Estimating copilot for fire-alarm contractors

Fire-alarm takeoffs and bids in minutes, not hours.

Drop in a PDF plan set. Perfect Takeoff reads the drawings, places every device to code, and hands you a marked-up plan, a full bill of materials, and a client-ready quote — before your coffee gets cold.

The live demo opens straight into the analyzer — create a free account and your first 3 takeoffs are on us. No credit card.

PDF → priced bid in one pass NFPA 72-aware device placement No CAD required

Built by an estimator, for estimators

NFPA 72 · IBC / IFC Addressable & conventional TI · New construction · Retrofit AHJ-ready submittals CSV / proposal export
The problem

Takeoffs eat the hours you don't have.

Today

Counting dots by hand

  • Hours per floor clicking through PDF plan sets, tallying devices on a legal pad.
  • Miss a stairwell smoke or a strobe and the whole bid — and your margin — is wrong.
  • Pricing lives in a separate spreadsheet that never matches the count.
  • Every re-issue of the drawings means starting the count over.
With Perfect Takeoff

The plan reads itself

  • Upload the PDF — devices are placed to code across every sheet in minutes.
  • Every marker is movable: you keep final say on the count.
  • Bill of materials and labor recompute live as you adjust.
  • One click to a client quote, an AHJ submittal, and a riser diagram.
Who it's for

Built for the person turning plans into bids.

Perfect Takeoff is made for the estimator staring down a PDF plan set on a deadline — whether that's a one-person shop or a life-safety division inside a bigger contractor.

Solo & owner-estimators

When you're the one who wins the work and prices it, takeoffs come out of your nights and weekends. Perfect Takeoff gives you back the hours so you can bid more jobs without adding a head.

Fits if: you are the estimator.

Small-to-mid fire-alarm shops

Crews of 1–20 bidding tenant improvement, new construction, and retrofit. Standardize how every job gets counted and priced, so the number that goes out doesn't depend on who ran the takeoff.

Fits if: you bid fire alarm every week.

Low-voltage & electrical divisions

Electrical and integration contractors who carry fire alarm as part of a larger scope. Get a defensible life-safety number fast, without pulling a specialist off another job to count devices.

Fits if: fire alarm is one line on a bigger bid.

Not the fit: Perfect Takeoff is a bid-stage takeoff, not a replacement for the stamped PE design — the engineer's seal and AHJ review still apply.

How it works

Three steps from plan set to priced bid.

1

Drop in the plans

Upload a PDF plan set — any number of sheets and floors. Perfect Takeoff detects the drawings, scale, and levels automatically.

2

Devices place themselves

Smokes, pulls, horn/strobes, duct detectors, modules and the panel drop onto the plan to NFPA 72 spacing — a complete, reviewable first pass.

3

Review, price, send

Nudge anything, watch the BOM and labor update live, then export a client quote, an AHJ submittal, or a riser — in your branding.

See the full walkthrough Every step, on a real job — and what it does not do.
What you get

One upload. Three deliverables.

Every takeoff produces the three things a bid actually needs — the marked-up plan, the priced bill of materials, and the client-ready quote. All from the same source, so they never disagree.

SD SD SD SP SP HS P
Deliverable 01

Marked-up plan

Every device pinned to the drawing at NFPA 72 spacing, color-coded by type, with coverage rings — and every marker draggable when you want the final say.

Per floorDraggablePDF / PNG export
Bill of materials ▲ live Photo smoke detector14$1,806 Wall horn / strobe9$1,431 Ceiling speaker6$564 Duct detector + housing3$885 Manual pull station5$410 Materials subtotal $9,470
Deliverable 02

Live bill of materials

Every placed device rolls up into a priced BOM — mounts, backboxes, and wire included. Nudge a device and the quantities and totals recompute instantly.

Editable unit costsMounts + backboxesCSV export
Your Company, LLC Fire Alarm Proposal · Lic. #C10-000000 #PT-1042 Materials$9,470 Labor · 84 hrs$6,300 Permit & fees$650 Margin$1,820 TOTAL $18,240
Deliverable 03

Client-ready quote

A branded proposal with labor, margin, permit, and tax — your company name, license number, and validity dates baked in. It looks like your shop made it, because it did.

