SURVEY / QUANTITIES / CLIENT REPORT
From topo shots
to a clear estimate.
Start with survey points or an existing LandXML surface. Review the source, measure the actual work area, then send a plan and estimate that keeps the quantities and assumptions visible.
View the sample plan & estimate PDF
Three-page synthetic example, Letter landscape, 1 inch = 20 feet. All dimensions, elevations and rates are demonstrations. No customer or project data is used.
Try the example files
Survey CSV · Design LandXML · Work boundary CSV. The CSV columns are Point, Northing, Easting, Elevation. Use international feet for horizontal and vertical units and the same assumed local grid/elevation reference for both surfaces. All four survey elevations are 101 ft; design is 100 ft. These files match the fingerprints printed in the sample report.
1. Bring in the survey and design
In the private workspace, create a company job and open Surface imports. CSV can contain point ID, northing, easting, elevation and description; check the column mapping. With LandXML, select the named TIN and review its supplied points and triangles.
Confirm horizontal and elevation units separately. International feet, US survey feet and metres are distinct choices. Record the source grid, realization, elevation reference, geoid and any site calibration. Nearby county or state-plane suggestions can narrow the list, but they cannot identify your survey's reference for you.
Import the proposed design as the second surface when measuring earthwork. For a surveyed stockpile, its base may be a measured surface or a known flat/sloping plane.
2. Review what the triangles cover
Generated CSV triangles initially span the point hull. Look for triangles bridging a ditch, roadway edge, missing area or distant shot. Shape surface supports boundaries, holes, breaklines, excluded points and a maximum triangle edge. These affect the surface; keep the originals for reference.
Keep the surface in the job once it represents your intended work area. Missing coverage stays missing; the quantity tool will not invent ground beyond a surface. LandXML export lets you choose the output units and retain the surface's reference information for the office.
3. Measure the actual footprint
Under Measured quantities, name the estimate and enter the work/toe boundary in order as easting,northing pairs in international feet. A starting rectangle is a convenience, not confirmation of the actual work boundary. Concave outlines are supported; crossed outlines and holes in the quantity boundary are not.
The calculation compares the ground and design triangles inside that footprint. Cut and fill remain separate. For a stockpile, above-base and below-base volume remain separate so an uncertain base cannot quietly cancel material.
Worked example: a small access pad
A 100 × 50 ft footprint has a survey elevation of 101 ft and a design elevation of 100 ft throughout. It is a one-foot cut.
Geometric cut: 100 × 50 × 1 ÷ 27 = 185.185 yd³.
Fill: 0 yd³.
Planning allowance: 10%, giving 203.704 yd³.
Example cut rate: $12/yd³.
Priced subtotal: $2,444.44, using the unrounded planning quantity.
The sample PDF shows these inputs and source references. This is an illustrative rate, not a recommendation for your bid. Geometric in-place volume is not automatically loose truck volume. Taxes, separate hauling and unpriced work are excluded; enter and disclose the assumptions your estimate actually uses.
4. Add a background only when the grid is known
For supported, confirmed authority grids without a site calibration, you can request public USGS aerial imagery for the estimate footprint. The request sends the mapped extent and coordinate identifier to the imagery service. Compare recognizable features against source/control before attaching it.
Saved reports retain the reviewed image and its attribution. Imagery may combine dates, may have gaps and does not provide elevations or alter the calculated volume. Continue without a background when the reference or alignment is uncertain. The sample here uses an assumed local grid and therefore has no aerial background.
5. Prepare the plan and estimate PDF
Save the measured estimate, expand it and choose Plan sheet & estimate PDF. Add your company, client, title and revision. The job's rendered logo is included, with a small Driftless reference on each page.
- Paper: Letter, 11 × 17, 24 × 36, A4 or A3; portrait or landscape.
- Fixed scale: enter feet per inch. If the footprint does not fit, the export stops and asks for a larger sheet or a different scale.
- Fit: selects a suitable engineering scale and prints the resulting scale on the plan.
- Appearance: field colors, blue/orange, high contrast or black-and-white diagrams. The logo keeps its brand colors.
- North: grid or assumed source +Y direction. Selecting the label does not rotate or transform the survey.
Print at Actual size / 100%; disable the printer's Fit or Shrink option. Check the printed scale bar. In the sample, a 100-foot edge must measure five inches at 1 inch = 20 feet. PDF paper dimensions and drawing scale are separate from how a phone screen displays the page.
6. Continue in the office
Choose Save to cloud and wait for confirmation. On another device, open the same company and job to use the saved source surfaces, boundary, rates and layout. Download the PDF or choose email from a supported phone share sheet. You decide what is sent.
For a wider job package, create a saved Job report snapshot that includes reviewed daily reports, tickets, individual hours, field-book points, estimates and selected 3D views. Keep independent backups of important work.
What you need to try it
The private workspace requires email sign-in and approved pilot access; no ChatGPT login is needed. Editing access is not granted by creating an account, and checkout is not open yet. Start with a small area: up to 2 MB, 1,000 points and 2,000 triangles per surface. Full road alignments and automatic coordinate transformations are not included.
Opens an email draft for you to review and send. No client files are needed to ask.