Cost Code Mapping Between Excel & Assemblies (Streamlined Estimating Workflow)

First off, I want to say I’m excited about your software and the potential it has to simplify takeoffs in a big way. I recently started testing ZZ Take Off as an alternative to PlanSwift, and I think you're on the right track especially with the Excel export feature already in place.

That said, I’d love to see ZZ Take Off implement an intuitive and user-friendly system for mapping cost codes between Excel and assemblies—something that automates the estimating process from takeoff to proposal. Here's what I'm currently trying to do in PlanSwift (which is possible, but clunky and difficult to set up):

• I build a cost code sheet in Excel where each line item ties to a specific code.
• I create assemblies in PlanSwift that are linked to their associated codes.
• After finishing a take off for the quantities, I export the report to Excel.
• From there, I copy my final quantities and cost codes directly into my proposal spreadsheet.
• Finally, the formulas within excel automate all the calculations and the only thing left to do is input the variables.

This workflow, when set up properly, dramatically speeds up the estimating process. But learning how to build and map this within PlanSwift is extremely frustrating and poorly documented. The interface just isn’t intuitive for users who want to customize assemblies and tie them directly to cost structures.

If anybody currently knows how to build this within Planswift please comment on this post.

If ZZ Take Off could build a similar system, but make it simple and intuitive, I would switch over immediately. This is a must-have feature for me and I think a lot of estimators don’t even realize how powerful this kind of setup could be until they’ve seen it in action. Plus you developers would save me from learning the awful and painful advanced planswift features.

I’d be happy to help beta test or walk through what this looks like in more detail if your team is considering building it. I think it would be a game-changer for your platform and a huge value-add for your users.

Thanks again for the great work so far!