Your brandingLabor + marginPDF proposal
What's inside

An estimating desk, not just a counter.

Code-aware placement

Spacing, coverage, and device selection follow NFPA 72 — stairwell smokes, duct detectors, and notification coverage included.

Live bill of materials

Every placed device aggregates into a priced BOM with wall/ceiling mounts, backboxes, and editable unit costs that recompute instantly.

One-click quote

Turn the takeoff into a branded client proposal with labor, margin, permit, and tax — validity dates and your license number baked in.

AHJ-ready submittals

Generate a plan-check package — device counts, code citations, battery and SLC sizing, and a compliance summary for the AHJ.

Riser & circuit sizing

Auto-build a one-line riser and size NAC circuits, SLC loops, and battery calcs straight from the live takeoff.

Pipeline built in

Every job flows through a Kanban pipeline — estimating, quoted, sent, won — so nothing slips between the count and the close.

How it stacks up

Built for the count generic tools make you do by hand.

On-screen takeoff tools measure whatever you click. Perfect Takeoff knows it's a fire-alarm plan — it places the devices to code and prices them, so counting, pricing, and the proposal are one flow instead of three.

Manual takeoffLegal pad · click-counting
Generic takeoff toolsBluebeam · PlanSwift
Perfect TakeoffFire-alarm native
Places the devices for you
You click every one
You click every one
Auto-placed to NFPA 72
Fire-alarm code logic built in
~In the estimator's head
Counts generic shapes
Device types, spacing, mounts
Count → price in one flow
Separate spreadsheet
~Count here, price elsewhere
Live BOM + labor
Client-ready branded quote
~Built by hand, separately
Not included
Your name, license, margin
A drawing re-issue means…
Recount from scratch
~Re-measure the changes
Re-run the set in minutes
Time per multi-floor set
3–6 hrs
2–4 hrs
~10 min

Perfect Takeoff is a bid-stage takeoff, not a replacement for the stamped PE design — the engineer's seal and AHJ review still apply.

You stay in control

A first pass, not a final answer.

Perfect Takeoff does the counting so you don't have to — but the bid stays yours. Every placement is reviewable, every number editable, and nothing leaves your desk until you say so. It's an estimating copilot, not a black box.

Not a stamped design. It's a computer-assisted takeoff for estimating and coordination — the PE seal and AHJ review still apply.

The difference

Same accuracy. A fraction of the time.

By hand
3–6 hrs

per multi-floor plan set — counting, tallying, and re-pricing in a spreadsheet.

Perfect Takeoff
~10 min

PDF in, marked-up plan + BOM + quote out — with time left to sharpen the bid.

Your numbers

What those hours are worth to your shop.

Set the sliders to your own bid volume and rate. The math assumes Perfect Takeoff brings a takeoff down to about ten minutes.

Your estimating today

160
1 hr10 hrs
$35$150
Estimating time reclaimed
$41,400
back in your shop every year
46 hrs
saved per month
$3,450
saved per month

That's 5.8× the Contractor plan — before counting a single extra bid you win with the time back.

Illustrative estimate for your own planning, not a guarantee. Time per takeoff with Perfect Takeoff assumed at ~10 minutes.

Pricing

Priced to pay for itself on the first bid.

Draft tiers for early access — we'll tune them with our first contractors.

Pro
$149/mo
or $1,490/yr — 2 months free
For the one-person shop bidding a few jobs a month.
  • Up to 10 takeoffs / month
  • BOM + client quotes
  • Submittal & riser export
  • Email support
Start free trial
Unlimited
$599/mo
or $5,990/yr — 2 months free
For the estimating desk running steady bid volume.
  • Unlimited takeoffs
  • Pipeline & project tracking
  • Branded proposals + your pricing
  • Priority support
Request a demo
Team
Let's talk
For multi-estimator teams and enterprise rollouts.
  • Everything in Unlimited
  • Multiple seats & shared pricing
  • Onboarding & training
  • Dedicated support
Email us

All tiers include a free trial. No credit card to start. Cancel anytime.
Not sure which tier fits? Ask us — a real person answers.

