Getting started
From Home, click + New Project to start a job. Add the customer's info and optionally upload the plan drawing (PDF or image) right away — you can also add it later from the Takeoff tab.
Plan & scale
On the Takeoff tab, use Upload Plan to attach a drawing, then Set scale by clicking two points a known distance apart (e.g. a wall) and entering that real-world distance. Until a scale is set, lengths/areas display in pixels.
Catalog
The Catalog tab holds your shared, persistent list of parts and devices — cable, flooring, cameras, etc. — priced once and reused across every project. Each item has a kind: Length (measured feet), Area (measured sq ft), or Count (devices). If Zoho Books is connected, items can be pushed to or refreshed from your Books price list.
Measuring & placing items
On the Takeoff toolbar, click + Place Item and pick a catalog item. Lengths and areas switch you into draw mode — click points along the plan, then press Enter (double-click to close an area). Devices switch to click-to-place — click each location, Enter when done. Items must already exist in the Catalog; there's no on-the-fly creation from this picker.
Estimate & Breakdown
The Estimate → Breakdown tab lists every measured or placed item with its cost and labor. Use + From Catalog to add an existing catalog item straight to the estimate with a quantity, without placing it on the takeoff. Use + Line item for one-off, non-catalog costs (permits, shipping, etc.). Group items into scopes (e.g. "Video Surveillance", "Access Control") to organize larger jobs. Mark a line Tax exempt for things like shipping or subcontractor labor that shouldn't be taxed.
The Summary panel applies your Labor rate, Overhead %, Profit %, and Tax % on top of the material/labor subtotals. Labor isn't taxed by default — check Apply tax to labor if a job requires it. Adjustments adds or subtracts a flat dollar amount at the end.
Proposal & Bill of Materials
Print Proposal gives the customer a clean, cost-hidden summary by scope. Print Proposal + BOM adds a materials list. Print BOM alone, or Export CSV, are useful for ordering and internal review — both roll up every run of the same item into one line with a total quantity.
Saving & multiple tabs
Projects autosave a few seconds after each change; the status indicator near Save shows Saved, Unsaved changes, or Saving…. If you see "Reload required — edited elsewhere," this project was changed in another tab, window, or device since this one loaded it — reload the page to get the latest version before continuing. Avoid leaving the same project open in more than one tab at a time.
Need more help?
Contact your SGC Integrators administrator for account access, sharing a project with a teammate, or reporting a bug.