It’s peak construction season—and if your estimating team is drowning in drawings and scrambling to meet deadlines, you’re not alone. Change orders, new RFPs, and updated plan sets are all competing for your time.
So how do you move faster without sacrificing accuracy? These five hacks can help you streamline your summer workflow using STACK Takeoff & Estimating.
1. Create a Reusable Bid Library
Stop reinventing the wheel. Build a STACK library of Items & Assemblies for your most common scopes—so you can generate consistent, accurate bids in a fraction of the time.
STACK Pro Tip: Bundle labor, material, equipment, and variables into one Assembly that you can drop into any project.
2. Avoid Jobsite Visits with Plan Uploads
If you’re still visiting every site to get measurements, you’re losing valuable time.
STACK Pro Tip: Upload digital plan sets and start measuring instantly—no driving, no delays, no waiting on access.
3. Speed Up Takeoffs with Smart Tools (and Smarter AI)
Still manually clicking every corner and tracing every room? That’s hours you don’t have.
STACK’s Floor Plan AI automatically detects and outlines interior spaces like rooms, walls, and openings—so you can generate takeoffs in seconds, not hours.
STACK Pro Tip: Let Floor Plan AI do the heavy lifting for interior scopes like framing, drywall, flooring, painting, and ceilings. Then use STACK’s smart tools to fine-tune measurements, duplicate common areas, and search for symbols or notes across complex plan sets.
"STACK's Floor Plan AI has helped me tremendously on projects where I get a massive floor plan and there's just so many variables in rooms. I use the AI feature and it just encompasses everything on that floor. And then you can pick and choose from those areas what you want to save, keep, and move to a particular Assembly or Item. What would take two hours to do a large floor plan, you can do it in a matter of five minutes."
4. Track Pricing in Real Time
Material prices shift constantly—and your estimates need to reflect that.
STACK Pro Tip: Use built-in formulas to factor in waste, escalation, and supplier variability. Update pricing on the fly to protect your margins.
5. Stay Synced with Your Team
Miscommunication kills efficiency. STACK lets your team collaborate live—whether they’re in the office or remote.
STACK Pro Tip: Mark up plans, assign takeoff tasks, and review changes all in one place—no more chasing down the “final-final” file.
Ready to Clear the Pileup?
STACK’s cloud-based estimating tools help you move fast, stay organized, and win more work—with less burnout. Whether you’re chasing summer bids or locking in fall projects, now’s the time to sharpen your process. Check out a demo today.
