Takeoffs for
multiple trades.
Most projects are more than one trade. Here is how Pilars handles a trade at a time — at $100 per trade — and how to structure a clean multi-trade bid.
One trade at a time, by design
Pilars takes off one trade per run. Drywall is one takeoff; if the same project needs another trade, that is a separate run on the same plan. The pricing follows the same logic — $100 per trade per plan, with unlimited projects — so a multi-trade bid is simply the sum of clean, independent takeoffs rather than one tangled output.
Why trade-by-trade is the right structure
Bids are assembled by trade. Keeping each takeoff to a single trade means every BOQ maps directly to a scope of work, a subcontractor package, or a cost division — no untangling shared lines later. It also keeps each run auditable: the drywall quantities trace to the drywall wall types, the compliance check covers the partitions that trade is responsible for, and nothing bleeds across.
Step by step
- Upload the set once. The same plan PDF serves every trade you take off.
- Run the first trade. Fire its quick action — for drywall, Complete drywall takeoff — and review and export the BOQ.
- Run the next trade on the same plan. Each additional trade is its own $100 run, producing its own BOQ.
- Keep the exports separate. One Excel BOQ per trade keeps your bid organized by package.
- Assemble the bid. Combine the priced trade BOQs in your estimate, each as its own division, with totals rolling up to the project.
Structuring the multi-trade bid
Think of each trade takeoff as a building block. Price each one (see the pricing tutorial), keep its compliance check attached, and label the export clearly. When you assemble the project estimate, drop each trade in as its own section. The math is predictable: if you are bidding three trades on a plan, you know the takeoff cost up front — three runs at $100 each — and unlimited projects means scaling to your whole pipeline does not change the per-trade economics. That predictability is the point: you can price your estimating cost into a bid without guessing.
It also keeps your review honest. Because each trade is its own run with its own BOQ and its own compliance table, you verify each one against the drawings for that scope — the drywall takeoff against the architectural set and partition schedule, the next trade against its own sheets — without lines from one trade quietly inflating another. When a GC or a sub questions a number later, you can open the single trade BOQ it came from and trace it straight back to the wall segments that produced it, rather than untangling a combined output. Clean inputs, clean runs, clean bid.
Pro tips
- Upload the set once and run each trade against it — there is no need to re-upload per trade.
- Name exports trade-first (e.g. drywall, framing) so the bid assembles itself.
- Run the compliance check per trade so each package carries its own code basis.
- Because pricing is per trade per plan, budget your takeoff cost as trades-on-the-plan times $100 before you start.
Frequently asked
Can Pilars take off several trades at once?
It runs one trade per takeoff. For a multi-trade project you run each trade separately on the same uploaded plan, producing a clean BOQ per trade.
How much does a multi-trade project cost?
Pricing is $100 per trade per plan with unlimited projects, so the cost is simply the number of trades you run times $100.
Do I re-upload the plan for each trade?
No. Upload the set once and run each trade against the same plan; each run produces its own trade BOQ.
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