"Commercial office — 60 pages across power, lighting, and one-line. Device counts were accurate. Panel schedules extracted cleanly. Saved 3 days of estimating time on one job."
Commercial Electrical Estimating. Devices, Circuits, Wire Footage. About 15 Minutes.
Upload your commercial electrical plan set. Get device counts by room, wire footage by gauge, circuit maps, panel schedules, and conduit quantities — organized for your EC bid package.
Commercial Electrical Estimating
Devices, wire footage, panels — commercial projects
Manual takeoffs are the most expensive hour you do not bill.
A commercial plan set takes 8 to 40 hours to count by hand. At estimator rates of $75 to $150 per hour, that is $600 to $6,000 in labor on every bid. Most contractors do not skip bids because the work is not there. They skip bids because the counting takes too long to make the turnaround worth it. TakeoffBuilder does not replace your judgment. It eliminates the hours you spend before your judgment ever gets to work.
- 8 to 40 hours per plan set at $75 to $150 per hour equals $600 to $6,000 in labor
- One TakeoffBuilder credit: $199. Any size plan. 15 to 30 minutes.
- The math works on the first job. Every job after that is margin.
Every hour you count is an hour you are not bidding.
The bottleneck is not the pricing. It is the counting.
What Commercial Electrical Estimating Delivers
AI extracts device counts, wire footage, circuit maps, and panel schedules from your commercial electrical plan set.
Power Plan Takeoff
Receptacles, switches, dedicated circuits by room
Commercial Power Plan Counts
Receptacles (duplex, GFCI, dedicated, 20A, 30A), switches (standard, 3-way, dimmers, occupancy sensors), and special systems devices — counted by room across all power plan sheets.
- Receptacles: duplex, GFCI, dedicated circuits by amperage
- Switches: standard, 3-way, 4-way, dimmers, occupancy sensors
- Special systems: floor boxes, data/power combos, generator receptacles
Lighting Plan Takeoff
Fixtures by type, mounting, and lamp type
Commercial Lighting Plan Counts
Lighting fixtures by type (recessed, surface, pendant, track, exit/emergency), mounting type, and lamp specification. Emergency and egress lighting counted separately. Lighting control devices from the lighting plans.
- Fixtures: recessed, surface, pendant, track — by type and lamp
- Emergency and egress lighting by location
- Lighting control devices: dimmers, sensors, panels
One-Line & Panel Schedules
Panels, circuits, breaker sizing, service entrance
One-Line Diagrams & Panel Schedules
Panel schedules extracted from one-line diagrams — breaker counts, circuit assignments, spare capacity. Service entrance equipment, main breakers, and distribution panels. Feeder sizes and wire gauge for distribution.
- Panel schedules: breaker counts, circuit assignments, spares
- Service entrance: main breaker, CT cabinet, metering equipment
- Distribution feeders: wire size and conduit for each run
Manual takeoffs are the most expensive hour you do not bill.
A commercial plan set takes 8 to 40 hours to count by hand. At estimator rates of $75 to $150 per hour, that is $600 to $6,000 in labor on every bid. Most contractors do not skip bids because the work is not there. They skip bids because the counting takes too long to make the turnaround worth it. TakeoffBuilder does not replace your judgment. It eliminates the hours you spend before your judgment ever gets to work.
- 8 to 40 hours per plan set at $75 to $150 per hour equals $600 to $6,000 in labor
- One TakeoffBuilder credit: $199. Any size plan. 15 to 30 minutes.
- The math works on the first job. Every job after that is margin.
Manual takeoffs are the most expensive hour you do not bill.
A commercial plan set takes 8 to 40 hours to count by hand. At estimator rates of $75 to $150 per hour, that is $600 to $6,000 in labor on every bid. Most contractors do not skip bids because the work is not there. They skip bids because the counting takes too long to make the turnaround worth it. TakeoffBuilder does not replace your judgment. It eliminates the hours you spend before your judgment ever gets to work.
Every hour you count is an hour you are not bidding.
The bottleneck is not the pricing. It is the counting.
Commercial Electrical Contractors Who Use It
Commercial ECs who needed to count more plan sets per week without adding estimators.
6 reviews
"The lighting fixture count was what sold me. It differentiated recessed from surface from emergency — organized exactly how I need it for my supplier order."
"Healthcare electrical — essential systems, AES panels, isolation room requirements. The AI read the plan notes and flagged healthcare-specific items for manual review. That's the kind of awareness I need."
"Use it to verify sub bids. Caught a 20% undercount on a recent electrical sub package. Paid for a month of credits on that one catch. Now I run every sub bid through it before signing."
"Sprinkler layouts are complex — density zones, obstruction calcs, riser diagrams. The AI catches head counts and pipe footage I'd need hours to verify manually. Especially useful on large commercial projects."
"No subscription is the key for me. I pay credits when I bid, not monthly whether I use it or not. Slow months cost me nothing. Busy months I load up credits at the 10-pack rate and save 25%."
Commercial Electrical Estimating — Questions
What commercial ECs and estimators ask about AI-assisted electrical takeoffs.
What does a commercial electrical takeoff include?
Receptacles (all types), switches (all types), lighting fixtures (all types and mounting), emergency and egress lighting, panel schedules (breakers, circuits, spares), service entrance equipment, feeder runs by wire size, conduit by diameter, and junction boxes.
- Power and lighting plans read together
- Panel schedules and one-line diagrams extracted
Does it handle multi-story commercial buildings?
Yes. Plans for multi-story buildings include plans organized by floor — the AI tracks quantities floor by floor and gives totals by floor and by overall project. Riser diagrams and panel schedules cross-referenced to floor plans.
- Floor-by-floor counts with project totals
- Riser diagrams cross-referenced to floor plan device counts
How long does it actually take?
About 15 minutes for a typical 30-page commercial set. Larger plan sets — 80-100 pages — run 25-40 minutes. You'll get an email when results are ready. Upload before lunch, have counts before you leave the office.
- 30 pages: ~15 minutes
- Email notification when complete — no waiting at the screen
What exactly do I get back?
An Excel spreadsheet (or CSV) organized by trade category — circuits, devices, wire footage by gauge, conduit runs with sizing. The same format you'd hand to a supplier or import into your estimating software. Plus a flagged items list with page references.
- Excel, CSV, or JSON — your choice
- Organized by category, ready to import or price
How long for a commercial electrical set?
About 15 minutes for a typical 30-page commercial electrical set (power + lighting + one-line). Larger commercial projects (80-100 pages) run 25-40 minutes. Review of flagged items takes most ECs 10-20 minutes additional.
- 30-page commercial set: ~15 minutes
- Plus 10-20 minutes for flagged item review
I already use PlanSwift / Bluebeam. Will this replace it?
No — and we're not trying to. TakeoffBuilder handles the counting. Your existing software handles pricing, markup, and workflow. We export to the formats your software imports. Think of it as a counting layer on top of what you already use.
- Exports to PlanSwift, Accubid, and Excel
- Complements your existing tools — doesn't replace them
Visit our complete FAQ page or contact support for specific questions about your projects
More Questions?See a Real Commercial Electrical Takeoff Free
Upload any commercial electrical plan set with a free account. Get device counts, wire footage, and panel schedules in about 15 minutes. No credit card required.
- See a live example takeoff — free when you sign up
- ~15 minutes for a 30-page commercial electrical set
- Export to Excel, CSV, Accubid, or your EC estimating software
Commercial Electrical Estimating
~15 minutes. Devices, wire, panels.