Questions
The questions contractors actually ask
Each answer starts with the answer. Where Portravo is the wrong tool, the page says so in the first two sentences instead of the last paragraph.
- 01Why is RSMeans wrong for my city?National books lag the shelf.National cost books publish a national figure and a city multiplier. That is a defensible average, not what your yard charged last month. How to use a book without bidding off it.
- 02Can I trust AI takeoff on a bid?Use it as a first pass; confirm every line.Treat an AI takeoff as a first pass a helper did, not as a finished quantity survey. What to check first, what a good tool does to protect you, and where it still gets things wrong.
- 03PlanSwift vs STACK vs getting one priced bid tonightSeats vs one bid.The estimating platforms are built for a full-time estimator with a seat and a library. If you bid a few jobs a month between site visits, you are buying the wrong shape of tool.
- 04What should a line item show the customer?Source, basis, date, or don't ship the number.A priced line a homeowner or GC can check beats a lump sum every time. What belongs on the line, what has to be labelled as a basis rather than a quote, and what to leave off.
- 05Where does Portravo work?Built for contractors across the U.S., with pricing tied to your metro.Start with your U.S. ZIP code. Portravo uses local material prices where available, labels indexed fallbacks, and applies your own labor rates.
- 06Does Portravo do HVAC and mechanical takeoff?Yes. The upload page shows how, today: Automatic (labelled Assisted) or Done by our team.Yes. Pick HVAC / mechanical on the upload page: marked Automatic, it runs on its own and is labelled Assisted; marked Done by our team, a person does it by hand. It counts registers, grilles, exhaust terminations, hoods, thermostats and duct runs, and prices the lines you confirm with Home Depot assemblies where your metro has local price pulls. Equipment is listed, not priced.
- 07How accurate is the count?Confidence score; nothing prices until you confirm.Every extracted line carries a confidence value, low-confidence lines are flagged, and nothing prices until you confirm it. What the confidence number means and what it does not.