18 years helping Australian businesses
choose better software
About Countfire
True automated electrical takeoff software that actually works. Save time, money and increase accuracy. Start your FREE TRIAL today.
The ease of integration, no software to install locally.
There is no 'back' button to help you correct mistakes - you have to rely on not saving changes which is not ideal.
Filter reviews (216)
Usage
Sort by
Filter reviews (216)
Amazing Software - Would definitely recommend!!
Comments: Great, efficient, time saver!!
Pros:
Easy & straightforward to use. Great user interface. Reliable automated counting (if drawings are half decent!)
Cons:
Copying symbol selection over to new drawings & also reviewing later revisions of drawings does not always work as it should with no real explanation as to why apart from it being something related to the drawing
Countfire Response
2 years ago
Thanks Kelly - appreciate you leaving this review! Really glad to hear you're getting on with Countfire so well. You're correct, copying symbols doesn't always work. Occasionally the revised drawings have been created slightly differently - there are usually 2 reasons why Countfire will not automatically find matches: 1 - The drawings have been converted to an image, removing the drawing layers - which means the symbols are not selectable 2 - When the original drawing was revised the symbols have been drawn differently or changed (i.e. the make-up of the symbols has different - for example the shape of a light fitting has changed).
Users Review of Countfire
Comments: I have been using Countfire for 8 years and is the best counting and measuring software on the market by far. Ease of use.
Pros:
Countfire has been developed specifically for take off from PDF drawings. The ease of take from PDF drawings and the export in Excel. The ability to create zones that match the tender breakdown/CSA. The exceptional level and speed of support is second to none.
Cons:
The estimating package need a lot of work to be used by major M&E companies. The left hand margin and contents are fixed. This needs to be flexible to move and change fonts etc. Can be slow for take with the background on. (Sometimes the background need to stay)
Countfire Response
10 months ago
Best counting and measuring software on the market by far – love it! Thanks Merv. You're spot on – Countfire has been designed by Estimators for Estimators with loads of features to help improve the speed and accuracy of your takeoffs. Our support is something we're really proud of. From online training sessions to our in-app live chat, we do our best to make sure all of our users get the most out of the software. Thanks for the feedback on the Estimating side of the software. We've recently added the ability to add prelims to your estimates and produce custom reports to suit your requirements. If you'd like to take a look, just let us know and we can set up a quick video call.
Great quality product
Pros:
The ability to select 1 symbol and count fire counts all of them.
Cons:
Either the loading time or the fact that sometimes it messes up the background and believes it is not background. Though I understand this is probably due to the drawings rather than countfire.
Countfire Response
last year
Many thanks for your review Brody. Absolutely – when selecting your symbols Countfire searches for matches across all drawings in your discipline. When backgrounds aren't automatically hidden we have a number of options you can use by clicking the down arrow next to the background button. This allows you to: Customise – select parts of the drawing to hide with the default settings of your background. Restore defaults – return to Countfire's standard background settings. Restart – removes all background settings and allows you to start from scratch.
Countfire has helped our business
Comments: Countfire has been a valuable addition to our workflow. It streamlines the takeoff process, saving time and improving accuracy. The software is user-friendly, and the learning curve is minimal, which allowed our team to integrate it quickly into our projects.
Pros:
It is really easy to use and speeds up our efficientcy dramatically.
Cons:
You move or change where you want the menu boxes.
Countfire Response
3 months ago
Speeds up efficiency dramatically – love it Joshua! Our technical team are constantly working to release hundreds of product enhancements each year. For any enhancements affecting your workflows in-app, we provide full tutorials on the new features – keep an eye out for our messages, banners and emails, or we're also happy to jump on a quick training session to run through it, just send us a message via the orange button in-app. Great to hear you've found Countfire user-friendly with a minimal learning curve. Our support team are on hand, from our live chat to online training sessions, to make sure you can get up to speed quickly and get the most out of the software.
Great customer service and overall product
Comments: It did not take me long to get used to the controls and like mentioned customer service again is unmatched.
