If you’ve got a set of blueprints and you want Eano to do the counting — square feet of drywall, linear feet of baseboard, how many fixtures on each sheet — that’s what Takeoff Concierge is for. You upload your plans, it reads the drawings, and it hands back a detailed takeoff: quantities, units, and costs, grouped by trade and ready to shape into an estimate. Think of it as a tireless junior estimator who reads the whole set and never loses count.
The short version: open the project or opportunity, click Ask AI, attach your plans, and ask for a takeoff. That works whether your scope is empty or already full of line items. You never need to delete anything to make room for it.
If the job isn’t in Eano yet, you’ve got two equally direct routes: attach your plans in Ask AI from anywhere and say they’re for a takeoff, or open New Opportunity, switch the drop zone to the Process with Takeoff Concierge tab, and drop your plans there.
Starting a Takeoff from Ask AI
Ask AI is the button at the very top of the left-hand navigation, and it’s there on every page. On a project or opportunity, there’s a second Ask AI button right beside the Project ID at the top of the page. Either one opens the chat window. This is the most reliable way to run a takeoff, and it’s the one to reach for if you’re not sure where to start.
Open the project or opportunity you want the takeoff to land in.
Click Ask AI. Check the Working on: line just above the message box — it names the job the chat is working on, so you can confirm you’re in the right place before you start.
Attach your plans — drag the PDF into the chat or use the paperclip button at the bottom-left of the message box. You can add several plan sets at once (architectural, structural, mechanical) and they’ll be read together as a single takeoff.
Ask for a takeoff — something as plain as “run a takeoff on these plans” does it.
From there the conversation walks you through the rest: it reads your drawings, plays back what it thinks it’s looking at so you can confirm or correct it, asks a few clarifying questions, and then gets to work.
A couple of handy shortcuts:
Plans already in the project? If the PDF is already in the job’s All Files, there’s no need to upload it again — just ask Ask AI to run a takeoff on that file.
No job yet? Open Ask AI from anywhere, attach your plans, and say they’re for a takeoff. Eano creates a new opportunity named after your file and runs the takeoff there, so there’s nothing to re-upload. If you attach a file without saying what it’s for, you’ll get a quick choice: AI Takeoff, Import its line items, or Just create the opportunity.
You Don’t Need to Empty Your Scope First
This is worth stating plainly, because it’s the most common piece of bad advice going around: you should not delete your scope line items to run a takeoff. Your existing work is valuable, and clearing it out is never a prerequisite.
If the project already has scope in it, Eano asks you how the takeoff should land. The question tells you exactly what’s there now — how many sections and items — and which plans it’s about to read. You choose:
Add to current scope keeps everything that’s already there and adds the takeoff’s items on top, in their own new Takeoff section. This is the one to pick if your existing lines are worth keeping.
Replace current scope clears what’s there and rebuilds the scope from your plans. Pick this when the existing scope was a rough placeholder and the takeoff is meant to be the real thing.
If you do choose to replace, your scope is only cleared after your plans have been read successfully, so a bad or unreadable PDF can’t cost you your existing lines. Past that point, though, the replace is final — cancelling the takeoff or a failed run later on won’t bring the old lines back. If you’re at all unsure, choose Add to current scope; you can always delete lines afterward.
One limit to know about: once you’ve clicked Start Project, the scope is locked, and that includes takeoffs. At that point, new work goes in as a change order instead.
Starting from an Empty Scope
If you’re starting a brand-new opportunity and the scope is still empty, the Scope tab offers a way in as well — you’ll find a Takeoff Concierge tile, marked Add-on, among the options for getting your scope started, alongside generating an estimate with AI and Upload an Existing Project or Template.
That route is a convenience for the blank-page moment. Once there are line items in the scope, those starter tiles tuck away — which is exactly why Ask AI is the better habit: it’s there whether your scope is empty or full.
Starting a Takeoff from the New Opportunity Form
If the job doesn’t exist in Eano yet, you can go straight from plans to takeoff without creating anything first. Open New Opportunity — from the Opportunities page, or from Quick Add in the bar along the top of the screen — and look at the two tabs sitting above the file drop zone.
Add Rows is the default, and it reads a document you already have — an estimate, a spreadsheet, a prior project file — pulling in the client and project details and transcribing its line items into your scope. It accepts Images, PDF, Word, Excel, CSV, and Text, up to 10 MB. What it doesn’t do is measure anything off drawings. (This path has its own article — see “Uploading an Existing Project or Template.”)
Process with Takeoff Concierge is the one you want for plans. Switch to it and the drop zone changes to “Drop your takeoff PDF here or click to browse” — PDF only, up to 200 MB and 100 pages. Drop your plans there and the takeoff opens straight away. Once you’re past the free-trial or upgrade step, Eano quietly creates the opportunity for you — if you back out before then, nothing is created. If you hadn’t typed a name yet, it names the opportunity after your file, which you can rename later.
