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About Countfire
True automated takeoff software that actually works. Save time, money and increase accuracy. Start your FREE TRIAL today.
The ease of integration, no software to install locally.
There is no 'back' button to help you correct mistakes - you have to rely on not saving changes which is not ideal.
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Filter reviews (209)
Amazing Software - Would definitely recommend!!
Comments: Great, efficient, time saver!!
Pros:
Easy & straightforward to use. Great user interface. Reliable automated counting (if drawings are half decent!)
Cons:
Copying symbol selection over to new drawings & also reviewing later revisions of drawings does not always work as it should with no real explanation as to why apart from it being something related to the drawing
Countfire Response
last year
Thanks Kelly - appreciate you leaving this review! Really glad to hear you're getting on with Countfire so well. You're correct, copying symbols doesn't always work. Occasionally the revised drawings have been created slightly differently - there are usually 2 reasons why Countfire will not automatically find matches: 1 - The drawings have been converted to an image, removing the drawing layers - which means the symbols are not selectable 2 - When the original drawing was revised the symbols have been drawn differently or changed (i.e. the make-up of the symbols has different - for example the shape of a light fitting has changed).
Alternatives Considered:
Game changing!
Comments: Fantastic!!Been using countfire for 4 years now and its made estimating a lot less laborious
Pros:
The constant improvements and the ease of accurate take offs! Countfire team are always looking for ways to improve the software and take on customer feedback very well!Its also a massive bonus for my business model that all take offs can be done online and no need for a printer! Enables the company to operate from anywhere very easily..
Cons:
A live catalogue of materials would complete this software. It would cut down time going out to get live prices on materials.
Countfire Response
last year
Game changing – Awesome! Thanks Josh You're spot on 👍. At Countfire we work on 2 week cycles, releasing hundreds of platform enhancements each year. Great to hear you're also benefitting from being able to log in and operate from anywhere. It would definitely be useful to have access to a live catalogue of materials. We have a feature request for this – your vote has already been added to it. Brilliant that you've been onboard for 4 years – looking forward to continuing our journey together!
Great quality product
Pros:
The ability to select 1 symbol and count fire counts all of them.
Cons:
Either the loading time or the fact that sometimes it messes up the background and believes it is not background. Though I understand this is probably due to the drawings rather than countfire.
Countfire Response
9 months ago
Many thanks for your review Brody. Absolutely – when selecting your symbols Countfire searches for matches across all drawings in your discipline. When backgrounds aren't automatically hidden we have a number of options you can use by clicking the down arrow next to the background button. This allows you to: Customise – select parts of the drawing to hide with the default settings of your background. Restore defaults – return to Countfire's standard background settings. Restart – removes all background settings and allows you to start from scratch.
Good job, keep it up!
Comments: the support team have been provided is brilliant, so a very good experience
Pros:
the ease with which the software identifies the icons once the parameters are set.
Cons:
where the same icon is slightly different the software can't yet differentiate
Countfire Response
3 months ago
Thanks for the great review Daniel! Awesome to hear you're finding it easy to count your symbols with Countfire. Glad to hear you had a very good experience with our support team! We're super proud of our support – we have a live chat to answer any questions you have and offer free online training to make sure you're getting the most out of the software. Sometimes symbols are drawn inconsistently when the drawings are created which can mean that you won't find many matches for your selections. I'd recommend sending us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner and we can take a look at your drawings to see if there's anything we can do to improve your matches.
Taking off made easy!