Pros:
Biggest pro is the customer service!! any queries I have are dealt with extremely fast. Product wise the ease of use and time saved in my job is invaluable.
Cons:
I think the biggest con is the lack of ability to change/swap items into different groups. Its not a massive deal its just more time consuming without that ability.
Countfire Response
4 months ago
"Biggest pro is the customer service" – love it Dan! Our support is something we're super proud of – we provide free online training sessions and an in-app live chat to answer any questions and help you get the most out of the software. Awesome to hear you're finding Countfire easy to use and it's saving you time. You are able to move headings between groups however you're not currently able to move measurements between your headings though I can definitely see how this could be useful – we have a feature request for it. You can add your vote by searching 'Move measurements between headings' at the 'Give feedback' section on our orange support button in-app.
Countfire Review
Comments: It is very easy to use and reduces time spent doing takeoffs.
Pros:
How easy it is to use. How much time is saved
Cons:
I do not like the new way of editing symbols.
Countfire Response
3 months ago
Thank you for the great review Orla. Love to hear you're finding Countfire easy to use! We've recently made some changes to the selection editor window to improve your customisation options – I'd recommend jumping on a quick training session to run through the new features. Just send us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app and we can arrange a time that works for you.
Countfire Review
Comments: Staff are very helpful and professional, they always have time to explain things and help out. Overall experience is exceptional
Pros:
The time it saves, counting and measuring drawings. Being able to separate PDF documents into individual pages.
Cons:
There is not much to dislike about Countfire. If anything, cost of having additional users added.
Countfire Response
5 months ago
Awesome review – thanks Helen! With Countfire, each user needs their own licence so we can make sure each user is offered the right support for them and to help avoid any costly mistakes. We're really proud of our support. It's super important to us that every user can get the most out of the software. If you ever have any questions about Countfire, just send us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app.
Commercial Manager
Comments: Generally very good and I have been using it on and off for the last 8 years.
Pros:
The speed in which we can turn around our take offs.
Cons:
The costs of the product. Sometimes the speed in which drawings are available when loading them onto the system. But that is probably down to the size of some of the drawings more than an reflection of the system.
Countfire Response
4 months ago
Thanks for the review Sean Great to hear you're improving the speed of turning around your takeoffs! Appreciate the cost of estimating software can seem high however Countfire helps you save money by allowing you to complete your takeoffs quicker and more accurately. When you upload drawings, they go through a preparing stage to get them ready to work on. Preparing can take up to 10 minutes depending on the complexity of the drawing however the majority of drawings prepare much quicker. If you're finding your drawings are slow to prepare, I'd recommend sending us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app. We can take a look and see if there's anything we can do to help.
Positive Review
Comments: Excellent, easy to use, helpful when requesting help.
Pros:
Easy to use, speeds up take offs and pricing
Cons:
I dont have any cons for this section...
Countfire Response
4 months ago
What a fantastic review – thanks George! If you do ever have questions or feedback, feel free to send us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app. Glad to hear you've found us helpful – from our in-app live chat to online training sessions, we're on hand to make sure you get the most out of Countfire.
first time using
Comments: SO FAR IT HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT POSITIVE SOME MINOR ACCESS ISSUES BUT WAS RESOLVED BY THE TEAM IN A FEW MINIUETS
Pros:
THE TAKE OFF ABILITY AND HOW QUICKY IT SYNCHS UP WITH OTHER ACCOUNTS ALMOST INSTANT
Cons:
IF THE DRAWING IS POOR IT WONT AUTO SELECT
Countfire Response
4 months ago
Awesome review – thanks Mitchell! Great to hear you're having a good time using Countfire. Sounds like you might have run into some images. Depending on the format chosen when the drawings were created, sometimes they are images rather than proper PDFs and unfortunately, you're not able to use the auto-count feature. Fortunately this is rare, and we do have manual counting tools to allow you to complete your takeoff even if your drawings are images. Glad our team were able to help you with your issues – you can send us a message on the orange button in-app and we'll help rectify any issue you're running into on your takeoff.
Countfire for mechanical users
Comments: The take off package is great and saves times and money on printing endless amounts of drawings. And also great service and very helpful.
