BuildLab vs the traditional estimating workflow — keep it or switch?
The traditional way — hand-measuring printed drawings or a viewer, keying numbers into sheets or a notebook, passing files over email/USB, printing paper dossiers — stays popular because it costs almost nothing and needs no new tool. BuildLab replaces the measure-and-key part and the manual lookups with proposals from the drawing and built-in data.
BuildLab vs the traditional workflow side by side
The criteria that usually decide whether to move from a manual workflow to a dedicated tool — including the points where the traditional way is still stronger.
Cost & requirements
- BuildLab
- A Free tier is available for real trials; Pro is 299,000 VND per 6 months — needs an account and a device with a browser
- Traditional workflow
- Almost zero cost — a drawing and a sheet or notebook; no account and no new software to learn
Quantity takeoff
- BuildLab
- Proposes quantities from DWG/DXF files; the engineer reviews and locks them before the BOQ
- Traditional workflow
- Measure and count by hand on prints or in a viewer, then write it down — slow and easy to miss on large drawings
Norms & unit prices
- BuildLab
- Lookup of norms, provincial unit prices and material prices from their issuing instruments inside the system; updated to the 2026 legal framework (TT 36/37/38/2026, Decree 206/2026)
- Traditional workflow
- Look up issuing instruments yourself (books, scattered PDF files), then key prices and waste factors by hand
Storage & sharing
- BuildLab
- Projects live in the cloud as a single version: open from any machine, invite members and comment per line item
- Traditional workflow
- Loose files passed over email/USB or paper dossiers — versions drift and it is hard to trace who changed what
Error control
- BuildLab
- Review and lock each row; the system warns when a proposal is missing or off for the engineer to resolve
- Traditional workflow
- Self-check by eye and hand-written formulas — errors slip through on large dossiers or with several editors
Independence & data control
- BuildLab
- Data lives in the cloud and exports to Excel/PDF at any time — still depends on the account and a connection
- Traditional workflow
- Full control of source files and paper dossiers in hand — independent of any vendor, account or internet
Dossier submission & printing
- BuildLab
- Export the BOQ to Excel/PDF from locked data, then print in your organisation's form
- Traditional workflow
- Paper dossiers and sheets print directly — familiar to existing sign-off processes
Estimating workflow comparison
Try BuildLab in 3 steps
The Free tier lets you verify the tool on a real project before changing your workflow.
01
Create a Free account
Sign up in the browser — no install, no dongle, no payment card required.
02
Open a project and upload a drawing
Upload a DWG/DXF file so the system can propose quantities, or key work items manually like a familiar sheet.
03
Review, then export the BOQ Excel
Check and lock each quantity row, apply unit prices, then export the BOQ to Excel/PDF — a file that opens anywhere.
Where the traditional workflow is still stronger than BuildLab
Cost and friction: the traditional way needs no account, no new tool to learn and works even without internet — BuildLab is a web app, so it requires sign-up and a connection.
Absolute control: with source files and paper dossiers in hand, every change stays outside any third-party system — a fit for organisations that require data to never leave internal hands.
This comparison is based on public information and user reports (09/2026) — features and policies on either side may change. BuildLab's calculations implement the TCVN instruments but have not yet been reviewed by a domain advisor — cross-check with your design documents before official use.
Related pages
Choose by project size and data requirements
Keep the traditional workflow when projects are small and infrequent, data must stay fully internal, or the team is not ready to switch tools. Move to BuildLab when hand measuring and document lookups eat the most time, or when the team needs one shared dataset — the Free tier lets you verify first.
Frequently asked questions
Does BuildLab fully replace the traditional workflow?
BuildLab replaces the measure-and-key part and the document lookups with quantity proposals from DWG and built-in norms and prices. The output is still a BOQ in Excel/PDF you print and share as before — only the data-production step changes.
Can I reuse my old sheets and notebooks?
There is no direct import — you rebuild by uploading drawings for the system to propose quantities, or by keying items manually like a familiar sheet; the result exports to Excel so you can cross-check against old records.
When should I keep the traditional workflow instead of BuildLab?
When projects are small and infrequent, data must stay fully internal, or the site has no stable internet — that is where the near-zero cost and independence of the old way still win.
Does BuildLab need a constant internet connection?
Yes — BuildLab is a web app, so it needs a connection to open and save projects. That is a real difference from offline files on your machine; in return, data is never lost when switching machines and the whole team works on one shared version.
Can BuildLab estimates be used in official dossiers?
The BOQ exports to Excel/PDF from data you reviewed and locked. Norms and formulas implement the TCVN instruments but have not yet been reviewed by a domain advisor — cross-check and sign off under your own dossier process, as with any estimating tool.
Try BuildLab on a real project
The Free tier includes a monthly DWG quota — create an account, upload one drawing and compare the result with your current workflow.
