fine print. It is also the reason to size your plan to a slow month instead of a good one. If you are not sure you will use 5, stay on pay as you go and move up when the volume is actually there.
How many people can use it, and can we share one login?
Three seats come with either plan. Extra seats are $49 each a month.
A shared login is fine. We are not going to police it. If two estimators and a PM all work out of one login, that works, and if you would rather everyone had their own, that is what the seats are for. Takeoffs come off the same monthly count either way.
Which plan should I actually be on?
Do the arithmetic on your own volume. Three sets a month on pay as you go is $1,185. Starter is $1,495, so at three you are better off paying per set.
Four sets on pay as you go is $1,580. Starter is $1,495 and covers five. Four a month is where a plan starts to make sense.
Eight sets on Starter is $1,495 plus three at $325, which is $2,470. Shop is $2,500. Nine sets on Starter is $1,495 plus four at $325, which is $2,795, against $2,500 on Shop. From nine a month up, Shop is the one to be on.
Tell us roughly what you send and we will point at the same number you just worked out. Nobody here makes money off a plan you are not using.
Can I switch plans, or cancel?
Both plans are month to month. No term, no cancellation fee. Move up, move down, or stop, and tell us before your next billing date.
One thing that does not change when you cancel: unused takeoffs still end with the month. There is nothing to cash out.
Is this AI, or is a person doing the takeoff?
Both, and the split matters. Software does the measuring and counting from the plans. AI reads the set, pulls the specifications, and assembles the package. Then a roofing professional reviews the job before it is delivered to you. Nothing goes out unreviewed.
What stops it from just making a number up?
Every paid takeoff is reviewed by a roofing professional before it goes out. When a set does not support a measurement, you get that gap on the RFI register with the sheet it should have been on, not a confident guess. We would rather leave a line open than ship a wrong number that looks finished. Founder review stays on every paid job until the product earns the right to go fully unattended.
How do you price the estimate without my costs?
We don't. Prices come from your cost data: your material pricing and your labor rates. You send them once and we apply them. Anything you haven't priced prints as UNPRICED with the quantity shown, so nothing gets a made-up number. If you'd rather not share costs at all, you get the full quantity takeoff and price it yourself.
What if you can't read a sheet?
Then we tell you. Every page gets looked at, including pages with no readable text, which get rendered and reviewed as images. Anything we can't resolve with high confidence goes on the RFI register as a question with the sheet reference, not into the takeoff as a guess.
Who sees my plans and my pricing?
Your plans are used for your takeoff and nothing else. Your cost data prices your estimates only. It is never shared, pooled, or used for anyone else's work. We do not bid roofing work, so your plan set is never used to compete with you. Plan sets upload directly to secure storage, never through an inbox, and are automatically deleted 90 days after upload. Full commitments: Your data, your bids.
What roof systems do you cover?
Commercial low-slope is the core: single-ply systems with tapered insulation, edge metal, and the details that go with them. We also cover standing seam metal and shingle scopes when they're part of the job, new construction, re-roof and repairs, all from the plan set. We don't do residential.
How fast is 48 hours, really?
The clock starts when we have the full plan set and it ends when the package is in your inbox. Delivered within 48 hours, often sooner. If something about the set will slow that down, you hear about it up front, not on day two.
Should I send the 3D model (BIM) if I can get it?
Yes. Ask your GC for it. A BIM model is not a drawing, it is the database the drawings were printed from: every roof plane, wall, drain and curb in it is an object with exact dimensions. The roof area is not measured off a model, it is read off the roof object. The PDF set is a flattened picture of that database, and every takeoff, human or software, is an attempt to rebuild numbers that already exist exactly in the source file. When the model is in the upload, quantities come from the architect's own data instead of anyone's measurement. Most GCs can share it on request, and it costs nothing to ask.
How is this different from satellite measurement tools?
Satellite tools measure the existing roof from above. We read the plan set for the job you're bidding: tapered layouts, detail callouts, edge conditions, structural notes, spec references. From the documents, not from orbit.
Guides
Guides
Written from the trade, not from marketing.
About
The Sharp Pencil team
We come from commercial roofing estimating. We built the takeoff service we wanted on the bid days when the invitations outnumbered the hours.
Built by people who estimate roofs
Our background is commercial roofing estimating: reading a full plan set, finding what the drawings leave open, and getting a number out before bid day. Sharp Pencil takes that counting off your desk so your estimator can spend the time pricing and bidding.
The systems we cover
TPO, EPDM, PVC, mod bit, metal and coatings, with tapered insulation.
A roofing estimator checks every takeoff
Nothing goes out unchecked. A roofing estimator reviews every takeoff before it is delivered. The misses that cost real money are the quiet ones: a drain count that is off by one, a parapet taller than assumed, a curb the roof plan left off. Each one is a change order or a thinner margin if it slips through to the bid.
Upload a plan set
Email us the PDF for a job you're bidding right now. If the set is too big to attach, just say so in the email and a secure upload link comes back by reply. Delivered within 48 hours, often sooner.
Get your first takeoff freeFirst takeoff free on a real live bid. After that $395 for a new set of drawings or a new address, or a monthly plan if you send several a month.