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About Countfire
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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.
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Filter reviews (209)
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
last year
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).
Best for Take Off's
Comments: Really positive, everyone i have dealt with has been extremely helpful
Pros:
You can complete take offs with covering 1 item multiple times in 1 symbol or you can manually count them off using the measure tool. You can overlap drawings, this is great when you have multiple drawings for 1 floor for example
Cons:
Sometimes the dropbox link isnt sent o my email once processing my take off.
Countfire Response
6 months ago
Thanks for the amazing review Emma! We have a bunch of features to help you takeoff your drawings super quickly and accurately including our automatic counting tools and our measure tools. Great to hear you're finding the Floor plan feature helpful – it allows you to stitch your drawings together to see the whole layout in a single view. There are a few different ways to access your takeoff outputs. As well as Dropbox and OneDrive integrations, you can also download them directly from the app. If you ever have an issue accessing your outputs, just send us a message on our in-app live chat at the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of Countfire – our support team will be happy to help get it sorted for you.
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
9 months ago
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.
Good job, keep it up!
Comments: the support team have been provided is brilliant, so a very good experience
Pros:
the ease with which the software identifies the icons once the parameters are set.
Cons:
where the same icon is slightly different the software can't yet differentiate
Countfire Response
3 months ago
Thanks for the great review Daniel! Awesome to hear you're finding it easy to count your symbols with Countfire. Glad to hear you had a very good experience with our support team! We're super proud of our support – we have a live chat to answer any questions you have and offer free online training to make sure you're getting the most out of the software. Sometimes symbols are drawn inconsistently when the drawings are created which can mean that you won't find many matches for your selections. I'd recommend sending us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner and we can take a look at your drawings to see if there's anything we can do to improve your matches.
Billy Banyard - Barrie Beard LTD
Comments: Very positive and likely to use the software going forward as opposed to others
Pros:
Count fires auto count across multiple drawing has sped up the take off procedure, enabling us to spend more time estimating and putting costs to things than counting.
Cons:
Measure facility on things such as containment drawing. Its not a dislike but similar to other software (plan swift)
Countfire Response
7 months ago
Thanks for the amazing review Billy! It's awesome to hear how auto counting symbols across multiple drawings is speeding up your takeoff process, giving you extra time to focus on estimating and costing. We have a feature request for "Improvements to measuring containment", you can add your vote by clicking 'Give feedback' on the orange button at the bottom right corner of Countfire.
Game changing!
Comments: Fantastic!!Been using countfire for 4 years now and its made estimating a lot less laborious
Pros:
The constant improvements and the ease of accurate take offs! Countfire team are always looking for ways to improve the software and take on customer feedback very well!Its also a massive bonus for my business model that all take offs can be done online and no need for a printer! Enables the company to operate from anywhere very easily..
Cons:
A live catalogue of materials would complete this software. It would cut down time going out to get live prices on materials.
Alternatives Considered: Ensign
Reasons for Switching to Countfire: The take off element is currently superior to theirs.
Countfire Response
last year
Game changing – Awesome! Thanks Josh You're spot on 👍. At Countfire we work on 2 week cycles, releasing hundreds of platform enhancements each year. Great to hear you're also benefitting from being able to log in and operate from anywhere. It would definitely be useful to have access to a live catalogue of materials. We have a feature request for this – your vote has already been added to it. Brilliant that you've been onboard for 4 years – looking forward to continuing our journey together!
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
6 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.
My review of countfire
Comments: Excellent. No problem is too much to ask for help from the team. They are very responsive and helpful.
Pros:
I like that it saves me time on larger projects that have a lot to quantify, as well as making measurements easier and quicker.
Cons:
I have had the odd drawing where it doesn't pick up the symbols very well.
Countfire Response
6 months ago
Thanks for the great review Caroline! Awesome to hear Countfire is saving you time and you're finding our support responsive and helpful. There are a few things that can cause your symbols to not be picked up well including the format of the drawings and the way the drawings have been created. If you run into this on a project, I'd always recommend sending us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app – our support team can take a look and see if there's anything we can do to improve the quality of the drawings.
Fantastic bit of Software
Pros:
I found Countfire very easy to use and the speed of takeoffs for various systems saved valuable time. The online chat and support is fantastic too.
Cons:
there are a few quirks but that wouldn't stop us from using.
Countfire Response
6 months ago
Awesome review – thanks Lee! We'd love to hear more about the quirks you experienced. You can send your feedback on the orange button at the bottom right hand corner of Countfire – either send us a message on our live chat or leave us a feature request at the "Give feedback' button.
Countfire review
Comments: Enjoy using countfire, it is a very handy tool to have for work.
Pros:
Helps produce accurate take offs and minimizes mistakes.
Cons:
Drawings can be very slow to load and can be waiting a while.
