Getting started
From Home, click + New Project to start a job. Add the customer's info, an optional internal Project # and Proposal due date for tracking, and optionally upload the plan drawing (PDF or image) right away — you can also add it later from the Takeoff tab.
Finding your way around
The header has two groups of tabs. Home, Catalog, and Manage Projects are always available. Takeoff, Estimate, and Proposal — the project workflow — only appear once you've opened or created a project, and then stay visible the whole time you're working, no matter which of the three you're on.
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 & Lists
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).
The sidebar organizes items into Lists — category lists like "Access Control" or your own custom ones (e.g. "Brivo products"). An item can belong to several lists at once without being duplicated. Click ≡ Lists on any item to add/remove it from lists, search by name, or create a brand-new list on the spot; use + Create a list in the sidebar to start one without opening an item first. Every card also shows which lists it's already in.
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
The Estimate 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
The Proposal tab builds the customer-facing document — a project description plus one description per scope, with costs, overhead, and profit hidden. Click any description box to open it for editing; it shows the Project # and due date (if set) alongside the totals. Print Proposal gives the customer that clean summary. 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.
Sharing a project
From Manage Projects, the project's owner can click Share to give a teammate Edit or View only access — search by name or email, change someone's permission anytime, or remove them. A view-only user sees a banner and can look around freely, but every editing control is disabled; they'll need to ask an admin for full access. Sharing a project, being made its owner, or a due date arriving all send an email notification automatically (if your admin has that configured).
Your profile
Under Settings → Security, you can fix your name at any time (e.g. a typo from registration) and change your password. Only an admin can change an account's email address, from the Admin tab.
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 LucentBid administrator for account access, sharing a project with a teammate, or reporting a bug.