Pros:
Automatically counting multiple drawings at the same timeAbility to identify any issues/errorsConstantly adding new features
Cons:
So far we have had no issues wit the software. The only very minor issue was not receiving a notification of duplicate symbols on a set of drawings but still not really an issue
Countfire Response
last year
Thanks Jake - really appreciate you leaving this review! Countfire's auto-counting feature is built on our own proprietary image recognition algorithm, this allows the software to automatically recognise selected symbols/text across all the drawings within that discipline. That's spot on - finding errors is easy! You can hide your counted symbols allowing you to visually check your work in the software. Once your takeoff is processed, we also provide a check sheet and pdf drawings so you can be confident your takeoff is 100% accurate. You're right, we are constantly updating and adding new features. To keep up to date with what we're doing you can read our changelogs here https://feedback.countfire.com/changelog Duplicates are a tricky one as it's essentially due to how the drawing has been created - there can be two separate symbols on top of each other and therefore counts as two in the final quantities. Although it rarely happens, when a project is processed we have safety measures in place that notify us if the software suspects any duplicates in your project. As soon as the duplicates get flagged we send out a message detailing where the duplicates have been found and how to fix them.
Best for Take Off's
Comments: Really positive, everyone i have dealt with has been extremely helpful
Pros:
You can complete take offs with covering 1 item multiple times in 1 symbol or you can manually count them off using the measure tool. You can overlap drawings, this is great when you have multiple drawings for 1 floor for example
Cons:
Sometimes the dropbox link isnt sent o my email once processing my take off.
Countfire Response
6 months ago
Thanks for the amazing review Emma! We have a bunch of features to help you takeoff your drawings super quickly and accurately including our automatic counting tools and our measure tools. Great to hear you're finding the Floor plan feature helpful – it allows you to stitch your drawings together to see the whole layout in a single view. There are a few different ways to access your takeoff outputs. As well as Dropbox and OneDrive integrations, you can also download them directly from the app. If you ever have an issue accessing your outputs, just send us a message on our in-app live chat at the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of Countfire – our support team will be happy to help get it sorted for you.
Billy Banyard - Barrie Beard LTD
Comments: Very positive and likely to use the software going forward as opposed to others
Pros:
Count fires auto count across multiple drawing has sped up the take off procedure, enabling us to spend more time estimating and putting costs to things than counting.
Cons:
Measure facility on things such as containment drawing. Its not a dislike but similar to other software (plan swift)
Countfire Response
7 months ago
Thanks for the amazing review Billy! It's awesome to hear how auto counting symbols across multiple drawings is speeding up your takeoff process, giving you extra time to focus on estimating and costing. We have a feature request for "Improvements to measuring containment", you can add your vote by clicking 'Give feedback' on the orange button at the bottom right corner of Countfire.
One year review of the Countfire software
Pros:
The takeoff software allows the user to quickly takeoff any project. The symbol counting tool is impressive and in the future when the project is in a later build most estimators will use this software.
Cons:
The technology, while impressive hasn't reached perfection yet. I believe in years to come this will no longer be a problem. An example of this is the symbol counting software which doesn't accurately take off every symbol. To counteract this Countfire allows you to take as many snippets of the symbol as you want. Hopefully in the near future this will no longer be an issue.
Countfire Response
10 months ago
Thanks for the review Caelan, glad you have been impressed with Countfire! Absolutely – it's great you have been able to complete your takeoffs quicker. We acknowledge there's always room for improvement – our product team work in two week cycles to release hundreds of platform enhancements a year. Countfire finds matches based on your selections. Occasionally, depending how the drawing has been created, symbols can be drawn differently so they don't automatically match with your first selection. To count these different symbols, just make additional selections under the same symbol heading. Really welcome feedback from our users. To submit a feature request click on the orange button in the bottom right-hand corner of the app and choose "Give Feedback".
Review of Countfire
Comments: Still room for improvement however, the product itself makes the life of an estimator easier.
Pros:
Taking off with ease, the zone arrangements and the typical organised nature of the software.
Cons:
Product is a little bit 'choppy'. Requires a more fluid flow especially when panning.
Countfire Response
10 months ago
Thank you for the review – great to hear it's been making your life as an estimator easier! There are a few reasons you may run into "choppy" drawings (lag when zooming in and out or panning the drawing). It's likely to be either internet speed or the complexity of the drawing (i.e. level of detail on the drawing). If you run into this issue definitely contact our support team who will be able to investigate for you – message using the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app or email [email protected].
Countfire Review
Pros:
I like the quick and easiness of using Countfire.
