PlanSwift Reviews

I love this software. It is easy to use. Gives great measurements. Allows fairly accurate job costing. And it has a ton of functions that are very useful for so many aspects of construction.

The only thing that I do not like about this software is that yoy can only have one set of plans open at a time.

PlanSwift gives a high level of user control for the published result of the takeoff. I can modify takeoff colours, add notes, create my own legend (with notes), insert lines, arrows, etc. The takeoff functions are well designed. Adding an area to the same layer is easy, subtracting a section is just as easy & displays very nicely as a blank space which doesn't interfere with other layers or the original drawing. Modifying a takeoff shape or colour is very easy, as well as drawing curved shapes, copying shapes to same or new layer. Various layers don't interfere with each other, don't "fall behind", etc. Layers can easily be turned off & on. Scaling is excellent with preset dropdown & custom input available, allowing you to work in metric or imperial & scale in either without limiting your output unit selection (ie. scale in metric & get takeoff output in imperial units if desired).

It appears to me that a lot of attention went into the design of the takeoff features. There are a lot of little things that make it much easier to use. For example, drawing a shape can take several minutes sometimes, & if you are interrupted & need to use another program you just have to move to another screen or minimize the program & when you come back you can carry on. Lots of programs force you to resolve the function you were engaged in before minimizing, but PlanSwift doesn't. This little thing makes a big difference when referring to another drawing on a pdf that has to be zoomed, or moved, etc while doing the takeoff.

The published pdf is very easy to read, & looks clean & professional - a very high quality finished product is possible with this program.

The loading time is the biggest drawback. If I load too many drawings into the program at a time, opening the program, publishing a pdf, & organizing files within the program can take a long time. This also causes my desktop to freeze so that I cannot move files around or into folders until I restart windows, wait for my screensaver to come on, or sometimes it just fixes on it's own. This is silly, but it seems that the program loads every drawing in it's database when I open the program, so to keep loading times reasonable, I need to remove files from it's database when I finish with them. It's an annoying & unnecessary hassle. It may be that the program is designed to load several drawings for a single project & then file the whole project when complete; so this might indicate I am using the program in a way it wasn't intended. However, I don't want to file away each drawing when I'm finished & start a new project. The takeoff is the project for me, so creating a project for each drawing will end up costing me even more time, if that is how it is designed.

Twice with complicated, multi-layered projects, I've had the program freeze when attempting to publish a pdf. Generally at the end of the day when I've already stayed a bit late to finish, & the takeoff is needed asap. This sucks. Restarting, loading the program & trying again takes 10-15 min. In both case it has not worked after 3 tries & I've had to relay the info verbally or use a screenshot instead of a published pdf. Honestly, out of 600+ takeoffs, that's not terrible - I'm assuming it has something to do with the file format and/or amount of info I tried to publish. I've had lots of complicated takeoffs with many layers & pages work just fine.

I found it easy to learn and it became the go-to program for viewing, measuring, and recording any info relating to architectural drawings. On many occasions, if I thought of some action I would like to see the program perform, a little research revealed that it was already built into the program. I have been surprised many times by the wealth of things this program can do.

One thing the program doesn't do well anymore is load drawings. When I first purchased about two years ago, the drawings loaded very well, and viewed as clearly as the source pdf file. But after a month or so, and a couple of hundred drawings later, the program began to have trouble loading drawings. Sometimes the program would just stall during upload, or if it did upload, a lot of lines would be missing from the drawing. It was possible to still do take-offs, but I would often have to keep the source pdf drawing open on another monitor. The latest batch of drawings I loaded were a real mess. Internet forums discuss this problem, but last time I looked no one had a solution. I contacted the company when this problem first appeared, but they were no help. I now regard a take-off program as indispensable, so I'm now shopping around for something to replace the Planswift program.

When it comes to estimating, I have not used a better software for quantity take-off on plans. You have the option to purchase packages that fit the scope of work of your company, or if you want to save money, you can build the assemblies yourself for free.

The only thing that needs to be optimized is the time it takes to import PDF plans and convert it to a TIF file when setting up a new job. A 100 page PDF might take up to 30 minutes to import and convert.

Planswift is the pinnacle of takeoff software.

I would like to see it used on a cloud format so I could access it from anywhere.

It is one the best quantity takeoff software that I have ever used. It really match with PDF format drawings and give you the ability to categorize and organize the bill of quantities inside the software and transfer them to Excel. You can also apply the unit rates and build up an estimate. Very appropriate for building works including residential and ICI.

The software has been designed mostly for 2D drawings. When it comes with 3D such as cut & fill takeoff, it doesn't work. I don't recommend the software for heavy-civil jobs.

It's really easy to use and you can do your estimates in very little time and with not that much effort by using PlanSwift.

The only complaint I have is that it takes about 2 hours on the phone for support to actually attend your call.

Planswift is one of the best and affordable products for anyone looking to do estimating. The ability to create folders and well ask auto count items makes for a simple yet efficient process.

Although a great product, planswift like most can be very expensive. However the efficiency of the software far outweighs the cost.

Easy to use and a quick learn. I like the tool palette and some of the summary features and report tabs.

It was supposed to be integrated with estimating platforms but we were never able to make it work and limited customer service.

This is a great tool for taking quick takeoffs. Allows you to upload whole plan sets or individual pages depending on need. The takeoff functions snap to lines seamlessly provide quick and accurate measurements.