The distinction that matters is what each one does with the file rather than where you clicked: Add Rows transcribes numbers you already have, while Takeoff Concierge measures fresh quantities off drawings. If you already have the numbers, use Add Rows. If you need Eano to count from plans, use Takeoff Concierge — and if you drop plans on the Add Rows tab by mistake, you’ll get whatever details it could read rather than a takeoff, so just switch tabs and drop them again.
Your First Takeoff Is Free
Takeoff Concierge is a paid add-on, but every team gets one takeoff free to try it out. How you’re asked depends on where you started:
In Ask AI, the chat lets you know you have one free takeoff available and that running it now will use it up. Choose Use my free takeoff to go ahead, or Not now to save it.
From the New Opportunity form or the Scope tab tile, you’ll see a card headed Add Takeoff Concierge telling you your first takeoff is free. Choose Use Free Trial to spend it on this job, or Upgrade to subscribe. If you’d rather save the free one for a job that matters more, just close the card and come back when you’re ready.
After that, Takeoff Concierge is a monthly add-on at $299 per month, on top of whatever Eano plan you’re on. The feature is still evolving, so terms may change — the upgrade details are always shown before you commit to anything.
Getting the Best Results
A few things to know before you upload:
PDF only, up to 200 MB per file, and about 100 pages is a good ceiling for one takeoff. If your plans live in another format, export or print them to PDF first. If a set is too big to read at usable quality, you’ll be asked to split it into smaller sets.
A full set beats a teaser. Floor plans, elevations, and schedules give the concierge far more to work with than a single sheet. The richer the plans, the richer the takeoff.
Send several plan sets at once if you have them — up to eight PDFs in one takeoff. Architectural, structural, and mechanical drawings read together produce a better takeoff than any one of them alone.
Quality matters. A crisp, exported PDF reads better than a blurry phone photo saved as one. If the drawings are hard for you to read, they’re hard for the concierge too.
Add context it can’t see. When you’re asked for detail, mention things the drawings don’t carry — HOA requirements, finish levels, local regulations. A sentence or two here can sharpen the result considerably.
Confirming What It Found
Before running the full takeoff, the concierge does a quick read of your plans and plays back a short summary of what it thinks it’s looking at. This is a handshake, not a final answer.
If the summary lines up with reality, confirm it and the questions begin. If something’s off, say so — “this is a kitchen remodel, not a full gut.” A quick correction here steers everything that follows, and it’s much cheaper than correcting the takeoff afterward.
While It Works
A takeoff takes a few minutes, because it’s actually reading your sheets rather than skimming them. If the job’s scope was empty (or you chose to replace it), you’ll see a progress card on the Scope tab while it runs.
Two states show up there, and it’s worth knowing the difference:
“A few quick questions first…” means nothing is calculating yet — the concierge is waiting on your answers. There’s an Answer in Ask AI button right there to take you to them. If a takeoff seems to be sitting still, this is almost always why.
“We’re doing some math…” with a progress bar means it’s genuinely working through your drawings. Feel free to step away; it’ll be waiting when you come back.
Either way, while a takeoff is running, Eano holds off on changes to your scope until it finishes — otherwise two sets of results would end up tangled together and there’d be no telling which line came from where. If you chose to add to an existing scope, your table stays in view the whole time; you just can’t change it until the takeoff lands.
Changed your mind? There’s a Cancel button on the progress card, or you can simply ask Ask AI to cancel the takeoff. Cancelling stops the run. If you chose to add to your scope, everything you had is still there; if you chose to replace it, the old lines were already cleared when the takeoff started.
Reviewing Your Takeoff
When it’s done, your Scope tab fills in with a structured takeoff in a new Takeoff section:
Grouped by trade — demolition, framing, plumbing, electrical, and so on — so it reads the way you think about a job.
Line items with the numbers filled in — each with a quantity, a unit, a unit cost, and a total.
Traceable back to the drawings — so double-checking a count doesn’t mean hunting blind.
That last one is worth a closer look. Every takeoff line carries a small purple icon next to its name. Click it and a Takeoff Concierge panel slides out showing you the work behind the number:
The sheet it came from, rendered right there so you can see the drawing without opening the PDF.
Accuracy — whether the quantity was Measured or Estimated.
Notes — the reasoning in plain English, including which sheets were scanned and what assumptions were made when the drawings didn’t say.
Sheet — the sheet number, so you can find it in your own set.
Need a closer look at the drawing itself? Hover over the sheet and click View Expanded. The sheet opens full screen, where you can zoom in and out, drag to move around it, and click Fit to see the whole page again.
Those notes are the most useful part of a review. When a number looks high or low, the reasoning usually tells you why in a sentence — and often it’s an assumption you can correct in seconds.
