AI Quantity Takeoff for MEP: How NexBOQ Turns PDF Drawings into a Reviewed BOQ
Quantity takeoff is the slowest, least rewarding part of an MEP estimate. Someone has to open every PDF sheet, count diffusers, grilles, fan coil units and valves, trace duct and pipe runs, and type it all into a spreadsheet — usually against a tender deadline, and usually more than once when a new revision lands.
NexBOQ (Nexora AI BOQ) is a web application from Nexora Design Lab that does the counting for you. You upload the drawings, the AI prepares the quantities, and your estimator reviews, prices and exports the bill of quantities. Open NexBOQ and try your first drawing sheet free.
What NexBOQ does
NexBOQ reads PDF drawings and produces a structured BOQ, grouped by discipline and by the system each item serves (for example AHU-01, FCU-43 or EF-08), with quantities, units, sizes and a confidence level for every line. It runs in the browser: there is nothing to install, and it works on a laptop or a phone.
The important part is what it does not do: it never treats AI output as tender-ready. Every quantity goes through a human review step before it counts towards the approved total.
How it works: from PDF drawings to a priced BOQ
Create a project. Add the project name, reference and currency.
Upload the PDF drawings. Each drawing is saved to the project with its revision, so you can come back to it later.
Run the quantity takeoff. The AI reads each sheet and extracts equipment, terminals, fittings, duct and pipe items into BOQ lines.
Review. Check each line against the source sheet, correct quantities, and approve or reject. Low-confidence items stay out of the approved total until someone approves them.
Price and export. Apply your own rates, then export the BOQ to Excel (XLSX), CSV or PDF.
Why estimators use NexBOQ
Hours back on every tender. The counting and measuring is done before your estimator opens the file, so their time goes into checking, pricing and commercial judgement instead of tallying symbols.
Quantities organised the way you price them. Lines are grouped by discipline and by system, with a subtotal per system. That matches how MEP packages are priced and reviewed.
A human stays in control. Confidence levels show which lines need attention. Nothing reaches the approved BOQ without a reviewer, which protects you from the most expensive kind of AI mistake: the one nobody checked.
Your rates, your prices. Import your company rate library from Excel or CSV and apply it to the reviewed quantities. Pricing stays separate from extraction, so re-pricing a BOQ never costs sheet credits.
Revision-friendly. Drawings are stored per project, so a new issue of the drawings doesn't mean starting again from a blank spreadsheet.
Clean deliverables. Export to XLSX, CSV or PDF, ready to drop into your tender submission or cost plan.
Private by design. Your drawings are stored privately, are never used to train AI models, and are deleted when your plan's retention period ends.
What manual takeoff really costs
Take a typical month: 60 drawing sheets, about one hour of takeoff per sheet, and an estimator cost of USD 25 per hour. That is 60 hours and roughly USD 1,500 of estimator time spent counting.
The Core plan covers 200 sheets a month for USD 249. Even allowing about a quarter of the original time for review, that frees around 45 estimator hours a month — time that can go into more tenders, better pricing, or simply going home on time.
These are illustrative numbers. Put in your own sheets per month, hours per sheet and hourly cost in the savings calculator inside NexBOQ to see your figure.
Plans and pricing
Free trial: one standard takeoff on a single drawing sheet, with Excel, CSV and PDF export. No card required.
Sheet packs (pay as you go): 25 sheets for USD 59, 100 sheets for USD 199, or 300 sheets for USD 499. Credits never expire.
Lite: USD 99 per month for 50 sheets.
Core: USD 249 per month for 200 sheets, plus company rate libraries and schedule-enriched takeoff.
Pro: USD 599 per month for 500 sheets, plus advanced MEP takeoff.
Annual billing gives two months free, and unused subscription sheets roll over.
Who NexBOQ is for
MEP and HVAC contractors preparing tender BOQs
Quantity surveyors and cost consultants checking MEP packages
HVAC, plumbing and fire protection subcontractors pricing their scope
Design consultants who need quick quantity checks during design development
Frequently asked questions
Is AI quantity takeoff accurate enough for a tender?
NexBOQ is built on the assumption that it isn't — until a person has reviewed it. Every line shows a confidence level, low-confidence items are excluded from approved totals, and a qualified estimator approves the BOQ before it is issued. The AI removes the counting; it doesn't remove the engineering judgement.
Which drawings work best?
PDF drawings exported directly from CAD give the best results, because the text and linework are machine-readable. Scanned or low-resolution sheets can still be processed, but expect more lines to need review.
Can I use my own rates?
Yes. Import your company rate library from Excel or CSV and apply it to a reviewed BOQ. Rate libraries are included in the Core and Pro plans.
Is my project data private?
Yes. Drawings are stored privately, are never used to train AI models, and are deleted when your plan's retention period ends.
Do I need to install anything?
No. NexBOQ runs in the browser on desktop and mobile. Sign up, create a project and upload your first drawing.
Try NexBOQ on your next tender
Upload one drawing sheet and see the takeoff for yourself — the first sheet is free. NexBOQ is part of the Nexora AI Studio, a growing set of AI tools for HVAC, MEP and building-services engineers.
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