The cost arrives after the design
By the time a figure comes back, the option it was for has moved on.
For architects & designers
Design options costed, with reasons on record.
Prepare and approve inside your client's project. Cost a design option before the client meeting, swap a finish with a reason, and have builders price the scope you approved.
- Prepare and approve
- Drawings read into the project
- Builders price your approved scope
Sound familiar?
Value engineering by guesswork
A cheaper tile or a smaller window: nobody can say what it saves until a builder re-quotes.
Your design intent lost in the tender
Each builder prices a different reading of the drawings, and the lowest price is the one that left things out.
How an architect works on Modern GBQ.
- 1
Read the drawings in
Upload the set and the AI proposes the buildings, storeys and rooms, with areas measured against the drawing's scale. Keep, drop or correct each space, then apply.
- 2
Cost the option
Choose a finish level, then swap any product for a listed alternative with a photo and a reason. Re-price and see what the change did to the total.
- 3
Approve the scope
Architects can prepare and approve. The approved version becomes the single scope every invited builder prices.
- 4
Keep the intent
Builders price your approved scope line by line and are compared blind, numbers before names. A revised proposal is a new version, not a different scope.
Ballpark, Design, Detailed.
Three levels of rigour. A Design estimate goes to builders as soon as a drawing is on file; Detailed prices every product line by line.
Swap, reason, re-price.
Every substitution carries a short reason, so the client sees why as well as what.
Products with photos.
Choose tiles, tapware and fittings by what they look like, from Economical to Advanced.
Versions side by side.
Put two options next to each other and show the client the difference, line by line.
Why cost designs on Modern GBQ.
| Topic | The usual way | With Modern GBQ |
|---|---|---|
| Costing an option | The usual wayWeeks, via a builder or a QS | With Modern GBQMinutes, inside the project |
| Substitutions | The usual waySaving unknown until re-quote | With Modern GBQSwap, reason, re-price |
| Tender | The usual wayEach builder reads the drawings differently | With Modern GBQAll price the approved scope |
| Record | The usual wayEmails and markups | With Modern GBQNamed versions with reasons |
| Your cost | The usual wayAnother subscription | With Modern GBQFree on client projects |
Consultant plans.
Working on a client's project is free. Gold and Platinum add uploads to clients' projects and projects of your own.
Architect questions.
Can I approve the estimate?
Yes. Architects and project managers can prepare and approve; estimators prepare only. Approval locks that version as the scope builders price.
What file types can I upload?
PDF, PNG, JPG, WebP, DWG, DXF, Word, Excel, CSV and plain text, up to 25 MB each. Drawings, site plans and specifications are shared with invited builders by default; reports and photos are private by default, and you can change either with one click.
Can I upload to a client's project?
On the Consultant Gold or Platinum plan, yes: you upload and delete your own files. On the free plan, email the file to the client and they upload it.
How accurate is the drawing reading?
It proposes, you confirm. Where a drawing prints a room's size, the printed value is used; otherwise the room is measured against the drawing's scale, and the reading says which. Nothing is applied until you review it.
Can the client see my reasons?
Yes. Every swap carries its reason and every version is kept, so the client can follow the design from the first figure to the approved scope.
Is the estimate a quote?
No. It is an estimate, not a quote. Quotes come from the builders who price the approved scope.
Cost your next option here.
Free to start. We can run a live project with you in 15 minutes.