Cons:
Sometimes it takes a very long time to download a takeoff (I understand this maybe due to the size of the takeoff).
Countfire Response
4 months ago
Thanks for the great review Paul! Awesome to hear you're finding Countfire quick and easy to use. At the end of your takeoff, you need to process it to produce your output documents. The time taken to process the takeoff can differ depending on the size and complexity of the project but most takeoffs are ready to download within a few minutes. While your takeoff is processing, you can work on other projects within Countfire however, if your takeoff is taking an unusually long time to process, I'd always recommend sending us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app so we can look into it for you.
Users Review of Countfire
Comments: I have been using Countfire for 8 years and is the best counting and measuring software on the market by far. Ease of use.
Pros:
Countfire has been developed specifically for take off from PDF drawings. The ease of take from PDF drawings and the export in Excel. The ability to create zones that match the tender breakdown/CSA. The exceptional level and speed of support is second to none.
Cons:
The estimating package need a lot of work to be used by major M&E companies. The left hand margin and contents are fixed. This needs to be flexible to move and change fonts etc. Can be slow for take with the background on. (Sometimes the background need to stay)
Countfire Response
6 months ago
Best counting and measuring software on the market by far – love it! Thanks Merv. You're spot on – Countfire has been designed by Estimators for Estimators with loads of features to help improve the speed and accuracy of your takeoffs. Our support is something we're really proud of. From online training sessions to our in-app live chat, we do our best to make sure all of our users get the most out of the software. Thanks for the feedback on the Estimating side of the software. We've recently added the ability to add prelims to your estimates and produce custom reports to suit your requirements. If you'd like to take a look, just let us know and we can set up a quick video call.
Integral Part of Our Business
Pros:
Without the software we wouldn't be able to deliver the speed of work that we are able to do now
Cons:
Sometimes the symbols don't import quite correctly, also doesn't like complex symbols exported from Autocad
Countfire Response
2 years ago
Thanks so much Craig. Thrilled to hear Countfire has sped up what you're able to deliver! With symbols not importing correctly, that's related to the information contained within PDFs and how it's made ready to work on within Countfire. This is always a little tricky as PDFs can (and do!) contain virtually anything, however, we recently completed a major overhaul of this system and the results are significantly improved. With complex symbols, that's related to how many parts each symbol is drawn with. Again, it's a little tricky, because we don't have control over how these symbols are drawn originally, but there are a couple of tricks available to help! The first is to use the in-app editor to simplify these complex symbols down to just the parts that matter – improving automatic counting in the process. The second is to fire us a quick message in-app, we can take a look at your specific project and often make tweaks to improve things.
A great product which makes my job easier.
Comments: Overall countfire has made my job as an estimator a lot easier and quicker. It helps me maximise the speed of my take offs whilst making sure the quality is up to standard.
Pros:
The product itself is very easy to use and get used to. I can take drawings off in whatever way I need, and even go back to edit take offs if needs be with no hassle.
Cons:
One feature I would like to see added to countfire is the ability to copy a Group/Measure/Count. Sometimes on one drawing I could have multiple types of spurs for example, and it would be nice to be able to copy one line item, and edit part of the reference to save typing out the whole thing.
Easy to use take off software
Comments: Great piece of software that not only speeds up the process but also helps with the reporting.
Pros:
The software is easy to use and if in doubt the speed of assistance is almost immediate. The ease to choose symbols which then copies across to all drawings in that section makes it so much faster.
Cons:
Not having used any other software for take offs in the past doesn't give me much to say what features the software lacks or is missing, anything we do use is a bonus and with new features constantly updating I cant fault it.
