# best Takeoff software



## ajneally

My company uses Maxwell Systems ProContractorMX.. We purchased the software about 18 months ago. (So very sorry that we did). Spent somewhere aroun $16,000.00. They did a great job selling their product!
We can not stand this software. We are in search of a very simple takeoff software (cad based or not) that we can quantify cuts and fill, pipe, etc. etc. Does anyone on here have any suggestions? We are very familiar with roctec, timberline, and several others, just curious to see what everyone thinks.


----------



## Agcadmin1

Agtek. Used a number of different takeoff softwares and stuck with agtek over the years. It's a high priced product but they stand behind it with excellent customer support. We currentley use earthwork 3D and materials 3D.


----------



## ElIngeniero

We have also used maxwell. We are currently using Carlson Takeoff which does a lot but the learning curve is pretty steep. We demo'd Agtek and it is certainly faster/easier than Carlson but at almost 3x the price and we couldn't build gps machine control models with it.

I get a lot of brochures from insite and it seems similar to carlson.

Maxwell was very buggy...especially when importing CAD files.

If you go with Carlson Takeoff, be sure to get professional training. It does some really impressive things...but again, the learning curve is painful.


----------



## Agcadmin1

Carlson is a great takeoff system as well and one we strongly considered when upgrading from sitework 98 to agtek 3d. Agtek will allow you to build models to use with machine control though we do this on a regular basis for any job over about 15000 yards. Agtek is not cad based as much a carlson which allows for a liitle smaller learning curve. We also choose agtek because of its simplicity and the number of jobs we are bidding a week. We have three estimators bidding between 10-15 project a week. Should you choose either of these products I think you will be happy with the end result.


----------



## ajneally

Thank You Guys, I soo appreciate the help... I will be looking into these recommendations. I am familiar with carlson take off but have not heard of the other.. Thanks again.


----------



## CatD8T

If you've got the money, go with Agtek. It can't be beat.

Want to save a dime, use Roctek for earthwork and get planswift for the balance of your materials.


----------



## Agcadmin1

Takeoff software is one of those things you get what you pay for. There are numbers of systems out there much cheaper than agtek and they are cheaper with good reason. They suck. We spent our money one time and could not be happier with the product and the support we recieve. Just my two cents.


----------



## drizztser

*Winex De*

I used agek for years. The software has LOTs of bells and whistles. But the support cost and software key price is not even close to being reasonable.
I now use Winex De from rocktec. The support is free and the software cost 4000.00 and gets me the SAME results as agtek. It also uses the computer screen using pdf files , so I hardly use my digitizer.

www.civilconstruct.com


----------



## excavate

*Winex Master*

I agree...it's much more user friendly. I have the top of the line WinEx Master for sale for less than 4k, if you want to upgrade. There is also no transfer fee, like with others.


----------



## excavate

*Rocktec WinEx Master*

I'd suggest WinEx Master from Rocktek. It's quick, easy and produces great results/ take offs... I can give you a great deal on a license and there is no transfer fee. Their support is awesome.


----------



## mabell_01

*Interested in your WinEx Master*

I'd be interested in your WinEx Master software if it's still available.


----------



## Little

I use Maxwell too. I want to throw my computer out the door sometimes with this program and the support is terrible. I can't believe I need to buy full support for a simple question and answer. Gotta stick with it for now though. I agree also with the non-stop bugs in the system.


----------



## PipeGuy

CatD8T said:


> Want to save a dime, use Roctek for earthwork and get planswift for the balance of your materials.


Word.


----------



## chrisf77

Anyone still interested in the best software? My company uses Agtek for Earthwork, and we use to use Agtek for Material takeoffs and Highway for Cross Sections.. 

But now we have another program that we primarily use for Materials, Cross Sections, and Pipe Takeoffs.. Soon to do Earthwork also.. It's a new program, and we are the first to use it.. but I am sure 1 day many companies will use it also.. 

www.cat2d.com
It's not yet advertised, and no preview/screenshots.. but for sure it beats all that's out there..


----------



## floridajim

Another one for Roctek. Been using WinExDe and WinExMaster since it came out. Good product for working with electronic plans. Have never used a digitizer.


----------



## SeyCon

We have a smallish excavation company and I've been looking to upgrade our cut and fill software. I use Bluebeam for alot of the takeoffs but it doesn't do for the cut and fill. 

