Lighting takeoff software for commercial electrical bids

What a lighting takeoff covers

On a commercial job, the lighting takeoff is one of the most repetitive parts of the electrical estimate. A typical lighting takeoff includes:

• Light fixtures by type, using the type tags from the fixture schedule (A, B1, F2 and so on), per sheet and for the whole set.
• Emergency variants, where the schedule or the plan marks fixtures with battery packs or emergency circuits.
• Exit signs, with their mounting and face counts.
• Lighting controls: wall switches, dimmers, occupancy and vacancy sensors, and control stations.
• Branch circuits and home runs, which drive wire and conduit quantities.
• Panels, and where each home run lands.

Those quantities feed labor units and material pricing in your estimate. InstantTakeoff covers light fixtures, exit signs and lighting controls (including wall switches), branch wiring and home runs, and the estimate itself: your price list, vendor quotes, labor units, the bid summary and the proposal.

Where the hours go when you count by hand

Counting fixtures in a PDF markup tool works, but the time adds up in the same places on every bid:

• Finding the sheets. Paging through architectural, mechanical and plumbing sheets to find the lighting plans and enlarged plans.
• Matching tags to the schedule. Reading the tag next to each fixture and keeping types apart on dense ceilings.
• Clicking symbols. Hundreds of clicks per floor, with the risk of a double count or a missed corner.
• Checking for gaps. Making sure each scheduled type was counted somewhere.
• Doing it again. An addendum or a revised sheet can mean recounting the floors that changed.

Lighting takeoff software takes the clicking and the bookkeeping off your plate, so your time goes to checking, scope and pricing.

How InstantTakeoff does a lighting takeoff

1. Upload the set. One PDF, the full set or the electrical sheets.
2. Lighting plans are found. Each sheet is scanned and the lighting plans are pulled out. The fixture schedule is read for types and descriptions.
3. Symbols are counted by type. An AI-powered computer vision model finds light fixtures, exit signs and lighting controls. Each fixture is typed from its tag, matched to the schedule. Title blocks, engineer seals and demolition views are left out.
4. Counts are checked against the schedule. A type whose tags on the sheet have too few counted fixtures beside them gets flagged for a closer look.
5. Wiring and pricing. Branch circuits and home runs are traced or estimated, and the counts are priced from your price list and labor units into a bid summary and proposal.
6. You check it and send it. Each count is a box on the sheet. Fix anything in a click, then download the proposal (PDF or Word) or export to Excel.

The full walkthrough is on how it works.

What to look for in any lighting takeoff tool

Whatever you choose, these questions separate a tool that saves hours from one that creates rework:

• Can you see where each count came from? If you cannot audit a number, you will end up recounting it.
• Does it reconcile against the fixture schedule? A count without a schedule check can hide a missing type.
• Does it handle your drawing styles? Try it on sets from the engineers you bid most, including a scanned sheet.
• Does it leave out what should not be counted? Title blocks, seals, legends and demolition views.
• How fast are corrections? Adding, removing or retyping a count should update the totals right away.
• Does the data go where you work? Excel and CSV at a minimum, and ideally an API and a connector for AI assistants, so your estimating software and pricing do not have to change.
• Is the pricing published? You should know the cost before a sales call.
• What happens to your drawings? Read the security and privacy details.