Alba365 Estimating
AI-native takeoff and estimating built for Canadian contractors
- 6 modules shipped in Year 1
- Estimating + AI Takeoff, Project Setup, Cost Tracking, Daily Logs, Mobile (offline-first), AP/EFT + Canadian Compliance Bundle
- 18-24 months engineering
- Canadian compliance moat: T5018, CPA-005 EFT, WCB tracking, Ontario Construction Act amendments, BC PST engine, Bill 96 readiness
- 75% time reduction on takeoff
- AI-native document processing: 4-hour manual process reduced to 15 minutes with confidence-ranked review
- Flat-fee published pricing
- No per-user tax, no per-volume scaling, 3-year contractual price-lock, free unlimited data export
Overview
Alba365 Estimating is a Canadian-first construction PM platform built for general contractors earning CAD $10M–$150M annually. Rather than porting an American tool and retrofitting Canadian compliance, we engineered every layer from the ground up for Canada's tax regime, banking system, and construction law. T5018 contractor slips, CPA-005 EFT for all major Canadian banks, provincial WCB clearance tracking, Ontario Construction Act holdback automation, and Bill 96 readiness are all built-in—not bolted on via a plug-in tier. This compliance bundle alone represents 18–24 months of specialized engineering that US platforms won't justify to their shareholders.
The product wedge is AI-native takeoff: upload construction drawings, and our AI auto-detects every door, fixture, outlet, and linear foot in one click. Estimators review and correct high-confidence detections in minutes instead of hours. The takeoff feeds directly into project setup, cost tracking, and bid proposals—all in one product, all under one flat-fee contract, no per-user tax, no surprise renewals. Competitor pricing hikes, per-user seats, and data lock-in created an industry-wide trust deficit. We answered that trust deficit in writing: 3-year price locks, published pricing on the public website, free data export at any time, and a money-back guarantee in Year 1.
The field piece is built-first for offline work. Foremen record daily logs, time tracking, and photos without WiFi. When connectivity returns, delta-sync brings everything back to the cloud. Voice-to-text transcription turns a 15-minute form into a 60-second voice memo plus one tap. The mobile app is native on iOS and Android—a genuine construction tool, not a compromised browser. At the same flat fee, subcontractors and clients get free accounts with no license seats. This network effect is intentional: once a sub sees the tool work on one job, they push their next GC to adopt it too.
Capabilities
What it does
AI-Native Multi-Symbol Takeoff
AI vision auto-detects repeated symbols (doors, fixtures, outlets, conduit) across full drawing pages in a single pass, with confidence-coded review on the canvas.
Canadian Compliance Bundle
T5018 generation and e-filing, CPA-005 EFT for major banks, WCB tracking across 10 provincial regimes, Construction Act prompt-payment and holdback management.
Foreman-Grade Mobile
Offline-first field tools with voice-to-text daily logs, GPS-tagged auto-categorized photos, weather fetch, and one-handed time tracking — syncing when connectivity returns.
Trust-First Commercial Terms
Published flat-fee pricing by GC volume tier with unlimited users, a contractual 3-year price-lock, free bulk data export, and a Year-1 money-back guarantee.
AI Cost Tracking & RFI Intelligence
Real-time budget variance against estimate, AI-summarized RFI thread digests, and confidence-band reviewer gates that grow a Canadian construction data flywheel.
CCDC-Grade Proposals
Branded estimate documents with interactive customer alternates, bond/insurance disclosure, signature pads, and token-gated public links with live selection tracking.
In depth
How it works
AI-Native Takeoff Built In, Not Bolt-On
AI vision integrates directly into the takeoff canvas, not as a marketplace plugin with separate billing. Upload a PDF, select a discipline (electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fire, architectural), and detect all relevant symbols on the page in one pass—not five separate runs. Every detected item appears as a ghost overlay with confidence bands (green ≥90%, amber 70–89%, red <70%). Review is visual and instant; click to accept or reject marks right where they appear on the drawing.
- Multi-symbol whole-page detect in one run, not five single-symbol passes
- Confidence-ranked visual feedback with live threshold slider for bulk accept/reject
- 146 industry-standard symbols per discipline plus custom symbol library upload per tenant
- AI cost-code suggester matches items to your CSI library in one click
- Revision diff: AI explains PDF changes in plain English with location and counts
Canadian Compliance Bundle — The Moat
No US platform handles Canada's tax, banking, and construction-law regime well because their economics don't justify the engineering. We built the opposite: every regulatory requirement is first-class and built-in. T5018 slips generate with CRA-compliant structure and auto-flag missing contractor numbers. CPA-005 EFT batches export for all major Canadian banks in one click. WCB clearance certificates track per subcontractor per province with expiry alerts. Ontario Construction Act amendments auto-compute holdback and mandatory annual-release deadlines. BC PST inverse rule and multi-province payroll tax math are native to the cost engine.
