BOQ / Quantity Take-off Agent — automated takeoffs from Revit and IFC models
The BOQ / Quantity Take-off Agent reads Revit models and IFC exports and produces structured quantity takeoffs with material volumes, areas, lengths, and counts grouped by trade and by cost code. Outputs land as auditable tables that map each line back to specific elements. It is currently shipping with 1–3 design partners as the ai boq takeoff for revit layer between BIM and estimating.
- Takeoff tables grouped by trade and by cost code (CSI MasterFormat or NRM, per Labs deployment), exportable into CostX, Cubit, Bluebeam, or in-house Excel estimating templates.
- Every takeoff line cites the Revit elements or IFC entities it derives from, so the QS can click back to the model when they ask “where did this number come from?” during review.
- The same agent re-runs against every model revision and produces a change manifest that shows which quantities moved, by how much, and which model elements drove the change.
What the BOQ / Quantity Take-off Agent does
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Element-by-element quantity extraction
Reads every visible element in the Revit model through the VitruAI + Revit integration, or every entity in the IFC export via the IFC openBIM integration, and produces takeoff lines with element ID, the parameters driving the quantity, and the source workset or layer. It respects view filters, design options, and phase filters so temporary works or demolished elements do not pollute the BOQ. No PDF round-tripping; the takeoff is sourced directly from the BIM model for repeatable runs.
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Trade and cost-code grouping
Groups takeoff lines by trade (architectural finishes, structural steel, MEP equipment, glazing) and by cost code in the customer’s preferred classification system such as CSI MasterFormat, NRM, or MasterFormat 2020. Labs setup defines which classification is canonical and how Revit categories and IFC entity types map into that structure. The same grouping keys then drive exports into the estimating system and align with the BIM-to-BOQ automation workflow.
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Material, length, area, volume, and count metrics
Assigns the right metric per category: volume for concrete and masonry, length for piping and cable trays, area for partitions and glazing, and count for doors, windows, and fittings. It reads Revit family parameters such as Volume, Length, and Area, or the IFC entity’s quantity sets, and flags elements where required parameters are missing or zero. The agent mirrors the metric conventions used by the QS so exported lines drop into their existing BOQ templates without rework.
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Revision-to-revision change manifest
When the model changes between issues, the agent diffs the new takeoff against the previous run and surfaces moved quantities per trade and per cost code. The QS sees patterns like “+12 m² curtain wall, −8 doors, ±3% structural steel” instead of re-checking every line manually. Each change entry cites the affected element IDs and revision date, so coordination meetings can track which design decisions drove cost movement and tie back to the model history or Code Compliance Agent runs on the same file.
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PDF and DWG fallback via the Document AI Agent
For projects where source geometry is in PDFs or DWGs rather than live BIM, the BOQ Agent pairs with the Document AI Agent to extract components, dimensions, and quantities from drawing sets. The PDF or DWG ingest path is the same one used in the window and door takeoff from PDF workflow, but the downstream schema matches the BOQ tables used for Revit and IFC models. This keeps the estimator on a single takeoff format even when half the project is 2D and half is BIM.
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Beta cohort and estimator integration
Each Beta deployment profiles the customer’s estimating system—CostX, Cubit, Bluebeam, or in-house Excel—and ships an exporter that drops takeoff tables into that system in the column order and field naming the QS expects. Where the estimator supports BIM 360 or ACC document sync, the exported BOQ lands as a dated file in the project’s cost folder. The same agent configuration can be reused across multiple projects once the mapping from BIM categories to cost codes is agreed with the estimating team.
BOQ / Quantity Take-off Agent — FAQ
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Which Revit and IFC versions does it support?
The BOQ / Quantity Take-off Agent supports Revit 2023, 2024, and 2025 on Windows through the VitruAI + Revit integration. On the openBIM side it reads IFC 2×3 and IFC 4 via the IFC openBIM integration. Each Beta deployment pins to the Revit build numbers and IFC export settings actually used on the customer’s live projects so the takeoff matches their production pipeline.
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How accurate is the takeoff against a manual takeoff?
Accuracy depends on model LOD and parameter discipline; well-modelled LOD 350+ projects with consistent family parameters approach line-item parity with manual takeoffs. LOD 300 and lower models often require parameter clean-up or category remapping before the agent’s output matches QS expectations. Each Beta deployment ships a per-project accuracy report calibrated to the customer’s modelling conventions, comparing the agent’s quantities against a QS-graded ground-truth sample on selected trades.
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Does it replace the QS?
The agent does the mechanical line-item extraction from Revit or IFC so the QS does not spend hours counting doors and measuring wall areas, but it does not replace professional judgement. The QS still owns allowances, abatements, risk adjustments, contractor-rate application, and sign-off of the cost plan. In practice the QS spends more time on pricing and scenario testing and less time on tracing polylines or exporting schedules from BIM.
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Can it handle takeoffs from PDF drawings, not just Revit?
Yes, for PDF and scanned drawings the BOQ Agent works with the Document AI Agent to extract geometry, components, and dimensions from the sheets. The PDF-side extraction path is the same one used in the window and door takeoff from PDF use case, but the BOQ Agent then normalises those quantities into the same trade and cost-code schema used for Revit and IFC. This lets estimators compare quantities across BIM and non-BIM packages in one combined takeoff.
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How does it integrate with our estimating system?
During Beta scoping, VitruAI maps the agent’s output fields to the columns and import format used by your estimating system, whether that is CostX, Cubit, Bluebeam, or a set of Excel templates. The exporter can produce CSV, XLSX, or other structured formats that those tools accept, and can be wired into BIM 360 or ACC so each run lands as a dated file in the project’s cost folder. This keeps the BIM-to-BOQ automation workflow aligned with the way your QS already builds cost plans.
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What does the Beta cohort look like?
The Beta cohort is currently 1–3 design partners with Revit- or IFC-first BIM workflows and an in-house quantity-surveyor or estimating function. Partners agree to share before-and-after takeoff accuracy samples and timing data so the agent can be calibrated to their modelling standards. If your studio fits that profile and wants ai boq takeoff for revit tied into your existing tools, you can apply via the “Apply to the Beta” CTA on this page.