All Countfire Reviews
1-25 of 194 Reviews
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Kelly
Verified reviewer
Construction, 1 employee
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed February 2023
Amazing Software - Would definitely recommend!!
Great, efficient, time saver!!
PROSEasy & straightforward to use. Great user interface. Reliable automated counting (if drawings are half decent!)
CONSCopying symbol selection over to new drawings & also reviewing later revisions of drawings does not always work as it should with no real explanation as to why apart from it being something related to the drawing
Reasons for switching to Countfire
Automated counting
Vendor Response
Thanks Kelly - appreciate you leaving this review! Really glad to hear you're getting on with Countfire so well. You're correct, copying symbols doesn't always work. Occasionally the revised drawings have been created slightly differently - there are usually 2 reasons why Countfire will not automatically find matches: 1 - The drawings have been converted to an image, removing the drawing layers - which means the symbols are not selectable 2 - When the original drawing was revised the symbols have been drawn differently or changed (i.e. the make-up of the symbols has different - for example the shape of a light fitting has changed).
Replied June 2023
Ronan
Construction, 51-200 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed November 2019
Game Changer...
Using countfire has completely changed the way I do my job. I have gone from old school drawings and highlighters to paperless and streamlined. I would guess that it has increased my productivity by a factor of 3. Every day I learn of a new feature and if I have any questions or issues, they are dealt with quickly and efficiently by one of the superb and knowledgeable customer service gurus. I love that they are paying attention to what I am doing constantly and suggesting ways to improve how I'm doing it. Overall, this is a really great tool with FLAWLESS customer service, regardless of timezone issues. Thank you Countfire team.
PROSIt's easy to use, functions really well and they've thought of (almost!) everything! It's really great that it puts all the information into a nice, neat Excel spreadsheet so I can easily add my costings and work out my prices.
CONSI'm only a couple of months into using countfire but there's nothing I don't like about it. I have made a couple of suggestions for features - I need to be able to switch from imperial to metric measurements at will being the main one. Autosave another. I think that these have been taken on board.
Reason for choosing Countfire
Autocount was far superior in Countfire and they didn't seem too concerned when I raised the issue.
Brody
Construction, 51-200 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed January 2024
Great quality product
The ability to select 1 symbol and count fire counts all of them.
CONSEither the loading time or the fact that sometimes it messes up the background and believes it is not background. Though I understand this is probably due to the drawings rather than countfire.
Vendor Response
Many thanks for your review Brody. Absolutely – when selecting your symbols Countfire searches for matches across all drawings in your discipline. When backgrounds aren't automatically hidden we have a number of options you can use by clicking the down arrow next to the background button. This allows you to: Customise – select parts of the drawing to hide with the default settings of your background. Restore defaults – return to Countfire's standard background settings. Restart – removes all background settings and allows you to start from scratch.
Replied March 2024
Richard
Construction, 501-1,000 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed January 2021
Countfire
Labour & cost saving, great product
PROSVery efficient, software very easy to use, great support team, would not want to be without it.
CONSHaving correct symbols for design purposes, this is in the pipeline.
Reason for choosing Countfire
Much easy to use and the counting quantities is much more efficient with the download
Reasons for switching to Countfire
Countfire is much more efficient and has additional benefits
Ryan
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 2-10 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2020
Don’t bother with the others, countfire outshines them all
Countfire has been a breeze from start to finish, the help team have always been on hand to help out and implementing and training on the software was seamless! I love countfire, you will too.
PROSI’m impressed, countfire allowed me to do a take off in 28mins... the other guy in the office actually had the take off and got out his fluro’s and a pad...he had allowed himself 2 days... It’s brilliant, simple and easy to use. The wholesalers love me because the take off is easy to read!
CONSThe cost is high, but the amount of time I saved means it’s worth the large cost!!
Reasons for switching to Countfire
Software was easier to use, cleaner, better output
Samuel
Construction, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed July 2023
A great time saver
Countfire works very well as quick take off tool when producing estimates, it saves a lot of time when working through large quantities of drawings, you only need to make small adjustments to the search criteria as opposed to going through every drawing and taking off by hand.
CONSThere are some limitations in what you can and cant do, with some updates from the suggested features it would become a far more competent tool for a designer estimator like myself - in particular different shaped coverage indicators and a larger choice of symbols and colour choices would massively improve the usability of countfire.