- T5018 CRA filing with batch export and annual slip PDF generation
- CPA-005 EFT export for RBC, TD, BMO, Scotia, CIBC, National Bank, Desjardins
- Provincial WCB premium and quarterly remittance by province (WSIB, WorkSafeBC, Alberta, CNESST)
- Ontario Construction Act lien deadline tracking and statutory holdback release per Construction Lien Act
- BC PST inverse rule and multi-province payroll tax (CPP/QPP, stat holidays, union dues) native to cost engine
Published Pricing + Trust-First Commercial Terms
Every dollar is transparent in writing. Pricing is flat per company (not per user, not per construction volume), published on the website, and locked for 3 years in the contract. No surprise renewals. Subcontractors and clients get free accounts with unlimited subs, unlimited clients, and no seat counting. Data export is unrestricted: at any time, for any reason, you get full CSV/JSON/PDF dump of your entire project history with no per-GB fee.
- Flat-fee pricing tiers by company size; unlimited users, subs, and clients per tier
- 3-year contractual price-lock guarantee in the MSA
- Free data export anytime in standard formats with no usage fees or login walls
- Founder-bootstrapped with no PE/VC growth-margin pressure to squeeze renewals
- Money-back guarantee in Year 1 if estimating and daily logs don't save measurable time
Offline-First Mobile + Foreman-Grade Field UX
The mobile app is a true native app on iOS and Android—not a lightweight web shell—engineered for field work without WiFi. Foremen clock in/out with cost-code allocation, capture GPS-tagged photos, and dictate daily logs via voice-to-text. Everything syncs to the cloud when connectivity returns; offline work never blocks you. UX is optimized for one-handed use in gloves: larger touch targets, voice input by default, push notifications for assignments and reminders.
- Native mobile app (iOS + Android), offline-first with delta-sync architecture
- Voice-to-text daily logs with on-device or cloud fallback transcription
- Time tracking with cost-code allocation and automatic GPS tagging
- Photo capture with trade-based auto-categorization and optional AI tagging
- Hub-style sync: changes queue offline, batch when connectivity returns, never block the foreman
Where it fits
Built for teams like yours
Mid-Market GC Estimator (CAD $10M–$50M annual volume)
T5018 slips, WCB certificates, vendor payments, and takeoff—all in one product, one flat fee, with no per-user seats for anyone on the job.
Site Superintendent or Foreman
Dictate the day's work, weather, crew, and issues while walking the site, then tap save. Tagged photos auto-sort by trade—no WiFi required.
Specialty Trade Contractor ($5M–$30M volume)
Where Procore's takeoff is weak on your trade's symbols, our AI is trained on them—outlets, panels, ductwork—so bids happen faster with no per-seat charges.
Small GC Owner-Operator ($5M–$15M volume)
Published prices locked for 3 years, no per-user charges, export anytime. Get monthly P&L and bank-ready EFT files without the Sage 300 CRE nightmare.
The edge
Why it's different
- AI takeoff built in — not a partner bolt-on — with a Canadian assembly library and no per-feature surcharge
- Canadian compliance moat: T5018 through holdback releases and prompt-payment clocks
- Transparent flat-fee model with contractual price-locks and free data export
Questions
Frequently asked
How is Alba365 Estimating different from Procore?
Procore is the US-centric global incumbent. Alba365 Estimating is Canadian-first: T5018, CPA-005 EFT, WCB across 10 provinces, Ontario Construction Act holdback automation, and Bill 96 readiness are built-in from day one. Procore charges per user and per construction volume; we charge one flat fee with unlimited users. Our AI takeoff is integrated into the canvas, not a marketplace bolt-on. And we've written a 3-year price-lock into the contract.
Do I pay per seat for my team, subs, or clients?
No. One flat fee covers unlimited internal users, unlimited subcontractor accounts (with read/write to bids and timecards), and unlimited client/owner accounts (read-only project status). Your subs and clients pay nothing—it's included. We want your sub who works Job 1 to push their next GC to use us too.
What if I export my data? Will it cost extra or be restricted?
Free, anytime, full dump. You own your data. We guarantee in writing that you can download everything—all projects, estimates, costs, daily logs, photos, compliance records—in CSV, JSON, or PDF at no charge. No per-GB fee. No login wall. If you leave, you leave with all your history.
Can I use Alba365 Estimating offline? What if my site has no WiFi?
Yes, completely offline. The mobile app is a true native app, not a lightweight web shell. Every action works offline: clock in/out, capture photos, voice-record daily logs, report issues. When WiFi returns, everything syncs in the background. The web side is cloud-only, but site-facing tools work without connectivity.
What about Quebec? Do you support Bill 96 and French language?
Full Bill 96 readiness (FR-EN UI parity and bilingual document generation) ships in Year 2. Year 1 is English-only, but we're transparent and will notify Quebec customers when the French version is ready. Quebec-specific compliance (CCQ, RBQ, Revenue Quebec, CNESST) also ships in Year 2.
Is the AI takeoff accurate enough for real construction drawings?
AI vision is excellent but commercial drawings are messy: overlapping symbols, dashed lines, scale variability. Our accuracy target is ≥75% on common symbols; you review and correct the rest in seconds. Every detected item shows a confidence band so you know which to trust. Correction is 10× faster than manual Bluebeam takeoff. We prototype with real drawings before shipping and offer design-partner pilots to prove it works for your drawings.
See Alba365 Estimating in action
Book a focused walkthrough and we'll tailor it to how your team works.
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