simPRO, AroFlo, Procore… and You're Still Typing Quotes Out by Hand
Your business runs on software, but the quote still starts in a spreadsheet and ends in a typed letter. Here's where the retyping happens and how we stop it.
Most commercial subcontractors we talk to aren’t short on software. Jobs run in simPRO or AroFlo. Builders send everything through Procore. Invoices go out of Xero.
Then a tender lands and the quote is still done by hand. Someone counts every fitting, types the numbers into Excel, copies them into the pricing sheet, chases supplier prices and types the quote letter. Often at the kitchen table, after a day on site.
So the problem usually isn’t a missing app. It’s the same numbers typed again at every step before a builder sees a price.
Where does the retyping actually happen?
Follow ten downlights from the drawing to the builder’s inbox:
| The moment | What gets typed by hand | What we set up instead |
|---|---|---|
| Takeoff to BOQ | Counts and lengths, line by line into your Excel template | The BOQ in your layout, every line with its drawing cut-out, legend line, drawing number and revision |
| BOQ to pricing | The same quantities, copied into the pricing sheet | Your confirmed BOQ priced from your own rates, labour and mark-ups, each rate with its source and date |
| Pricing to quote | Scope, exclusions and totals, typed into the letter | A draft quote on your letterhead, costs and mark-ups kept off it |
| An addendum lands | Recount, retype, reprice | A change schedule with before-and-after excerpts and the price difference; your original stays untouched |
Every row in the middle column is a chance to drop a digit. Miss one and it’s your margin.
Why doesn’t the software you already run fix it?
Because the quote isn’t one task. It’s a process: sort the tender pack, find the current revision, take off, build the BOQ, price it, write the letter. That process still lives in someone’s head and a spreadsheet.
Pasting a drawing into ChatGPT doesn’t fix it either. More in can ChatGPT or Claude do construction estimating?
How do we stop the retyping?
We set up an estimating plugin in your own Claude or ChatGPT business account. It runs the 15 stages a good estimator works through, around your trade, BOQ layout, pricing and quote template.
Quantities come off the drawings once and carry through:
- Measure. It registers every document and revision, pulls out every “contractor to” note and fills the BOQ in your layout. Anything unclear is flagged, never guessed.
- Approve. Your estimator checks instead of redoing: number, picture, number, picture. Each change saves as a new revision, marked as theirs.
- Price. Your rates, labour and mark-ups, set up as rules. Missing rates are listed for you. You get an internal pricing workbook and a separate draft quote.
Sample data. The quantity is taken from the drawing once, with the evidence beside it, and carried into pricing from there.
Does the quote still sound like you?
Yes, because it’s set up from yours. The draft lands on your letterhead with your pricing table and GST.
Sample data. Your letterhead and your pricing table, with no internal costs or mark-ups on the customer copy.
Scope and exclusions come through in your own wording too.
Sample data. Scope, standards and exclusions in the contractor’s own wording, ready for them to check and approve.
Do you have to change the software you already use?
No. The plugin doesn’t replace simPRO, AroFlo or Procore. It works on your files where they live, on your computer or synced from SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox. Workbooks open in Excel or Sheets.
Where do you still come in?
Where judgement is needed:
- Your estimator signs off the BOQ before pricing.
- You fill any missing rate and approve the price.
- You approve the quote. Nothing goes out before that.
What comes off your plate is the typing.
Is it worth a look?
Yes, if you quote commercial work from drawings and still type quotes by hand. We set it up from three of your quoted jobs, your pricing sheet and your quote template, and prove it on completed jobs first. A fixed setup fee, confirmed on your call.
See how our estimating plugin works, or read what the best AI estimating setup for Australian subcontractors should do.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to replace simPRO, AroFlo or Procore?
No. The plugin works on your files where they already live, on your computer or synced from SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox. Workbooks open in Excel or Sheets.
Will the quote still read like ours?
Yes. It's set up from your quote template and past quotes. Your letterhead, your scope and exclusions wording, no costs or mark-ups on the customer copy.
Can a quote go to a builder without me seeing it?
No. Your estimator signs off the BOQ before pricing. You approve the price and the quote. Nothing goes out before that.
What happens when an addendum lands after we've quoted?
It becomes a change schedule, with before-and-after drawing excerpts and the price difference. Your original quote stays untouched.
What does it cost?
A fixed setup fee, confirmed on your call. Your Claude or ChatGPT subscription is paid separately, directly to them.
Want this on your own jobs?
The estimating plugin is live today: we set it up in your own Claude or ChatGPT account around your rates and your template, and your estimator checks every line before it goes out. The App, with the rest of the office, is in build.