Why the quantity matters as much as the rate
A carefully built-up rate multiplied by the wrong quantity is still the wrong price. Yet quantities are often scaled off a printout with a ruler, typed into a spreadsheet, and never connected back to the drawing they came from. Takeoff in Ground Truth Estimator keeps every quantity tied to the drawing and page it was measured on, and carries it straight into the estimate.
A scale for every page
Calibrate each page by clicking two points a known distance apart — the scale bar in the title block is ideal — and typing the real-world distance. Sheets in a drawing set are often drawn at different scales, so every page keeps its own; when a page shares another page's scale, reuse it in one click. Zoom in up to 800%, or go full screen, and fine-tune any point with the arrow keys, so the scale is set precisely rather than approximately.
Lengths, areas, and counts — with a running total
Trace a kerb line, a pipe run, or a fence as a length; outline a pad, a car park, or a laydown area as an area of any shape; click pits, poles, or trees to count them. A live running total shows the quantity as you click, so you can check a measurement before you save it — and each point can be nudged or undone without starting again.
From measurement to line item in one step
Send any measurement to the estimate: pick the category, confirm the description and quantity, and it becomes a bill-of-quantities line item with the right unit, ready to build its rate up from labour, plant, material, and subcontract in your own rate library. The measurement stays marked as sent, so nothing is counted twice.
Your drawings stay on your computer
The PDF itself is never uploaded. Only its measurements, scales, and a fingerprint that identifies that exact file are saved online. Open the drawing on another computer — or share it with a colleague — and the app checks it's the same file before showing the measurements, so quantities can never land on the wrong revision.