PDF takeoff for UK Estimators

Take off faster.
Price sooner.

Measure lengths, areas and counts straight off your drawings, and turn them into an NRM2 Bill of Quantities ready to price. The simple, fast way to take off.

Start free trial See how it works

Windows desktop app  /  £25/month + VAT  /  14-day free trial, cancel anytime

Taking off lengths, areas and counts on an office floor plan in Kestrel, with finishes listed on the left and the live Quantities panel on the right
How it works

Drawing to priced Bill of Quantities, in three moves

No manual to read, nothing to wrestle. If you can measure on paper, you already know how.

Open

Open your drawings

Drop in a PDF and calibrate the scale once. Your drawings live in a single project file on your machine.

Measure

Measure on the drawing

Trace lengths, areas and counts straight on the sheet. Quantities add up as you go, organised by finish and zone.

Export

Export, ready to price

Out comes an NRM2 Bill of Quantities in Excel with live formulas, plus annotated PDFs with a legend per sheet.

The output

Not just numbers, a drawing you can issue

Every takeoff also exports as an annotated PDF, colour-coded with a Take Off Legend and a Quantity Key per sheet, on your own title block.

An annotated PDF export from Kestrel: an office floor plan colour-coded by wall finish, with a Take Off Legend and a Quantity Key summary, on the Alves Rowe title block
What you get

Everything in one plan, no add-ons

Take off on the drawing

Measure lengths, areas and counts right on the PDF. Calibrate the scale once and the quantities add up as you go, grouped by finish and zone.

A Bill of Quantities, ready to price

An NRM2 Bill of Quantities in Excel with codes, descriptions and live formulas. Drop in your rates and the totals update. Annotated PDFs and a drawing register come too.

Optional AI assist

If you want it, AI reads the finishes off your drawings and the scale from the title block, so they fill in with one click. Bring your own key; costs come straight to you from Anthropic.

Why estimators switch

Built for the way you actually work

No cloud to log into, no per-seat maze, no waiting on a browser. A proper desktop tool that respects your drawings and your time.

No cloud lock-in

Projects live as a single file on your machine, drawings embedded. Nothing held hostage, nothing to sync.

No login to take off

Open the app and work. The licence checks in online every few days; you do not sign in to measure.

Windows-native and fast

A real desktop app, not a browser tab. Big drawings stay smooth, and it works offline.

One plan, one price

Every feature included, for one user on one machine. No tiers, no upsells, no surprise add-ons.

Who builds Kestrel™

We use it on live jobs, every day

"Most of an estimator's week disappears into the repetitive parts of a takeoff: the formatting, the keying in, the tidying up, rather than the judgement that actually wins the work. We built Kestrel to take those parts off our plate, so the hours go on pricing and decisions instead."

Jamie Rowe, Estimator & Founder, Alves Rowe  /  on LinkedIn

Built by Alves Rowe, a working UK estimating firm, and used on live jobs daily.
Independent. Not VC-backed. We answer to users, not investors.
Your projects stay on your machine. Code-signed installers, ICO-registered.
Email us and a real estimator replies. info@alvesrowe.com
Founders Discount

Start taking off today

Fourteen days free, then one plan at one price. Founding customers lock in the annual first year at £150 + VAT instead of £250.

Start free trial

Founders Discount ends 1 September 2026  /  card required, cancel anytime