FlowManual

General contractors and trade subcontractors need to measure areas and lengths and count items on drawings, then price those quantities into a bid. Today this often means measuring in a PDF, tallying counts, and then retyping the same quantities into a separate spreadsheet. When a quantity changes, estimators must hunt through the estimate to find every row that needs updating. Rates, scope notes, and bid totals end up living in separate files, so checking a number means retracing the whole process.

FlowManual lets users upload PDF drawings, set and verify scale, and measure or count items such as mechanical equipment, piping, ductwork by size, concrete areas and volumes, and general custom items like doors and fixtures. Accepted quantities flow into a linked estimating workbook where teams add material costs, labor rates, and markup, using formulas, multiple sheets, and reusable assemblies to build a bid. When drawings change, users can compare revisions and refresh linked takeoff quantities while manually edited or locked rows stay protected. The platform also supports document review of specs, quotes, and contracts to highlight scope, costs, deadlines, and exclusions, and supports bid leveling to compare subcontractor proposals. Users can import existing Excel workbooks and rate libraries, and export estimates to Excel, CSV, or a proposal PDF.