Compare
TakeOn vs Quick Bid.
In short: Quick Bid is ConstructConnect's estimating software. It prices the quantities you measure in On-Screen Takeoff, and the two are separate Windows desktop products. TakeOn does takeoff and the priced bid in one browser app for electrical and low-voltage estimators: Bid Summary, material catalog, assemblies and a proposal PDF, on a Mac or a PC. Quick Bid is the deeper estimating database; TakeOn is the shorter path from plans to proposal.
On-Screen Takeoff and Quick Bid split the bid in two. OST measures: counts, lengths and areas on the plans. Quick Bid prices: items and assemblies, labor and material costs, alternates and change orders, then bid reports and a proposal. You link the OST bid to Quick Bid or export it to create a Quick Bid project. Both install on Windows, and ConstructConnect supports only the latest release of each.
TakeOn keeps the whole job in one place. Give a template a material cost and labor hours, and every count and run on the plans is already in the bid. The Bid Summary walks from material and labor through burden, tax, overhead and profit to a sell price. Alternates price as adders, change orders as their own mini-bids, and the proposal is a PDF from the same project. It runs in a browser, so several estimators can work the same bid at once, on a Mac as well as a PC.
Where Quick Bid is ahead: it's a dedicated estimating database with manufacturer data, eQuotes vendor pricing and accounting integrations, built up over decades. TakeOn doesn't import Quick Bid estimates or databases. The table below says where each one stands.
Feature comparison
How does TakeOn compare to Quick Bid?
Platform
| Feature | TakeOn | Quick Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Runs in a browser | Yes — nothing to install | No — a Windows desktop product, installed by a local Windows administrator |
| Runs on a Mac | Yes — Safari, Chrome, Edge, Firefox | Not natively — Windows on the Mac (Boot Camp or a VM such as Parallels); ConstructConnect tests on native Windows only |
| Supported versions | One version, always current — updates ship to everyone | Only the latest 4.99 release; 4.98 and older are retired, with no activation help |
| Sign-in | Sign in from any computer | An email-and-password login, or a license key or server code, depending on how you're licensed |
| Working at the same time | Yes — live cursors, several estimators on one plan | ConstructConnect's package guide says one user can work in OST and another in Quick Bid, but not at the same time |
| Connect an AI assistant (MCP) | Yes — Claude or any MCP client, scoped and revocable | Not that we know of |
Estimating
| Feature | TakeOn | Quick Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Price materials and labor | Yes — a cost and labor hours on each template; labor units, labor factors and per-role rates | Yes — this is Quick Bid's job |
| Overhead, profit and sell price | Yes — Bid Summary from material and labor through burden, tax, contingency, overhead and profit, with gross margin | ConstructConnect says you can manage overhead; check how markup and profit are set up |
| Item and assembly databases | A workspace material catalog (import CSV, Excel or a ProEst export) and assemblies you build | Yes — sample items and assemblies, plus manufacturer databases and trade add-ons (some sold separately) |
| Live vendor pricing | Not built in — import your supplier's price list into the catalog | Yes — eQuotes, for current material pricing from vendors |
| Alternates and change orders | Yes — alternates priced as adders, change orders as their own mini-bids | Yes |
| Proposal | Yes — a branded proposal PDF from the same bid | Yes — branded proposals and bid reports |
| Accounting and estimating integrations | Totals export to Excel or CSV; no accounting integration today | Excel, QuickBooks, Sage Estimating and ProContractor, per ConstructConnect |
Takeoff
| Feature | TakeOn | Quick Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Where the quantities come from | The takeoff in the same app — price a template and every count and run on the plans is in the bid | On-Screen Takeoff, a separate product: link a bid to Quick Bid, or export it to create a Quick Bid project |
| Electrical takeoff tools | Panel schedules captured into takeoff, homeruns auto-routed to a panel | Takeoff lives in OST; see our On-Screen Takeoff comparison |
Switching questions
Common questions from Quick Bid users.
Can't find an answer? Email contact@takeonbid.com — we read every one.
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What is Quick Bid?
Quick Bid is ConstructConnect's estimating software for general contractors and trade contractors. It takes quantities, usually from On-Screen Takeoff, ConstructConnect's takeoff program, and prices them with items and assemblies, labor and material costs, alternates and change orders, and produces bid reports and proposals. It's a Windows desktop product.
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What's the difference between On-Screen Takeoff and Quick Bid?
On-Screen Takeoff measures quantities on the plans; Quick Bid turns those quantities into a priced estimate. They're two products that work together: you link a bid in OST to Quick Bid, or export the takeoff to create a Quick Bid project. TakeOn does both jobs in one app: price your templates and the same takeoff becomes a Bid Summary and a proposal PDF.
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Does Quick Bid run on a Mac or in a browser?
Neither, natively. Quick Bid installs on Windows, and ConstructConnect's guidance for a Mac is to run Windows on it, with Boot Camp on an Intel Mac or a virtual machine such as Parallels; it tests its products on native Windows only. TakeOn runs in Safari, Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a Mac or a PC, with nothing installed.
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Is Quick Bid being discontinued?
No, not as of October 2026. ConstructConnect still ships Quick Bid 4.99 updates. It has retired old versions: 4.97 and older in August 2023 and 4.98 in August 2025, and from October 2025 it gives no support, not even activation help, for 4.98 or older. Only the latest 4.99 release is supported.
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Can TakeOn import my Quick Bid estimates or databases?
No. TakeOn doesn't import Quick Bid estimates, items or assemblies. Its material catalog imports a CSV or Excel price list with a column-mapping step, so if you can get your item list into a spreadsheet you can bring the parts and prices across; assemblies you rebuild in TakeOn. Finish in-flight bids in Quick Bid and start new ones in TakeOn.
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Where is Quick Bid the better choice?
If your shop prices from a deep, years-old Quick Bid database, uses manufacturer databases or eQuotes vendor pricing, or pushes estimates into QuickBooks or Sage, Quick Bid does things TakeOn doesn't. TakeOn is the better fit when you want takeoff and pricing in one place, on a Mac or a PC, with several estimators working the same bid at once.
Sources
Quick Bid facts on this page come from ConstructConnect's own product page and help centre, read October 2026. They change; check the current page before deciding.
- ConstructConnect: Quick Bid product page
- ConstructConnect: Which takeoff and estimating package is right for your company?
- ConstructConnect: Quick Bid system requirements and installation instructions
- ConstructConnect: Quick Bid product information and downloads
- ConstructConnect: Desktop product lifecycle (sunsetting / end-of-life guidelines)
- ConstructConnect: Running its takeoff and estimating applications on a Mac
See it for yourself
Price your next bid in the browser.
Run a real takeoff and Bid Summary today, no credit card needed. Keep Quick Bid open on the other monitor.