Where the prices come from. The unit costs are market estimates, not your rates. If Takeoff Concierge knows where the job is — a city or address on the plans, or your answer when it asks where the property is — it prices to that local market, so the same scope comes back higher in a high-cost city than in a small town. Without a location, it falls back to general estimates. Either way, check them against what you actually pay.
None of it is locked. Every quantity and cost is editable, and you can add or delete lines freely. The concierge gives you a strong first draft; you stay the estimator. From there, you’re a short hop from a quote you can send.
A Few Things Worth Knowing
You never have to clear your scope to run a takeoff. If there’s already scope on the job, Eano asks whether to add to it or replace it.
Ask AI works whether your scope is empty or full — right up until you click Start Project, which locks the scope.
Check the Working on line. A takeoff lands in the job the chat is working on, so make sure it’s the right one before you start.
Field workers and subcontractors don’t have Ask AI. If you don’t see it at all, that’s the likely reason.
Everything it produces is editable. Treat it as a strong first draft, not a final answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’m in the Scope tab but I can’t find Takeoff Concierge.
The starter tiles on the Scope tab only appear while the scope is still empty, so once you’ve got line items they tuck away. That’s not a sign anything is switched off — just open Ask AI instead, attach your plans, and ask for a takeoff. It works whether the scope is empty or not.
Where did the Ask AI tab go?
It’s now a button at the top of the left-hand navigation, available on every page, plus an Ask AI button next to the Project ID when you’re on a project or opportunity. Both open the same chat window.
Do I need to delete my scope items first?
No — and please don’t. Your line items are worth keeping. If there’s already scope on the job, Eano asks whether the takeoff should add to it or replace it, and shows you how many sections and items are there, so it’s your call rather than something you have to do by hand in advance.
Will a takeoff wipe out the scope I’ve already built?
Only if you tell it to. Choose Add to current scope and everything you’ve built stays put, with the takeoff arriving in its own new Takeoff section. Only Replace current scope clears what’s there. It waits until your plans have been read successfully, but once it’s cleared, cancelling the takeoff won’t bring those lines back.
What file types can I upload?
PDFs only, up to 200 MB per file, with about 100 pages as a good ceiling for one takeoff. Export or print other formats to PDF first. You can send up to eight plan sets in one go.
How long does a takeoff take?
A few minutes — it’s reading your drawings carefully. Your Scope tab will show progress; come back shortly and it’ll be ready.
My takeoff looks stuck — the Scope tab isn’t moving.
Check what the card actually says. If it reads “A few quick questions first…”, nothing is calculating yet: the concierge is waiting on answers from you. Click Answer in Ask AI, reply to the questions, and the takeoff starts right after.
My takeoff said it couldn’t generate results.
Every so often a plan set doesn’t produce a usable takeoff, and you’ll see a message saying so rather than an empty section. Try again — and if it happens a second time, check that the PDF is a clear, exported set of drawings rather than a scan or photo.
Can I stop a takeoff once it’s started?
Yes. Click Cancel on the progress card on the Scope tab, or ask Ask AI to cancel it. If you chose to add to your scope, your existing lines are untouched. If you chose to replace it, those lines were cleared when the takeoff started and cancelling won’t restore them.
How do I check where a number came from?
Click the small purple icon next to any takeoff line item. A panel opens showing the sheet the item came from, the sheet number, whether the quantity was measured or estimated, and notes explaining the reasoning and any assumptions made. Click View Expanded on the sheet to zoom in on the drawing.
How much does it cost?
Your first takeoff is free — one per team. After that it’s a monthly add-on at $299 per month, on top of whatever Eano plan you’re on. Since the feature is still evolving, terms may change; the current details are always shown before you sign up.
Does it work in a project, or only an opportunity?
Both — as long as the project hasn’t been started. Once you click Start Project, the scope is locked and new work goes in as a change order.
Why can’t I edit my scope right now?
If a takeoff is running on that project, Eano holds off on scope changes while it finishes, so results don’t get tangled together. It’ll come back on its own — or you can cancel the run. If the project has been started, the scope is locked for good; add new work as a change order.
Will it get everything perfectly right?
It gives you a strong, structured first draft, but you’re still the estimator. Review it against your plans and adjust anything that needs your judgment — everything’s editable. The notes on each line will tell you which numbers were measured and which were assumed.
I uploaded my blueprints when creating the opportunity. Where’s my takeoff?
Check which tab you were on. The drop zone on the New Opportunity form has two: Add Rows, which reads a document for its details and transcribes line items from an existing estimate, and Process with Takeoff Concierge, which measures quantities off drawings. Plans dropped on Add Rows give you the details it could read, not a takeoff. Switch to the Takeoff tab and drop them again — or open Ask AI from the opportunity that got created, attach your plans, and ask for a takeoff there.