Tectivra

Learn Tectivra

Plain-English walk-throughs for every tool — no prior estimating experience assumed. New to a trade? The trades reference explains what each of the 18trades covers and how it’s measured.

The core flow, in four steps

  1. 1

    Enter the building once

    Open the estimator and type the width, depth, storeys, wall height and roof pitch. That single geometry is the source of truth — every trade quantity derives from it, so there is no re-keying and no drift between takeoff and quote.

  2. 2

    Tick the trades on the job

    Choose the trades involved — concreter, carpenter, roofer, electrician, painter, and so on. Each one loads its scope items with the right units and a conventional wastage allowance, so you never face an empty grid. Quantities marked “from model” move whenever you change a dimension.

  3. 3

    Price it with your own rates

    Add your material and labour rates against each line, then set overhead %, margin % and the 10% GST. Materials are costed on the wastage-inflated quantity, labour on the measured quantity. Every figure carries an evidence label — measured, assumed, or needs review — so you know exactly what you can stand behind.

  4. 4

    Turn it into a quote

    Hit “Create quote”, add the client and job details, and preview a branded quotation with a per-trade breakdown and the full overhead/margin/GST split. Print or Save as PDF to send. If any line still needs review, the quote warns you before it goes out.

Every tool, step by step

Multi-trade estimate

  1. 1Set the building dimensions at the top — everything below recalculates live.
  2. 2Tick the trades; each shows how many of its lines are auto-quantified from the model.
  3. 3Fill the $/unit (and hrs/unit for labour) from your own rates. Blank lines are flagged “needs review”, never guessed.
  4. 4Read the per-trade totals and the direct/overhead/margin/GST breakdown at the top.
Open Multi-trade estimate →

3D building model

  1. 1The building is drawn as layers — slab, framing, roof, ceilings, surfaces — one per trade.
  2. 2Toggle a trade to show or hide its layer.
  3. 3Click two points to measure the distance between them in millimetres.
  4. 4Export IFC4 to open the model in Revit or AutoCAD.
Open 3D building model →

Roof takeoff

  1. 1Enter the roof outline and pitch; the tool computes surface area (plan area ÷ cos pitch).
  2. 2It splits sheeting into buyable stock lengths with laps included — an ordering schedule, not just a number.
  3. 3Ridge, hip, valley, barge, gutter and fascia runs are measured, not implied.
  4. 4Built and checked against a real reference job by a civil-engineering technologist and draftsperson with roofing experience.
Open Roof takeoff →

Rate library

Sign in
  1. 1Add a rate by hand — pick the trade and item, enter your $/unit and the date it applies from.
  2. 2Or paste a supplier / job-cost CSV; the importer detects the columns and tells you what it skipped.
  3. 3Rates are effective-dated: a new price is a new version, so an old quote still reprices exactly.
  4. 4Prices older than 180 days are flagged “stale” so you know to refresh them.
Open Rate library →

Tara, your assistant

Sign in
  1. 1Ask about estimating, pricing a job, or getting a trade business started.
  2. 2She grounds answers in the drawing, the scope item or your rates — and says when she doesn’t know.
  3. 3She never invents a rate or a number, and flags anything that needs a licensed professional.
  4. 4Available once signed in (she uses AI, so she’s behind a login).
Open Tara, your assistant →

Don’t know a trade? Start here.

The trades reference lists all 18 trades in the platform — grouped by Site & structure, Envelope, Services, Finishes— and for each one: how it’s measured, what an estimator prices, and what to check before pricing. It’s the fastest way to get across trades you don’t work in yourself.

Open the trades reference →