The Best AI Estimating Setup for Subcontractors in Australia (2026)

Here’s how estimating goes in a lot of commercial trade businesses.

The tender lands through EstimateOne or a builder’s email. Someone files the pack in OneDrive or SharePoint. On a big job the estimator prints the drawings at A3, highlights the ductwork or cable runs and scales off by hand. That takes days. Drawings go to suppliers, then everyone waits. When prices land, the estimator types the quote, sometimes 15 pages. Then an addendum lands and part of it starts again.

The business runs on simPRO or AroFlo, Procore for builders, Xero for invoicing. None of them did the takeoff or typed the quote.

That’s the job people mean by “best AI estimating software”. Here’s what the best setup does, and how we set it up.

What does the best AI estimating setup do?

1. It prices from your rates, not a price book

Your margin lives in your rates: supplier prices, labour hours per item, mark-ups. A plain chatbot fills in a plausible number. The best setup loads your own rate register, each rate with a source and date, and lists missing or expired rates for you to fill.

Sample data. Every rate carries its source and date; the one that’s out of date is flagged.

2. It shows where every quantity came from

A number you can’t check is a number you redo. The best setup puts a drawing screenshot beside every BOQ line, with drawing number and revision. Your estimator checks instead of recounting.

Sample data. Ten downlights: the legend line, the ten markers on the plan, and drawing E-102 revision A, all beside the row.

3. It flags what it can’t read

A plain chatbot gives a confident answer whether it’s right or not. The best setup does the opposite. A missing length or unclear symbol goes on one checkpoint list. Unclear scope gets one clear question.

Sample demonstration in ChatGPT. The scope question comes with options instead of a guess.

4. It keeps your estimator in charge

AI can’t be accountable for a price. Your estimator can. The setup stops three times: you confirm the BOQ, approve the price and approve each quote letter.

5. It handles addenda without starting again

It re-reads only what changed, keeps your rates on everything else and shows a change schedule with the price difference. Your original quote stays untouched.

Sample data. The addendum becomes a change schedule with the price difference, not a re-quote.

6. It works where your files already are

No new app to move into. It reads tender packs from SharePoint, OneDrive or Google Drive, drafts supplier RFQs for you to send, and makes workbooks that open in Excel or Sheets.

Sample data. One job folder: tender, BOQ, pricing, quotes and the addendum, each revision kept.

7. It writes the quote the way you do

Detailed quotes win work. The best setup writes on your letterhead, with your inclusions and exclusions, one letter per builder with its own revision. Costs and mark-ups stay off the customer copy.

Sample data. Your letterhead, your wording, no internal costs.

How do we set it up?

We set it up as an estimating plugin in your own Claude or ChatGPT business account. It runs 15 steps in four stages:

Stage	Steps	Where you come in
Drawings to quantities	Register the tender, agree scope, set the scale, count, measure, add your allowances, fill your BOQ	Nothing, unless the scope is unusual
Confirm the BOQ	A screenshot beside every row; open items on one checkpoint tab	Confirm or edit
Pricing	Draft supplier RFQs, load your rates and labour, work out direct costs, apply your selling rules	Send the RFQs, then approve the price
Quotes and changes	One letter per builder; addenda re-priced against what you sent	Approve each letter and confirm changes

We set it up from three of your completed jobs: tender documents, your BOQ and the quote you sent. We prove it on those jobs, walk your team through it, and hand over a recording and a step-by-step guide.

Sample data. The step-by-step guide your team keeps.

What does it cost?

A fixed setup fee, confirmed on your call. No subscription to us. Your rates, rules and templates stay editable.

Is it right for you?

It’s for commercial subcontractors who quote from drawings: HVAC, electrical, fire, plumbing, concrete, masonry, linings, joinery, scaffolding and more. For electrical, see electrical estimating software. If takeoffs take days and you’re still typing quotes out by hand, it’s worth a look. See how it works, or read whether ChatGPT or Claude can do estimating on their own.