Vendor Response
Thanks for the review Sam! Great to hear you're saving time using Countfire. You're spot on – when you make a selection on one drawing, Countfire automatically looks for matches across all of the drawings in your discipline. When users make suggestions on features they'd like to see in the software, we track these with feature requests. We have feature requests for different shaped coverage areas, more colour options for your symbols and the ability to add custom symbols – you've already added your vote
Replied November 2023
Joe
Telecommunications, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed January 2024
Countfire Review
Take offs and PDF comparison are good providing the pdf is in the right format
CONSExpensive per user, no multi user plans so £200 a user seems high
Vendor Response
Thanks Joe for the review! Thrilled to hear you find take offs and the PDF comparison helpful. We have a tiered pricing structure which offers a sliding discount for additional users. We also offer a 10% discount on yearly subscriptions.
Replied February 2024
Wesley
Construction, 51-200 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed January 2024
Countfire for mechanical users
The take off package is great and saves times and money on printing endless amounts of drawings. And also great service and very helpful.
PROSthe main reason for using this is take off package which is very helpful and saves time at tender stage.
CONSEstimate side seems a bit over complicated for new users.
Vendor Response
Great review Wesley, amazing news that you find Countfire helpful for mechanical users. Really glad to hear Countfire's been useful during the tender stage– saving you time as well as money! Our support team would be more than happy to help you get to grips with our estimating tool. Please do reach out by using the orange button in-app. The estimating tool will allow you to work faster and increase accuracy.
Replied February 2024
Joshua
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed February 2024
New user of countfire
Being a new user of the program is has been very user friendly and the tutorials were very informative.
CONSone con to mention i noticed straight away is you can min/maximise the task bar on the right to view the drawing full page.
Vendor Response
Thanks for the great review Joshua! Awesome to hear you've found the system user friendly and the tutorials have helped you get to grips with Countfire. Thanks for the feedback on being able to collapse the task bar – we have a feature request for 'Ability to customise the sidebar' and I have added your vote. If you have anymore feedback you can 'Send us a message' or click 'Give feedback' via the orange button in the bottom right hand corner.
Replied March 2024
Aaron
Construction, 201-500 employees
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed January 2024
Very good service and the system saves a lot of time
the ease of use for take offs is very good
CONSsome other features can be confusing however the countfire team are more than happy to help out
Vendor Response
Thank you Aaron for the review Great that you have saved a lot of time and your finding completing take offs easy! Always more than happy to help, if you're finding any features confusing you can send us a message on the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app.
Replied March 2024
Kevin
Construction, 1,001-5,000 employees
Used weekly for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed February 2023
Kevin McCormack, FES
Countfire is easy to use and the customer service team ensure this is always the way. I like how the information is collated and keep things organised.
CONSI dont like how you cannot quickly check quantities without processing the take off then downloading. If there was a quick check function then that would be a lot easier for things like sending my luminaire enquiries before i complete my take offs. I understand the risk with not having the checking function doing this but i would be happy to take the risk. Matching overlaid drawings with the zone function is a tedious task and i got excited when i saw the overlay function appear but this function isnt great so zoning remains my least favourite task.
Vendor Response
Really appreciate the review Kevin. It's great you find Countfire easy to use and our support team are always happy to help I see what you mean, it would be helpful to quickly check quantities in-app. There is a feature request for this, I have added your vote towards it and you will receive progress updates - so it's definitely on our radar! The overlay function allows you to see different drawings on top of each other, which is helpful when you need to see how different services / disciplines interact - for example overlaying a containment drawing onto your power drawing to help you visualise containment routes. To help you create zones across different drawings I'd recommend using our floorplan feature - this allows you to 'stitch' multiple drawings together to view the floor as a whole rather than as individual drawings. I'll reach out directly to arrange a quick training session to run through our overlay, compare and floorplan features.
Replied July 2023
Jake
Construction, 51-200 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2023
A great product which makes my job easier.
Overall countfire has made my job as an estimator a lot easier and quicker. It helps me maximise the speed of my take offs whilst making sure the quality is up to standard.
PROSThe product itself is very easy to use and get used to. I can take drawings off in whatever way I need, and even go back to edit take offs if needs be with no hassle.
CONSOne feature I would like to see added to countfire is the ability to copy a Group/Measure/Count. Sometimes on one drawing I could have multiple types of spurs for example, and it would be nice to be able to copy one line item, and edit part of the reference to save typing out the whole thing.
Adam
Construction, 1,001-5,000 employees
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed February 2023
Easy to use take off software
Great piece of software that not only speeds up the process but also helps with the reporting.