Why I built this

I got tired of losing nights to takeoffs.

I've spent enough evenings at the desk with a plan set, a highlighter, and a calculator — counting devices one page at a time, then rebuilding the whole count because the architect moved a wall. A single mid-size job could eat an entire night, and the bid still went out with that nagging feeling I'd missed a strobe somewhere.

Perfect Takeoff is the tool I wanted on those nights. Drop in the plans, let it do the first pass — the marked-up plan, the bill of materials, the priced bid — and spend your time checking the work instead of doing it from scratch. It isn't a stamped design and it doesn't pretend to be one; it's a fast, honest first pass that you review and make yours before anything reaches a customer.

We're opening it to a handful of fire-alarm shops first so we can tune it around real jobs. If that's you, I'd genuinely like to hear what your takeoffs look like.

PT
The Perfect Takeoff team Built alongside working fire-alarm estimators

Bid faster on your next job.

Join early access and be one of the first fire-alarm contractors to turn a plan set into a priced bid in minutes.

No spam. We'll only reach out about early access. See our privacy note and early-access terms.

Questions

Answers before you ask.

How accurate is the automatic placement?

Perfect Takeoff produces a complete, code-aware first pass — devices are placed to NFPA 72 spacing across every sheet. It's built to be reviewed: every marker is movable and every count is editable, so you always have the final say before the bid goes out. Think of it as a fast, thorough first draft from an estimator's copilot, not a stamped engineered design.

Do I need CAD or special drawings?

No. A standard PDF plan set is all it needs — the same drawings you already receive from the GC or architect. No CAD files, no special export.

What device types does it handle?

Smoke and heat detectors, CO, duct detectors, manual pull stations, horn/strobes, speakers, notification appliances, monitor and control modules, and the control panel — addressable or conventional, across TI, new construction, and retrofit projects.

Is this an engineered, stamped design?

No — and it doesn't claim to be. It's a computer-assisted takeoff for estimating and coordination. All quantities, locations, and code applications are subject to review by a licensed fire-protection engineer and the AHJ. It gets you to a fast, defensible bid; the stamp stays with your PE.

Can I use my own pricing and branding?

Yes. Unit prices, labor rates, and margin are all editable, and quotes carry your company name, license number, and contact info. The output looks like it came from your shop, because it did.

Where does my plan data live?

Your projects stay yours. During early access we'll walk every contractor through exactly how data is stored and handled — and we design for the privacy expectations of bid-sensitive work.

How long does a takeoff actually take?

Most multi-floor plan sets go from PDF to a marked-up plan with a priced BOM in minutes — versus the several hours a manual count typically takes. Your review time is on top of that, but you're reviewing and adjusting instead of counting from scratch.

What do I get besides the count?

A live bill of materials, a labor estimate, a branded client quote, and an AHJ submittal package — code citations, battery and SLC sizing, and a compliance summary — plus a one-line riser diagram, all from the same takeoff. Jobs then flow through a built-in pipeline so nothing slips between the count and the close.

Can I adjust the devices it places?

Always. Move, add, or delete any device and the BOM, labor, and totals recompute live. If a sheet's scale or floor is detected oddly, you can override it — you're never locked into the first pass.

Does it handle multiple floors and large sets?

Yes. It detects sheets and levels across the plan set and places devices per floor, so a full multi-story submittal is handled in one pass rather than sheet by sheet.

What does it cost?

Early-access tiers are $149/mo (Pro, 10 takeoffs a month) and $599/mo (Unlimited), with custom Team pricing. Annual billing is available at $1,490/yr (Pro) and $5,990/yr (Unlimited) — two months free. Every tier starts with a free trial, no credit card.

How do I get access?

Request early access from this page. We're onboarding a first cohort of fire-alarm contractors now and working closely with them to shape the product.

Still have a question? Email hello@perfecttakeoff.com — we answer every one.