Countfire Response
last year
Thanks Adam! Really glad you're getting on well with the software and find it easy to use - our support response times are also something we're super proud of! In terms of not having used any other takeoff software I can understand it can be tricky to see what features you'd find useful. With that in mind, we're always happy to receive feedback from our customers and you can view our feature requests by clicking on the orange button in-app and selecting 'Give feedback'! You're right, we are constantly updating and adding new features. To keep up to date with what we're doing you can read our change logs here https://feedback.countfire.com/changelog
Sceptical at First
Comments: Very sceptical at first having always done things longhand and trusted my own ability. However having used Countfire and realised the time saving and accuracy it gives you is outstanding. The support is brilliant if you are unsure of something or want to do something a bit different. Overall a great asset to any estimating or project control division
Pros:
The ease of document loading and producing take off's
Cons:
I do not believe anything is missing. The hardest part is remembering to set the zones so you do not do a take off on the legend
Countfire Response
last year
Thanks for the great review David! Awesome to hear you're finding it easy to upload your documents and complete your takeoff. Nothing missing - brilliant! If you have any feedback in future or any questions, please send us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app. If you do find you've forgotten to add your zones on the first pass, you can jump back in to your takeoff, add your zones and reprocess your takeoff to get your updated output files. Appreciate it can be a bit daunting to change your estimating methods but it's great to hear you're benefitting from the time saving and increased accuracy Countfire provides. Our support is something we're super proud of – we provide free online training sessions to help you get the most out of the software.
What did we do before this software?
Pros:
We use solely for the count of off drawings for tendering projects, this has saved immense time for even some of the largest projects, we are able to add additional points and measure accurately to check the designs were supplied. We are then able to provide the spreadsheet produced with our tender with a comprehensive list of where the information came from.
Cons:
If the drawings are not made correctly then the software does struggle to read all symbols this though probably is more down to the original document than Countfire problem,
Countfire Response
last year
Thank you for the great review! Pleased to hear using the software is saving you loads of time. In terms of the software struggling to read all the symbols, that's usually down the way the original drawing was created, yes. We tend to find it's a fairly unusual thing to run into, however, we've also got a number of ways we can step in and help. If you run into it again, please fire us a quick message in-app and one of the Support team will take a look at your project and likely have you sorted in no time.
A great time saver
Pros:
Countfire works very well as quick take off tool when producing estimates, it saves a lot of time when working through large quantities of drawings, you only need to make small adjustments to the search criteria as opposed to going through every drawing and taking off by hand.
Cons:
There are some limitations in what you can and cant do, with some updates from the suggested features it would become a far more competent tool for a designer estimator like myself - in particular different shaped coverage indicators and a larger choice of symbols and colour choices would massively improve the usability of countfire.
Countfire Response
last year
Thanks for the review Sam! Great to hear you're saving time using Countfire. You're spot on – when you make a selection on one drawing, Countfire automatically looks for matches across all of the drawings in your discipline. When users make suggestions on features they'd like to see in the software, we track these with feature requests. We have feature requests for different shaped coverage areas, more colour options for your symbols and the ability to add custom symbols – you've already added your vote 👍
Countfire is a lifesaver!
Comments:
From a user perspective, Countfire is a lifesaver. You upload your drawings simply and easily and within minutes you can have a scaled, marked up set of drawings with all measurements documented in an excel spreadsheet. I take this output and use it to accurately build quotes and check quantities on all projects from single residential to large scale hotels and commercial. For us it means that we can have accurate information to supply alongside our quotes to give us peace of mind that our measurements are completely transparent to clients without sending physical copies of marked up drawings. The guys at Countfire are beyond helpful and have put a huge amount of work into making the software work for us, they are always easily contactable and jump right in to help whenever there may be a problem.
It's dramatically reduced the time we spend on quoting, and in turn improved our workflow and relationship with clients. I couldn't recommend it more.
Pros:
Easy and simple to use for a process that is inherently complex and difficult.
Cons:
Countfire used to be heavily geared towards counting references and not linear measurements. There have been HUGE steps by the guys at Countfire to improve the linear side of things with many new additions to the software for this purpose. Some drawings on a large scale (1:200+) are hard to measure small lengths under 300mm, but this is a very minor issue that the support staff will help with on a project by project basis.
Countfire Review
Pros:
Take offs and PDF comparison are good providing the pdf is in the right format
Cons:
Expensive per user, no multi user plans so £200 a user seems high
Countfire Response
10 months ago
Thanks Joe for the review! Thrilled to hear you find take offs and the PDF comparison helpful. We have a tiered pricing structure which offers a sliding discount for additional users. We also offer a 10% discount on yearly subscriptions.