Pros:
the main reason for using this is take off package which is very helpful and saves time at tender stage.
Cons:
Estimate side seems a bit over complicated for new users.
Countfire Response
last year
Great review Wesley, amazing news that you find Countfire helpful for mechanical users. Really glad to hear Countfire's been useful during the tender stage– saving you time as well as money! Our support team would be more than happy to help you get to grips with our estimating tool. Please do reach out by using the orange button in-app. The estimating tool will allow you to work faster and increase accuracy.
Review of Countfire
Comments: Still room for improvement however, the product itself makes the life of an estimator easier.
Pros:
Taking off with ease, the zone arrangements and the typical organised nature of the software.
Cons:
Product is a little bit 'choppy'. Requires a more fluid flow especially when panning.
Countfire Response
last year
Thank you for the review – great to hear it's been making your life as an estimator easier! There are a few reasons you may run into "choppy" drawings (lag when zooming in and out or panning the drawing). It's likely to be either internet speed or the complexity of the drawing (i.e. level of detail on the drawing). If you run into this issue definitely contact our support team who will be able to investigate for you – message using the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app or email [email protected].
Very good service and the system saves a lot of time
Pros:
the ease of use for take offs is very good
Cons:
some other features can be confusing however the countfire team are more than happy to help out
Countfire Response
last year
Thank you Aaron for the review 😊 Great that you have saved a lot of time and your finding completing take offs easy! Always more than happy to help, if you're finding any features confusing you can send us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app.
Countfire Review - 11/08/2023
Pros:
I really enjoy the fact that it can save so much time! Once you highlight a symbol on one drawing, that symbol will automatically be highlighted on the next, it is such a time saver! It is also very easy to use! After a 1 hour training session, I was confident to get started!
Cons:
As we specialise in fire alarms, it is often that we need to design fire alarm systems for buildings, and we also amend predesigned designs as they're not compliant. It would be great if you can add a feature that can remove a symbol, and replace it with something else. That way, we as a business could do the whole takeoff process for every system on countfire!
Countfire Response
last year
Awesome review – thanks Alex! It's great to hear you're saving so much time. You're spot on – Countfire automatically looks for matches for your selections across all drawings in your discipline reducing the repetitive work involved with completing your takeoff manually. Our support is something we're super proud of. As well as training sessions, which are always available not just when you first sign up, you can also access our live chat and help centre via the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app. It would definitely be helpful to be able to make amendments to your drawings to make sure the design is compliant – I've added your vote to our feature request for the ability to "add your own custom count symbols" and created a new feature request for the "ability to remove symbols".
Countfire Introduction
Comments: Excellent.Like with any new software it'll take time to get upto speed but the team were literally replying in minutes or seconds in some instances so any challenges or needs were answered immediately.
Pros:
The software is extremely intelligent. Once i had set up one level of drawing for lighting and small power it instantly took to work completing other levels.
Cons:
Ongoing takeoffs as a benchmark when halfway through the estimate. it would be good to see a current line in the sand at any give time.
Countfire Response
last year
Thanks for the great review Jacob! Spot on – when you make a selection of a symbol on one drawing, Countfire will automatically count the symbol across all of your drawings in the discipline, speeding up the completion of your takeoff. We do have progress markers for your drawings. When the work on your drawing is saved, the marker will automatically change to yellow signifying your work is in progress. When you have completed your work and checked all symbols on your drawing have been selected, you can click the dot to change the progress marker to green. You can also change your project status on the main project page as you complete your takeoff and estimate and submit to your client – just click on the drop down menu in the top right corner of the page. It's great to hear you've found the support quick and helpful – we know that your time is valuable so we'll always try to resolve any issues as quickly as possible 👍
great service service
Pros:
Countfire is really easy to learn and use and exceptionally helpful in producing take offs
Cons:
main issue was time consuming to load item costs need a quicker process here, but maybe operator errors
Countfire Response
2 years ago
Thanks for the review Austin. Great to hear you found Countfire easy to learn and it's helpful in producing your takeoffs. I appreciate that a little work is required to upload your product information into Countfire however, once that's done, our powerful auto linking can really help to speed up your estimating processes. I'll reach out directly and we can work together to get your price list uploaded. You're spot on – we have a few different plans available depending on your requirements and you can choose to pay monthly or yearly to provide flexibility as your needs change.