Spending a little time on the front end can make estimating various construction trades easier, however this process is lengthy and will probably turn most casual users off.

I work for a small construction company as the project estimator. I have to do takeoffs on basically every aspect of the home so I can put together budgets and bid out the project properly.

This is a seriously powerful tool for doing a full building takeoff. Almost all aspects of it are customizable, so you can make this thing do just about anything you want. I've got a template set up that that allows me to use one measurement to calculate quantities for multiple parts. And, if something changes, I can easily manipulate it to figure the new data. So, I measure for block work on foundation and I tell it how many courses I want and it will change the calculations based on the number I select.

For the most part, the customer service has been extremely helpful.

I am able to save and print views of the takeoffs. This has been extremely helpful when putting together ceiling joist and rafter layouts for my field team. This has helped eliminate a lot of wasted (expensive) lumber by the framers cutting up wood they shouldn't (like cutting up a 2x10x26 intended for a rafter and using it for headers).

Knowledge base: Sometimes the knowledge base can be a little tricky. It will often take you to outdated versions or may not show anything at all. Much of the information is not laid out in a very intuitive way.

Customer service: There have been a few times where I've run into glitches with the software. The costumer service was not helpful every time (though they have been 99% of the time). Sometimes they have been problematic. I use the labeled count feature regularly, but it doesn't always total up the counts properly. When I contacted customer service, the rep I spoke with just said, "I'm not sure. It's probably the computer." He said that about a couple issues. He never did a real review or provided a resolution. I've found ways to work around it, though.

I love that we're able to take off drawings digitally, a lot different than I when used to have to take off projects when I was younger by hand. I love the support we're able to access when we have questions, everyone seems to be very knowledgeable about the software and knows how to answer our questions directly and effectively. I also like how we're allowed to disable the license each time we're finished using the software each day at the office - allows me to pick up different projects that I work on for personal projects at home with not having to buy two separate licenses (which can be costly)

The price can be overwhelming at times - we like to keep up with the maintenance/updates and support which is an additional couple hundred dollars every year.
Not to mention wanting to get a couple more computers with Planswift on each with their own license is impossible for us at this time, which is actually holding us back.

We love the fact that you can do everything (takeoff, pricing, overhead, profit, & bid proposal) within PlanSwift!

It does have a bit of lag on bigger takeoffs as it is only a 32 bit system. Customer service is terrible!

Easy to get started with takeoff (counts, linear, area) and organize your takeoff items
Fast takeoff, quick to load new pages/zoom in and out
Custom columns/properties allow for in software calculations

Have to import pages to the software, has proprietary plan swift job files that make sharing a bit harder.
Some glitches such as takeoff items getting jumbled when exporting/importing
Have to create folders for breakouts/separating takeoff by page (without plugins at least) which can make things like room schedules a bit tedious.

Easy to use and great support for training and technical issues. The support team works well to accomplish better performance and has a great system for followup and trouble shooting. The program itself is very intuitive to use for the takeoff section, and lots of autocad shortcuts work wtih planswift.

Building of assemblies is not straight forward. It is cumbersome to put them together. The reporting function as well is not as all encompassing as we would like to see it. Too generic in its applications with no real way to modify the output without great difficulty.

Ease of use for point and click, dimension scaling and calibration, elevation markups, text bubbles and snapshots for RFIs, no annual license fee if you so choose to not receive updates, cheapest entry price of any software

Estimating software leaves a lot to be desired. The inputs and functions you can use don't always cover your entire needs and leaves us using Excel with our house made matrix to estimate. Sometimes plans with large file sizes crash the software, but could be due to our own RAM constraints (8 GB).

Small learning curve, feature packed, ease of use, the overall cost is lower than most when maintenance cost is figured into the overall price.

New features could come out faster, not cloud-based, needs to be able to sync with tablets. Import DPI could be higher.

I love that the takeoff can be scaled to fill in your footing lines etc, the takeoff system is very easy to use & learn.

The customer service is lacking, anytime there was an issue it could take up to 3 days to have someone call back to resolve the issue.

There isn't an automatic save option, you will need to save the takeoff after each revision.

Easy to take of square footage, significantly faster than the old way of doing it by hand. It provides a one stop shop where all the drawings are. Customer service/training is available which is nice when you're trying to learn the program.

The only con we've found is that it takes a while to get set up

color coding tools on plan page
item list totaling for multiple pages with same digitizer tool
estimating tab for recaps
saving tool templates

no real-time collaboration between users
no Mac support
Copy page does not copy digitizer tools
Failure to support past versions.
Upgrade cost too much

Planswift is easy to use and functional for our roofing business. We like the simplicity of inputting our custom assemblies that integrate with the job costing feature and project management component of the software. We use Planswift every day to ensure our success in estimating and bidding new projects.

Because the software is so high powered, it takes some training to get up to speed with all the functionality of it but its well worth the time invested to learn it well!

Super fast set up. Decent add on's and support. Exports to Excel. Best value for money. Free 14 day trial so you can really get a feel for it.

Modifying items or creating new items is quite involved. I tend to use my own costing assemblies and use this for take off.

Ease of use, fast.

Can't get bridge to work between estimating software.

The information is taken off and not re-entered in a separate spreadsheet or program.

Assemblies are relatively basic. Timberline assemblies will choose items from a database for you simply by answering a few questions. PlanSwift assemblies have to be built for a specific material type or the parts need to be selected manually.

User friendly

Crashes often