Estimating Software for HVAC Contractors in Australia
Ducted work is counted and measured off a mechanical drawing: outlets, returns, duct runs, indoor and outdoor units. Rignite reads the legend, counts the sheet, and prices it against your wholesaler rates.
Why does HVAC quoting take longer than it looks?
Mechanical drawings carry more per sheet than most trades. Outlets, returns, units, duct runs and zoning all have to be read off and quantified before pricing starts.
A ducted install is not a single number. It is a count of supply outlets and returns, the indoor and outdoor units, the duct between all of it, and the zoning that decides how it is controlled.
New build residential and commercial fit-out both come with a mechanical drawing, which is good news, because it means the quantities exist on the page. Getting them off the page by hand is the slow part, and our model puts a typical HVAC job at around six hours of desk quoting time.
Can Rignite count outlets and returns off a mechanical drawing?
Yes. It parses the drawing legend, counts each symbol across the sheets and returns quantities per room, with every instance marked so you can check it.
Mechanical services drawings use a legend the same way electrical and hydraulic drawings do, and that legend is what makes automated counting reliable rather than a guess.
Supply outlets, return air grilles, exhaust fans, indoor units and whatever else the legend defines come back as counted quantities per room. Each counted instance is recorded with its location, so the count is checkable against the drawing rather than something you have to trust.
Dense sheets can be re-counted at higher resolution, and instances can be added or removed by hand where a drawing is ambiguous.
Does it measure duct runs?
Yes. Duct runs are measured from the vector geometry in the PDF and returned in lineal metres, kept separate by run type rather than merged into one total.
Supply, return and exhaust are different lines on a quote and priced differently, so they are measured as separate run types rather than collapsed into a single duct figure.
Because the measurement comes from the drawing geometry rather than an image, it holds up on the dense sheets that mechanical drawings tend to be, and it does not need a vision pass on a vector PDF.
Which wholesalers can it price against?
Rignite prices against your own accounts and negotiated rates. Actrol, Beijer, Reece HVAC-R, Kirby or whoever you actually buy through.
Equipment pricing in HVAC moves, and your rate on an indoor unit is not the rate on a public catalogue. Neither is the rate on flexible duct, grilles or refrigeration line.
So the system is configured against your suppliers and your pricing. Where something is not on file, the RFQ is drafted, sent and chased automatically, and the reply is captured back against the line it belongs to. Subcontractor rates sit alongside equipment pricing so the labour side lands in the same estimate.
How does it handle allowances and exclusions?
The scope is written from what was measured, so provisional sums, exclusions and risk items are stated on the quote rather than assumed and argued about later.
HVAC quotes carry a lot of conditional work. Access, penetrations, electrical connection, commissioning and make-good are all places where a vague quote becomes an expensive conversation.
Because the scope is generated from the measured drawing rather than a template, those items appear as stated inclusions, exclusions or provisional sums. That is cheaper to sort out at quote stage than halfway through an install.
Does HVAC get the full saving?
Yes, if you quote from mechanical drawings. That is exactly what the take-off step is for, so the model applies its full 80% at the Complete tier.
Unlike a service-heavy electrical or plumbing business, most ducted HVAC work comes with a drawing, which means the automated take-off applies rather than being capped.
At around eight quotes a month and six desk hours each, that is a substantial amount of unbilled time. Run it on your own rate and volume, then halve whatever the calculator says and check the plan still pays for itself. Pricing is $2,000 setup plus $97 a month at Calculate, up to $8,500 plus $849 at Complete, all including GST.
Also for other trades
Sources and last checked
Estimating Software for HVAC Contractors in Australia
Ducted work is counted and measured off a mechanical drawing: outlets, returns, duct runs, indoor and outdoor units. Rignite reads the legend, counts the sheet, and prices it against your wholesaler rates.
Why does HVAC quoting take longer than it looks?
Mechanical drawings carry more per sheet than most trades. Outlets, returns, units, duct runs and zoning all have to be read off and quantified before pricing starts.
A ducted install is not a single number. It is a count of supply outlets and returns, the indoor and outdoor units, the duct between all of it, and the zoning that decides how it is controlled.
New build residential and commercial fit-out both come with a mechanical drawing, which is good news, because it means the quantities exist on the page. Getting them off the page by hand is the slow part, and our model puts a typical HVAC job at around six hours of desk quoting time.
Can Rignite count outlets and returns off a mechanical drawing?
Yes. It parses the drawing legend, counts each symbol across the sheets and returns quantities per room, with every instance marked so you can check it.
Mechanical services drawings use a legend the same way electrical and hydraulic drawings do, and that legend is what makes automated counting reliable rather than a guess.
Supply outlets, return air grilles, exhaust fans, indoor units and whatever else the legend defines come back as counted quantities per room. Each counted instance is recorded with its location, so the count is checkable against the drawing rather than something you have to trust.
Dense sheets can be re-counted at higher resolution, and instances can be added or removed by hand where a drawing is ambiguous.
Does it measure duct runs?
Yes. Duct runs are measured from the vector geometry in the PDF and returned in lineal metres, kept separate by run type rather than merged into one total.
Supply, return and exhaust are different lines on a quote and priced differently, so they are measured as separate run types rather than collapsed into a single duct figure.