Impressive Software.
Pros:
Ability to quickly turn around project quantities and transfer onto Excel for all to use and review.
Cons:
difficulties using the product is when the drawing images are uploaded but each symbol has minor alterations. To the naked eye can't be picked up but the software will, therefore some symbols need multiple take offs done for same image.
Countfire Response
last year
Wow, what a great review - thanks Ben! It's great to hear that you're able to quickly turn around your projects. You're spot on – sometimes symbols can look the same on your drawings but, when the drawings have been created, they have been drawn slightly differently. All you need to do to count all these symbols is make an additional selection. Countfire will then look for your selections across all of your drawings in the discipline. If you do run into this, it's always worth popping our support team a message, they'll usually have some tips to help you get more matches from fewer selections.
A great product which makes my job easier.
Comments: Overall countfire has made my job as an estimator a lot easier and quicker. It helps me maximise the speed of my take offs whilst making sure the quality is up to standard.
Pros:
The product itself is very easy to use and get used to. I can take drawings off in whatever way I need, and even go back to edit take offs if needs be with no hassle.
Cons:
One feature I would like to see added to countfire is the ability to copy a Group/Measure/Count. Sometimes on one drawing I could have multiple types of spurs for example, and it would be nice to be able to copy one line item, and edit part of the reference to save typing out the whole thing.
New user review
Pros:
Its ease of use, it is very intuitive and quick to learn, support is always on hand for when you get stuck.
Cons:
Some features aren't available, e.g. moving all zones together at once, it would be great to have it available on an app too, so you can work on PC and iPad when travelling, although very easy to use, some tasks are time consuming
Countfire Response
last year
Really appreciate the review Ciaran! Awesome to hear you're finding Countfire intuitive and quick to learn. Our support response times are something we're super proud of and we're always happy to help 😊 Thanks for the feedback on the features you'd like to see in the app. We have a feature request for the ability to move zones in bulk – I can see your vote has already been added. You are able to work remotely on a different PC or a laptop but touchscreen support isn't available at the moment – I've added your vote to our feature request for "Touchscreen / iPad support". You'll receive email updates on our progress towards implementing this feature. It would be great to jump on a session to discuss the tasks you find time consuming and get those ironed out for you – pop us a message on the orange button to get this arranged.
Countfire 2 Year Review
Pros:
Central storage of all takeoff documents. No more boxes of rolled-up plans cluttering my office. I would typically fill 1-2 boxes every month, so it really has reduced clutter and the overall appearance of my office. It definitely saves money when you consider that you no longer have to plot jobs that you don't win. That is a lot of paper, toner, and wear on your plotter. The software is very easy to use and you can be fully trained on all of the keyboard shortcuts and navigation in less than a week. After about 5 jobs, you will very confident that you aren't missing any devices during takeoff and will have your own workflow for getting a takeoff done. The developers are constantly making improvements, adding features, bug fixes, and you get pretty routine feedback when one of your feature requests are considered or implemented. Customer and Tech support is top-notch and very responsive, and everyone seems to be very well trained on the product. It is also a very small team, so you will typically be speaking (texting) with someone you're familiar with.
Cons:
The software is 100% cloud-based, and from my early conversations with the sales team, is the heart of their mission and will never change. That alone is not a negative, however, I feel that some of the processing could (and should) be done on your local machine and then pushed to the cloud to create the "output package". Moving between pages of a PDF is not as fast as scrolling in your preferred PDF reader. It's not slow, but there is definitely a pause before you're ready to work on the next sheet. It seems they could have better control of the user interface if there was a PC-based client option. If you need support, the time difference from Eastern US to the UK can sometimes be a challenge, but the support team is absolutely great and will respond back to you outside of their normal working hours, assuming they aren't sleeping. All support is initially done through an in-app chat bot that will recommend that you go read articles based on your questions. I will admit that most of the time, the recommended articles DO contain your answers, but I personally just like to call and talk to someone. I realize this would put a strain on their resources though, so I rate this as a very small negative. I would rather support maintain their current level of quality than be burdened with phone calls over minor issues. If you do have a major issue or prefer to speak to someone, you can ask for a call and they will call you.