Saving time to tackle the high end cost items!
Pros:
The new feature to overlay drawings to save time taking off similar drawings more than once.
Cons:
Can be long processing some complicated drawings.
Countfire Review
Comments: Well worth the effort to try out. I would really allocate this to only one or two persons in an office and let them develop the skills necessary to be productive and create accurate take offs. I enjoy using it and continue to be surprised how well the end result evolves. Practice makes perfect, it can only get better.
Pros:
As a Lighting Engineer with some knowledge of construction software and the difficulties one can experience in quickly getting up to speed with new programs, I was pleasantly surprised to find that even without reading any tutorials, I was able to navigate and complete a number of projects on my desk over a 24hr period. The guys at Countfire patiently watched me and offered advice how to improve my takeoff but I just kept going and only when I got into some bother did I read their suggestions. What this means is that a novice with some practical experience of popular programs such as Microsoft Paint etc. will quickly get a handle on the basics of this take off program. As with most things today..easy to learn..to master, takes time.
Cons:
Nothing to do with the software but it does pick up some inconsistencies amongst Architects and Drafts-persons, some who clearly do not anticipate a computer checking their work. Some very sloppy drawings out there. I check the drawings now prior to uploading so that I have an idea of where I need to look closely. Again, it's not an issue with Countfire.
Countfire
Comments: As noted above and the benefit of having a fully totalled excel spread sheet.
Pros:
This software not only saves time estimating with automated counting, but also saves on the need to print off large layout drawings.
Cons:
Think it would be helpful to be able to add / remove layout drawings within the main count off screen instead of coming out and going to the project log in screen. Would be good if the system to could remember the last drawing that you're taking off when you first log on.
Personal view of Countfire after 3 weeks
Comments: Its quick and easy to use. There are a few things which can be done to make it even better but overall its far more efficient than using paper and coloured pens.
Pros:
It is pretty easy to use once you are using it on a daily basis. It makes the take-off process a lot quicker and doesn't require the need for printing off a Forrest worth of trees for drawings, plus you don't need to keep a whole range of coloured pens handy.
Cons:
I have found that I have gone back to drawings that I have taken off first time around and noticed symbols which I did take off were not highlighted. That could be simply down to me not saving each time. However, I have had to go back through each drawing to make sure I haven't missed anything. There should be something in place to highlight anything that has been missed. It would also be helpful to have an option to pick regularly used symbols and containment so that you can save time not having to manually type them in.
Quick, easy,fast and great support
Pros:
The ability to drag, drop and created elements save days of manual counting on paper. the software can be used anywhere you have internet connection
Cons:
an internet connection is required and a large amount of storage for dropbox also
Countfire Response
7 years ago
Thanks Ciaran! Countfire now automatically frees up space within Dropbox meaning you no longer need to purchase a paid Dropbox account. With regard to needing an internet connection, there are a number of positives to consider too. We're able to provide near instant in-app support right when you need it (our current response time is less than 1 minute). Countfire is definitely not the kind of software you buy and then never hear from us again, and having an internet connection is an important part of us being able to provide that level of support to our customers. Additionally, new updates and features get rolled out immediately and we don't hold these back for a new version of the software, as can happen with traditional / older methods of software distribution. You always have the latest and best version.
Countfire for mechanical users
Comments: The take off package is great and saves times and money on printing endless amounts of drawings. And also great service and very helpful.
Pros:
the main reason for using this is take off package which is very helpful and saves time at tender stage.
Cons:
Estimate side seems a bit over complicated for new users.
Countfire Response
10 months ago
Great review Wesley, amazing news that you find Countfire helpful for mechanical users. Really glad to hear Countfire's been useful during the tender stage– saving you time as well as money! Our support team would be more than happy to help you get to grips with our estimating tool. Please do reach out by using the orange button in-app. The estimating tool will allow you to work faster and increase accuracy.