Because the measurement comes from the drawing geometry rather than an image, it holds up on the dense sheets that mechanical drawings tend to be, and it does not need a vision pass on a vector PDF.
Which wholesalers can it price against?
Rignite prices against your own accounts and negotiated rates. Actrol, Beijer, Reece HVAC-R, Kirby or whoever you actually buy through.
Equipment pricing in HVAC moves, and your rate on an indoor unit is not the rate on a public catalogue. Neither is the rate on flexible duct, grilles or refrigeration line.
So the system is configured against your suppliers and your pricing. Where something is not on file, the RFQ is drafted, sent and chased automatically, and the reply is captured back against the line it belongs to. Subcontractor rates sit alongside equipment pricing so the labour side lands in the same estimate.
How does it handle allowances and exclusions?
The scope is written from what was measured, so provisional sums, exclusions and risk items are stated on the quote rather than assumed and argued about later.
HVAC quotes carry a lot of conditional work. Access, penetrations, electrical connection, commissioning and make-good are all places where a vague quote becomes an expensive conversation.
Because the scope is generated from the measured drawing rather than a template, those items appear as stated inclusions, exclusions or provisional sums. That is cheaper to sort out at quote stage than halfway through an install.
Does HVAC get the full saving?
Yes, if you quote from mechanical drawings. That is exactly what the take-off step is for, so the model applies its full 80% at the Complete tier.
Unlike a service-heavy electrical or plumbing business, most ducted HVAC work comes with a drawing, which means the automated take-off applies rather than being capped.
At around eight quotes a month and six desk hours each, that is a substantial amount of unbilled time. Run it on your own rate and volume, then halve whatever the calculator says and check the plan still pays for itself. Pricing is $2,000 setup plus $97 a month at Calculate, up to $8,500 plus $849 at Complete, all including GST.
Also for other trades
Sources and last checked
Estimating Software for HVAC Contractors in Australia
Ducted work is counted and measured off a mechanical drawing: outlets, returns, duct runs, indoor and outdoor units. Rignite reads the legend, counts the sheet, and prices it against your wholesaler rates.
Why does HVAC quoting take longer than it looks?
Mechanical drawings carry more per sheet than most trades. Outlets, returns, units, duct runs and zoning all have to be read off and quantified before pricing starts.
A ducted install is not a single number. It is a count of supply outlets and returns, the indoor and outdoor units, the duct between all of it, and the zoning that decides how it is controlled.
New build residential and commercial fit-out both come with a mechanical drawing, which is good news, because it means the quantities exist on the page. Getting them off the page by hand is the slow part, and our model puts a typical HVAC job at around six hours of desk quoting time.
Can Rignite count outlets and returns off a mechanical drawing?
Yes. It parses the drawing legend, counts each symbol across the sheets and returns quantities per room, with every instance marked so you can check it.
Mechanical services drawings use a legend the same way electrical and hydraulic drawings do, and that legend is what makes automated counting reliable rather than a guess.
Supply outlets, return air grilles, exhaust fans, indoor units and whatever else the legend defines come back as counted quantities per room. Each counted instance is recorded with its location, so the count is checkable against the drawing rather than something you have to trust.
Dense sheets can be re-counted at higher resolution, and instances can be added or removed by hand where a drawing is ambiguous.
Does it measure duct runs?
Yes. Duct runs are measured from the vector geometry in the PDF and returned in lineal metres, kept separate by run type rather than merged into one total.
Supply, return and exhaust are different lines on a quote and priced differently, so they are measured as separate run types rather than collapsed into a single duct figure.
Because the measurement comes from the drawing geometry rather than an image, it holds up on the dense sheets that mechanical drawings tend to be, and it does not need a vision pass on a vector PDF.
Which wholesalers can it price against?
Rignite prices against your own accounts and negotiated rates. Actrol, Beijer, Reece HVAC-R, Kirby or whoever you actually buy through.
Equipment pricing in HVAC moves, and your rate on an indoor unit is not the rate on a public catalogue. Neither is the rate on flexible duct, grilles or refrigeration line.
So the system is configured against your suppliers and your pricing. Where something is not on file, the RFQ is drafted, sent and chased automatically, and the reply is captured back against the line it belongs to. Subcontractor rates sit alongside equipment pricing so the labour side lands in the same estimate.
How does it handle allowances and exclusions?
The scope is written from what was measured, so provisional sums, exclusions and risk items are stated on the quote rather than assumed and argued about later.
HVAC quotes carry a lot of conditional work. Access, penetrations, electrical connection, commissioning and make-good are all places where a vague quote becomes an expensive conversation.
Because the scope is generated from the measured drawing rather than a template, those items appear as stated inclusions, exclusions or provisional sums. That is cheaper to sort out at quote stage than halfway through an install.
Does HVAC get the full saving?
Yes, if you quote from mechanical drawings. That is exactly what the take-off step is for, so the model applies its full 80% at the Complete tier.
Unlike a service-heavy electrical or plumbing business, most ducted HVAC work comes with a drawing, which means the automated take-off applies rather than being capped.
At around eight quotes a month and six desk hours each, that is a substantial amount of unbilled time. Run it on your own rate and volume, then halve whatever the calculator says and check the plan still pays for itself. Pricing is $2,000 setup plus $97 a month at Calculate, up to $8,500 plus $849 at Complete, all including GST.