Countfire Response
5 months ago
Great review – thanks Jamie! Awesome to hear you're minimising mistakes and improving accuracy with Countfire. Sometimes drawings are very complex and the layout is actually made up of lots of small parts – these drawings can be a little slow to load. If you run into this on any future projects, I'd recommend sending us a message on the orange button at the bottom right hand corner of Countfire. Our technical team can take a look and see if they can improve the drawing quality, speeding up the load time in-app.
Best Software in the market
Comments: It has made our estimating more productive and accurate.
Pros:
Its a lot more intelligent than other software's
Cons:
The cost is slightly higher than we would like to pay.
Alternatives Considered: SketchUp
Reasons for Choosing Countfire: After our demo and because of the clunky software we previously had.
Switched From: Bluebeam Revu
Reasons for Switching to Countfire: It was more intelligent and you can breakdown sections easier.
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 👍
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
Comments: Very good experience so far with a lot of support. Quite expensive cost wise.
Pros:
Easy to use for take offs and counts same symbols over multiple drawings in one go.
Cons:
Symbol recognition doesn't work properly sometimes.
Countfire Response
last year
Thanks for the review Rytis. Great that you're finding Countfire easy to use. Sometimes when the drawings are created the symbols can look the same but have been drawn slightly differently – Countfire doesn't automatically include slightly different symbols when you make your selection to aid the accuracy of your takeoff. All you need to do is make an additional selection of the different symbol and Countfire will automatically search for matches across all of your drawings for that selection too.
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
9 months ago
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.
A real time saver
Comments: Excellent product
Pros:
Saves days when completing take offs a very useful tool
Cons:
No issues at all, highly intuitive with no issues
Countfire Response
last year
What an awesome review – thanks Tony! Great to hear you're finding Countfire very useful and it's saving you days on your takeoffs. If you do ever have any questions or feedback, you can message our live chat on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app 👍
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.
Saving time to tackle the high end cost items!
Pros:
The new feature to overlay drawings to save time taking off similar drawings more than once.
Cons:
Can be long processing some complicated drawings.
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
last year
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
What did we do before this software?
Pros:
We use solely for the count of off drawings for tendering projects, this has saved immense time for even some of the largest projects, we are able to add additional points and measure accurately to check the designs were supplied. We are then able to provide the spreadsheet produced with our tender with a comprehensive list of where the information came from.
Cons:
If the drawings are not made correctly then the software does struggle to read all symbols this though probably is more down to the original document than Countfire problem,
Countfire Response
last year
Thank you for the great review! Pleased to hear using the software is saving you loads of time. In terms of the software struggling to read all the symbols, that's usually down the way the original drawing was created, yes. We tend to find it's a fairly unusual thing to run into, however, we've also got a number of ways we can step in and help. If you run into it again, please fire us a quick message in-app and one of the Support team will take a look at your project and likely have you sorted in no time.
Mechanical take Offs
Comments: I have found using Countfire really helpful as it is more accurate than printing and marking drawings and also i believe faster
Pros:
I have found that even though it is mainly for the electrical trade i have adapted it with the help of the Countfire Team to mechanical use
Cons:
Nothing. It has suited all my needs and assists in my day to day works
Countfire Response
last year
Thanks so much for your kind review Mark. Yes, although it's not specifically designed for the mechanical trade, Countfire is flexible and you can adapt it to your way of working. It's great you've found using Countfire really helpful and more accurate than printing and marking drawings. I agree, it's definitely faster too as you don't have to worry about adding up your measurements or losing your place if you're interrupted - Countfire keeps a track of all that for you. Once you've finished your takeoff you also get a set of marked up drawings and a spreadsheet splitting out your quantities.
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
last year
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!
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.
One Year In Review
Comments:
The system is very easy to use which makes the familiarisation process quire easy.
With any new software you have to familiarise yourself with the peculiarities of the system and work with it to get the best from it which is what we have found with Countfire.
The first thing you notice is the speed and responsiveness of the auto count system which is so much better than other systems we have tried.
We have found Countfire to suit our business needs but there are improvements to be made and hopefully we will see this product develop further.
Pros:
Easy to use, fast, useful for auto counting from certain revised drawings such as lighting. Demarcation of drawings is a good feature.
Cons:
There is no 'back' button to help you correct mistakes - you have to rely on not saving changes which is not ideal. Recognition of different orientation of symbols is limited to 90 degrees only - expanding this would be useful. Typical small power symbol auto count can be time consuming because of how symbols are recognised by the system, this makes the auto count process unreliable particularly across multiple drawings - a manual count often becomes the best option which defeats the object.
1st review
Comments: My overall experience has been great.
Pros:
I think it is easy to use and faster then doing a count by printing and manually counting. I like the background drop it makes it easy to see all the things that need to be counted. Another pro is that by using CountFire i don't have to be printing the drawings which helps the environment.
Cons:
sometimes drawings take to long to upload in to the software. I would like to see improvements in the unjoining and joining symbols, the improvement could be that we the users had a choice in which parts of drawings we join or unjoin.