Quickstart

The fastest way to learn Blueprint Crusher is to run a small project all the way through. This walkthrough takes about 10 minutes and uses real features end-to-end.

What you’ll need

• One supplier price sheet (PDF, XLSX, or even a scanned image).
• One drawing PDF you can practise measuring against.
• A blank project to play with.

1. Import a price sheet

Populate your Rate Library quickly by letting the app’s vision AI read a supplier’s price list.

1. Go to Rate Library → Imports.
2. Click New Import → Price Sheet.
3. Drop in the file, pick the Supplier, set the Effective date, and click Start Import.
4. When extraction finishes, review each row, fix any pack/unit mistakes, and click Confirm Import.

Full guide: Importing price sheets.

2. Create an assembly

Assemblies are reusable recipes that produce a rate from products + labour + waste.

1. Go to Rate Library → Assemblies → + New Assembly.
2. Name it after the output (e.g. “150 mm Reinforced Slab”), pick the trade, set the output UOM (e.g. m²).
3. Add components — one row per product needed, with a quantity expression like 0.15 or {thickness}.

Full guide: Creating assemblies.

3. Do a takeoff

1. Open a project → Takeoff.
2. Pick the drawing and page, set the scale by clicking two known points.
3. Use the toolbar to measure Area, Length, or Count. Each shape lands in a Takeoff Group.

Full guide: Measuring.

4. Apply an assembly to your group

1. In the takeoff group panel, click Assign Assembly.
2. Pick the right assembly (the AI will suggest one based on the group name — so name groups well).
3. Set any variables, click Apply.

The group now shows a quantity, a unit rate, and a total.

Full guide: Applying assemblies in takeoff.

5. Push to the estimate and export

1. Click Add to Estimate on the group (or bulk-add several at once).
2. Open Estimate, pick your set, click Export → Excel.
3. Choose your options and Download.

Full guide: Excel export.

That’s the full loop. From here, browse:

• Rate Library — products, prices, suppliers.
• Assemblies — variables, tips, and pitfalls.
• Estimates — when to export with rates on vs. off.