Easy to use take off software
Comments: Great piece of software that not only speeds up the process but also helps with the reporting.
Pros:
The software is easy to use and if in doubt the speed of assistance is almost immediate. The ease to choose symbols which then copies across to all drawings in that section makes it so much faster.
Cons:
Not having used any other software for take offs in the past doesn't give me much to say what features the software lacks or is missing, anything we do use is a bonus and with new features constantly updating I cant fault it.
Countfire Response
2 years ago
Thanks Adam! Really glad you're getting on well with the software and find it easy to use - our support response times are also something we're super proud of! In terms of not having used any other takeoff software I can understand it can be tricky to see what features you'd find useful. With that in mind, we're always happy to receive feedback from our customers and you can view our feature requests by clicking on the orange button in-app and selecting 'Give feedback'! You're right, we are constantly updating and adding new features. To keep up to date with what we're doing you can read our change logs here https://feedback.countfire.com/changelog
Integral Part of Our Business
Pros:
Without the software we wouldn't be able to deliver the speed of work that we are able to do now
Cons:
Sometimes the symbols don't import quite correctly, also doesn't like complex symbols exported from Autocad
Countfire Response
2 years ago
Thanks so much Craig. Thrilled to hear Countfire has sped up what you're able to deliver! With symbols not importing correctly, that's related to the information contained within PDFs and how it's made ready to work on within Countfire. This is always a little tricky as PDFs can (and do!) contain virtually anything, however, we recently completed a major overhaul of this system and the results are significantly improved. With complex symbols, that's related to how many parts each symbol is drawn with. Again, it's a little tricky, because we don't have control over how these symbols are drawn originally, but there are a couple of tricks available to help! The first is to use the in-app editor to simplify these complex symbols down to just the parts that matter – improving automatic counting in the process. The second is to fire us a quick message in-app, we can take a look at your specific project and often make tweaks to improve things.
Security Take Off and Estimating
Comments: I am very happy with the overall experience of Countfire and would recommend to anyone within the estimating field.
Pros:
Countfire makes the process of estimating so much easier. Take off and drawing review can now take minutes rather than hours allowing myself and the other staff more time to build our relationships with clients. The drawings output is easy to read and check for any areas missed by designers. The software is modern and easy to use. When I have had to speak to support on the rare occasion it was easy and any issues solved within minutes.
Cons:
I would like to be able to group the takeoffs into a "folder" whereby a certain client or consultant information can be together to make it easier to find once you have alot of live or pending projects. Otherwise I cant fault it.
This product has revolutionized the way i run my business...
Comments: I've found the software brilliant and the customer service exceptional. Its taken my business to the next level and couldn't imagine how i would run my business without it.
Pros:
Easy and quick to use. Absolutely brilliant.
Cons:
It would be nice to be able to copy test off the drawings to paste in the software
Countfire Response
2 years ago
So great to hear Countfire has made such a difference to your business Neil! In terms of copying text from drawings, we're sometimes a little restricted to what's contained within the PDFs and how it's been saved, but I can definitely see how useful it would be. I know we've got a feature request open for it currently.
Countfire - The go to Take Off software
Pros:
The product is very easy to use with excellent customer support if required and lots of tutorials if needed. the system is designed so that items can be counted with ease giving you a final number to evaluate.
Cons:
I would say that the system does not need improvements to state due to the presence of a ticket service which allows users to provide feedback on findings which are constantly reviewed by staff to make he service better.
Countfire Response
2 years ago
Thanks so much Antonio. What an amazing review. Support & feedback is something we're super proud of as a business. Our support team are all former estimators and former Countfire customers, so they know both the product and how to estimate, inside and out. It makes for a really nice experience!