PROSThe software is easy to use and if in doubt the speed of assistance is almost immediate. The ease to choose symbols which then copies across to all drawings in that section makes it so much faster.
CONSNot having used any other software for take offs in the past doesn't give me much to say what features the software lacks or is missing, anything we do use is a bonus and with new features constantly updating I cant fault it.
Vendor Response
Thanks Adam! Really glad you're getting on well with the software and find it easy to use - our support response times are also something we're super proud of! In terms of not having used any other takeoff software I can understand it can be tricky to see what features you'd find useful. With that in mind, we're always happy to receive feedback from our customers and you can view our feature requests by clicking on the orange button in-app and selecting 'Give feedback'! You're right, we are constantly updating and adding new features. To keep up to date with what we're doing you can read our change logs here https://feedback.countfire.com/changelog
Replied July 2023
Malcolm
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 51-200 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed November 2020
One Year In Review
The system is very easy to use which makes the familiarisation process quire easy. With any new software you have to familiarise yourself with the peculiarities of the system and work with it to get the best from it which is what we have found with Countfire. The first thing you notice is the speed and responsiveness of the auto count system which is so much better than other systems we have tried. We have found Countfire to suit our business needs but there are improvements to be made and hopefully we will see this product develop further.
PROSEasy to use, fast, useful for auto counting from certain revised drawings such as lighting. Demarcation of drawings is a good feature.
CONSThere is no 'back' button to help you correct mistakes - you have to rely on not saving changes which is not ideal. Recognition of different orientation of symbols is limited to 90 degrees only - expanding this would be useful. Typical small power symbol auto count can be time consuming because of how symbols are recognised by the system, this makes the auto count process unreliable particularly across multiple drawings - a manual count often becomes the best option which defeats the object.
Reasons for switching to Countfire
We switched from an alternative auto count system in the main because the original system we had was unreliable in terms of general symbol recognition and was particularly slow in comparison to Countfire.
Neil
Construction, 1 employee
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed February 2023
This product has revolutionized the way i run my business...
I've found the software brilliant and the customer service exceptional. Its taken my business to the next level and couldn't imagine how i would run my business without it.
PROSEasy and quick to use. Absolutely brilliant.
CONSIt would be nice to be able to copy test off the drawings to paste in the software
Vendor Response
So great to hear Countfire has made such a difference to your business Neil! In terms of copying text from drawings, we're sometimes a little restricted to what's contained within the PDFs and how it's been saved, but I can definitely see how useful it would be. I know we've got a feature request open for it currently.
Replied February 2023
Terry
Construction, 11-50 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2017
Makes life very easy.
Countfire makes doing takeoffs extremely easy and the amount of time it saves leaves more time to do other things that need doing.
CONSnot enough colours in the palette, When you measure & ask for itemised it measures every click not just start to finish giving far to many reults
Vendor Response
Thanks Terry! I wanted to let you know we released an update recently to include more colours. With measurements and how they're saved into the Excel spreadsheet, you have a choice between not itemised (just the overall total) and itemised (each individual measurement). Itemising does definitely result in a larger spreadsheet because there's just a lot more information to represent within Excel, however, I also wanted to point you towards a workaround we have which allows you to round & summarise those measurements towards specific lengths (EG: set busbar lengths etc. There's more here: http://help.countfire.com/workarounds/summarising-measurement-items
Replied June 2017
charlie
Construction, 51-200 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2023
Saving time to tackle the high end cost items!
The new feature to overlay drawings to save time taking off similar drawings more than once.
CONSCan be long processing some complicated drawings.
Aleshia
Facilities Services, 201-500 employees
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2019
Amazing & Friendly Staff
Countfire has saved me tons of time performing takeoffs. It is also very helpful in accomplishing a set of takeoffs for a project with a quick turn around time.
PROSI absolutely love the quick response from the members of the Countfire Staff. They are quick to respond and help resolve any issues you may have.
CONSI love everything about the Countfire Program.
Reason for choosing Countfire
I used Countfire at my previous employer. After showing my current company what could be accomplished with Countfire they decided to purchase it.
Michael
Construction, 51-200 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed March 2019
Personal view of Countfire after 3 weeks
Its quick and easy to use. There are a few things which can be done to make it even better but overall its far more efficient than using paper and coloured pens.
PROSIt is pretty easy to use once you are using it on a daily basis. It makes the take-off process a lot quicker and doesn't require the need for printing off a Forrest worth of trees for drawings, plus you don't need to keep a whole range of coloured pens handy.
