The problem: posts are not linear feet divided by spacing
- Post count restarts at every corner. Dividing a whole traced outline by your spacing puts posts through the corners and comes up short — it has to be worked segment by segment, rounded up, plus one, then less one wherever two segments share a corner post.
- Corner posts and end posts are different parts at different prices from line posts, and they are set by the shape of the run.
- Gates interrupt a run and need their own posts, usually heavier ones.
- Grade changes mean stepped or racked panels, which changes panel count on that run.
A fence takeoff is fast arithmetic done many times. It is exactly the kind of job where doing it in your head on the tailgate produces a number that is close and a material list that is short.
How the tool handles it
Each run is a traced polyline, and the post count is computed per segment, not across the whole outline: segment length divided by your spacing, rounded up, plus one — summed across segments, less one for each shared corner. The vertex angles tell the tool which posts are corners and which are ends, so the parts split correctly. Gates are counted where you place them and break the run properly.
One trace, the whole material list
A condition is a named, colored layer you trace on the drawing. An assembly turns that one condition into every part it drives, each with its own formula, coverage rate, waste percentage and rounding rule. A 6ft privacy fence condition looks like this:
| Part | Unit | Driven by |
|---|---|---|
| Line post | EA | per segment: ceil(segment LF ÷ spacing) + 1, summed, less shared corners |
| Corner post | EA | derived from vertex angles |
| End post | EA | derived from run endpoints |
| Panel | EA | bay count — post spacing must equal panel width |
| Picket | EA | run LF ÷ (picket width + gap), rounded up |
| Rails | LF | run LF × rail count |
| Rot board | LF | run LF |
| Concrete | BAG | line posts × line bags + corner and end posts × corner bags + gate posts × gate bags |
| Post cap | EA | post count |
| Fasteners | LB | picket or panel count × fasteners each |
| Gate | EA | counted, with its own posts and hardware |
| Install labor | HR | run LF ÷ production rate |
Change a coverage rate, a waste percentage or a unit cost and every job using that assembly re-prices. You are not editing numbers in twelve places.
Spacing restarts at every corner
A 41 foot segment at 8 foot spacing is six bays and seven posts, not 6.125 posts. Each segment rounds up on its own and the shared corner posts are deducted once, which is exactly the arithmetic hand takeoffs get wrong.
Corners from geometry
Vertex angles on the traced line classify each post as line, corner or end, so the mix of parts is right without counting them off the plan.
Concrete by post type
A line post, a corner post and a gate post do not get the same hole. Each carries its own bags-per-post rate, so a fence with three gates does not come up short on the concrete order.
Every number traces back to a mark
When the post count is challenged, the marked-up site plan shows each run traced, each vertex classified as line, corner or end, and the spacing that produced the count.
Every number on the report links back to a specific mark, on a specific sheet, at a specific place on the page. The marked-up PDF export draws every mark in its condition color with the quantity labeled — that is the file you attach to the bid.
Accuracy is held to a stated tolerance: linear measurements within 0.10% of true, straight-sided areas within 0.25%, and calibration repeatable within 0.20% across five separate calibrations of the same page. Geometry is stored in PDF units, never screen pixels, and rounding happens exactly once — at report time.
What it costs
Fence takeoffs are fast and repetitive, which is exactly why they get done in someone's head and come up a post short per run.
$2,500, paid once. Nothing in year two. Nothing in year three. No per-seat bill and no renewal date.
| Estimators using it | A per-seat subscription, five years | Ours, one-time licence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,745 – $10,000 | $2,500 |
| 2 | $17,490 – $20,000 | $2,500 |
| 3 | $26,235 – $30,000 | $2,500 |
| 5 | $43,725 – $50,000 | $2,500 |
Their column multiplies by headcount and then repeats every year. Ours does neither. Put a fourth estimator on it and the number is still $2,500, because you are not licensing seats — you are buying the software.
And it does not repeat
| Whole company | Per-seat subscription, billed that year | Ours, billed that year |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $1,749 – $2,000 × seats | $2,500 |
| Year 2 | $1,749 – $2,000 × seats | $0 |
| Year 3 | $1,749 – $2,000 × seats | $0 |
| Year 4 | $1,749 – $2,000 × seats | $0 |
| Year 5 | $1,749 – $2,000 × seats | $0 |
What you actually receive
- The source code. Not access to it — a copy of it, running on your infrastructure.
- A one-time perpetual licence. It does not expire, it cannot be revoked, and there is no renewal date in your calendar.
- No seat count. Put every estimator in the company on it. There is no user tier to outgrow and nothing that counts logins.
- No dependence on us. Sixty days of support are included. After that you can hire any developer to change it, because you have the code. Most vendors cannot make that offer, because with them you are renting.
Subscription figures are publicly reported PlanSwift prices from software review sites, shown as a representative example of per-seat takeoff pricing. Check any vendor's current pricing directly before you compare. See the full PlanSwift comparison.
What is being built next
- DXF and DWG import is in active development. Today the tool reads PDF. If your drawings arrive as CAD files, ask on the call and we will give you honest timing rather than a guess on a web page.
- Auto-count symbol recognition — box a symbol once and find every match on the sheet — is a later release.
- Multi-estimator assignment, so a supervisor can hand work to specific people, is still being built out.