Program must:
-take bore hole logs and calculate substrata materials
-be able to handle multiple plans (overlay eachother)
-hopefully be able to calculate the center of mass 
-able to enter point elevations and contours
-no need for digitizer as we pretty much always use pdf's
windows 8 compatible
-low cost

I have been using Siteworx by Vertigraph but I find it inconsistent sometimes and would like something offering a bit more of an interface. 

Considering:
-Paydirt
-WinEx Master (Roctek)
-Earthworks (by Trakware)
-Earthworks (by Tally)

Thoughts?


----------



## SiteWorkUSA

*Latest & Greatest TakeOff Software*

This appears to be an old thread. Just wondering what others think is the latest and greatest Takeoff Software going into 2017.

Currently evaluating: 

Insite Sitework
Earthworks by TrakWare
Carlson Takeoff Suite
Trimble Business Center
Agtek
Bluebeam
Planswift
HCSS Heavy Bid
WinEx Master by RocTek

I will report back my findings once my evaluation is complete. 

http://SiteWorkofHouston.com


----------



## slowsol

Does Agtek and Bluebeam do site cut/fills? I didn't think they did. 

We use Agtek. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## carpenter uk

I have used plan swift for about 4 years and would recommend it, its very flexible and can be manipulated to do pretty much anything you want.

The only one I have compared it to is on screen take off and it has a lot more flexibility than that


----------



## SeyCon

I did alot of research into mid-grade options for cut/fill programs a few years ago. 

My non-negotiables were:

1) must be under $5000cnd
2) must be easy to use as I wanted to be able to teach a couple of our guys on it so they could take on some of the estimating.
3) must work in metric and imperial as we get jobs in both
4) must be able to input boring logs
5) must have an okay interface that makes sense
6) must make a good 3d model not simple a wireframe mess that didn't have enough detail. I wanted to be able to move the model all over the place so I could see where the slopes went and make sure no elevations were entered in incorrectly.
7) must break down the import or export volumes into different materials. Simply telling me I should bank on exporting 20000 m3 of ??? doesn't help me. I wanted to know 3000m3 of clay, 4000m3 of topsoil stockpiled onsite and reused, etc.

then I had some things I wanted but wasn't fully stuck up on:

8) preferably no annual subscriptions. I just wanted to pay once and be done with it
9) preferably allow for overlaying plans as sometimes we get info on the landscape drawings that should have been on the civil, etc
10) preferably the software would calculate the weights of the material as well based on the densities I input so that I didn't have to calculate that out manually
11) preferably the software wouldn't gobble up tonnes of computer resources so that I could use it on my microsoft surface for when I go by the site or don't want to walk in the office.

I tested:

-Winex Master by Roctek (like using windows 3.0)
-Insite Sitework (didn't like the interface)
-Carlson Takeoff Suite (did an onscreen demo with a sales guy but didn't like it at all)
-HCSS Heavy Bid (also a demo copy but it seemed like over kill for what I wanted)
-I also tested a couple others in the low end like under $3k cnd and was really disappointed.

I did come across Bluebeam Revu which is the best thing since computers were invented. Its a super fast PDF reader that is extremely customizatable (you can create functions like excel so when you measure areas it will automatically calculate other variables like volume, weight, etc. We use BB for all of our pipe works because its so fast and easy.

But it doesn't do Cut and Fill

Then I stumbled across Mudshark from a company in Australia. Great guys actually because I talked to them for a while. Mudshark is INCREDIBLE. 

-It's cheap (a new single licence is something like $3,000cnd)
-It runs on my surface 3 pro (albeit a little tiny when doing elevations but its fast!)
-The best 3d modelling out of any of the other ones I tried BY FAR
-You can overlay plans
-It does bore logs, separates cut and fill materials into the different types and actually does convert them to weights as well
-Its the easiest to use out of all of the ones we tried by a long shot because the user inteface makes sense and is very similar to windows in feeling.
-it also does trenching but I prefer to just use Bluebeam for that.

Anyhow its been great for us. I don't get commission but I do want to save you the 80+ hours I put into my search. Their website is below or you can google them.

I also have my copy of Mudshark which I'm willing to sell for $1500. We have pivotted out of excavation so we no longer need it.

Cheers

http://brightboxsoftware.com/what_is_mudshark.asp


----------



## tman78

Anyone still using any of these programs?






Check out some of those programs on the right.


----------



## shryock1387

Do you still have this software for sale?


----------