CONSI have found that I have gone back to drawings that I have taken off first time around and noticed symbols which I did take off were not highlighted. That could be simply down to me not saving each time. However, I have had to go back through each drawing to make sure I haven't missed anything. There should be something in place to highlight anything that has been missed. It would also be helpful to have an option to pick regularly used symbols and containment so that you can save time not having to manually type them in.
Ciaran
Architecture & Planning, 11-50 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2017
Quick, easy,fast and great support
The ability to drag, drop and created elements save days of manual counting on paper. the software can be used anywhere you have internet connection
CONSan internet connection is required and a large amount of storage for dropbox also
Vendor Response
Thanks Ciaran! Countfire now automatically frees up space within Dropbox meaning you no longer need to purchase a paid Dropbox account. With regard to needing an internet connection, there are a number of positives to consider too. We're able to provide near instant in-app support right when you need it (our current response time is less than 1 minute). Countfire is definitely not the kind of software you buy and then never hear from us again, and having an internet connection is an important part of us being able to provide that level of support to our customers. Additionally, new updates and features get rolled out immediately and we don't hold these back for a new version of the software, as can happen with traditional / older methods of software distribution. You always have the latest and best version.
Replied June 2017
Nicholas
Security and Investigations, 201-500 employees
Used weekly for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed July 2023
Time Saving Application
This lowers the rate of human error, whilst also saving on printing paper. Very quick turn around too :-)
PROSI love the ability to join drawings, this is useful on Drawing updates, Split Drawings. I have also found a use for System Modifications too.
CONSWhen I have to Manually Count, I find the dots placed can flood the drawing making it hard to ensure you have covered everything, when toggling the tabs, this equally leaves questioning.
Vendor Response
Great to hear you're managing to save time Nicholas! Our Floor plan, Overlay and Compare features are really handy for handling layouts split over multiple drawings, checking compatibility between services and handling revised drawings. If you don't have any linear measures on your drawings, you can control the size of the manual points by changing the scale on the drawing in the measure tab. You can also hide the points you've already counted using the check box next to each measure heading to make it easier to complete the rest of your takeoff. It's awesome that you're benefitting from lowering the rate of human error and saving on printing paper on your takeoffs too.
Replied November 2023
Karl
Construction, 501-1,000 employees
Used weekly for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed September 2020
Essential for estimating
Countfire is so easy to use. I've only recently moved to the estimating department and this tool is essential. I love that the Countfire team keeps an eye on the way you use the software and come in with suggestion how to use the tool more effectively if they see you making the same mistake multiple times. They will also offer suggestions on the most efficient ways to do your take-offs.
CONSCountfire can sometimes fail to recognize the same symbol if there is a difference in orientation, but having said that, the "Toggle" function will identify missed symbols.
Diane
Construction, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2018
Great so far
So far, it is early days, I have found everything very straightforward. I spent time working through a lot of the help screens before I attempted my first take off, but still encountered a problem selecting some symbols. I couldn't find the answer myself so used the chat option. Within minutes I was chatting to someone who could help straight away with advice and even videos to show me how to deal with my problem. Looking forward to learning more as I progress.
PROSLove the common sense feel to this software. Very quick to do a take off. Every problem I have encountered so far has had a solution. Support and help screens are excellent.
CONSI actually haven't found anything I don't like so far, but I have only been using it for a short time. I think it is just a case of getting your head around what the software needs from you to do its thing.
Chris
Construction, 201-500 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2016
Brilliant estimating tool and great customer Service to back it up!
Very helpful in times of need when a project needs a quick turnaround! The customer service team are also very responsive and there when you need them! Would highly recommend for estimating larger projects if you want to cut down on estimating time.
PROSSpeed, adaptability to pricing schedules/demarcations and the fact Countfire themselves are open to taking on ideas for user interface improvements to make take off easier
CONSWhen drawings take ages to load up
Caroline
Security and Investigations, 51-200 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed November 2023
First time user
Very positive so far - still learning but for me it has been quite easy to pick up so am very confident I will have the hang of it quite quickly.
PROSIt is very straightforward. I am a bit of a tech phobic and am picking this up quite easily.
CONSNothing yet as I have only been on it for a very short while
Vendor Response
Great review – thanks Caroline! Awesome to hear you're picking up Countfire easily. If you have any questions, we always encourage our customers to send us a message – just click the orange button in the bottom right hand corner of the app.
Replied December 2023