{"id":63273,"date":"2024-10-03T14:00:41","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T19:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.projectmanager.com\/?p=63273"},"modified":"2026-04-27T09:54:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T14:54:54","slug":"material-takeoff-in-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.projectmanager.com\/blog\/material-takeoff-in-construction","title":{"rendered":"Material Takeoff (MTO) in Construction: A Quick How-to Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you call it a material takeoff, quantity takeoff, construction takeoff<\/a> or simply takeoff, the reference remains the same. Material takeoff is part of a detailed and effective construction cost estimate. The more accurately you can forecast your construction project cost, the better.<\/p>\n

Let’s explore what is material takeoff and why it\u2019s so important in construction project management. We\u2019ll discuss what’s measured in material takeoff, what\u2019s involved in material takeoff and how construction project management software can help.<\/p>\n

What Is Material Takeoff (MTO) in Construction?<\/h2>\n

Material takeoff is a process that provides a full list of materials required to complete a construction project. The other part of material takeoff includes a detailed listing of how much those needed materials will cost when executing your construction project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By determining and adding the cost of the many materials required to build your construction project, you\u2019re able to get a fairly accurate amount for the total expenditure for the financial side of your project.<\/p>\n

While a material takeoff is part of a construction estimate<\/a>, it\u2019s not the entire estimate. A complete construction estimate includes things beyond materials such as travel costs, tax, labor costs and other costs that appear over the project lifecycle. Even the total material cost is usually adjusted before the final material takeoff is finished. That\u2019s because whoever is preparing the material takeoff needs to account for fluctuations in the material prices between the time the material takeoff is produced and the time the actual materials are purchased.<\/p>\n

To conduct a thorough material takeoff, you need to organize the necessary materials for your project and construction project management software can help. ProjectManager<\/a> is a powerful software with features such as Gantt charts that list your materials and costs when you\u2019re planning a construction project. Not only can you create accurate estimates on our Gantt chart, but you can schedule and manage the entire project. Once you have a plan, set the baseline to measure project variance so you can stick to your budget. Start today for free.<\/p>\n

\"Gantt<\/a>
ProjectManager\u2019s robust Gantt chart helps you estimate costs and manage construction projects. Learn more<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why Is Material Takeoff Important?<\/h2>\n

Material takeoff is important when trying to forecast the financial commitment of the construction project. It\u2019s one of the ways you begin to develop a realistic construction project budget<\/a>. That’s only one way that contractors use material takeoff.<\/p>\n

Another way to use material takeoff is when submitting a bid<\/a>. When you submit a bid for a job, it’s critical to know the costs of the materials you\u2019ll need. Without an accurate estimate of your material costs, you could underbid or overbid for the job. If you get it, you\u2019re going to lose money or won’t make as much profit as you should.<\/p>\n

While creating an accurate construction estimate<\/a> or bid is important, there\u2019s also the simple fact that you need to know how many materials to buy for the project. If you don\u2019t, it’s likely that you\u2019ll underbuy, leading to extra costs and schedule delays, neither of which is advisable. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you could overbuy which cuts into your profits.<\/p>\n

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