Comparison: Buildxact
Estimark and Buildxact, compared for UK builders
Buildxact is estimating and takeoff software for builders, built around measuring a drawing and turning it into a price, and sold into the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada. Estimark carries on-PDF quantity takeoff with push-to-quote too, and then carries the job the estimate turns into: costing against the estimate, CIS deduction, the VAT domestic reverse charge, payment applications on Construction Act dates, RAMS and certificates.
What happens after the estimate is accepted
Estimate against actual
An estimate is a prediction. Job costing is what it turned out to be, with committed cost and a forecast out-turn, and the two have to sit on the same record to be comparable.
Getting paid for it
Commercial work is applied for rather than invoiced, on Construction Act dates, with retention held. That is a different document and a statutory clock.
The deduction on the invoice
A UK builder subcontracting to a main contractor has CIS deducted on labour only, on a 6th-to-5th tax month. An estimating tool has nowhere to carry that.
Paperwork the site requires
A versioned RAMS, an induction record, permits and a muster roll are what gets the team through the gate, and they have to be produced and signed.
Comparison: how it works
Who is Buildxact built for?
Builders and residential contractors, with estimating and on-screen takeoff at the centre of its positioning, sold across several countries.
- Its story is measuring the drawing and producing the price from it.
- That overlaps directly with Estimark’s takeoff and quoting, which is where the two compete.
NoteEstimark describes its own product here. For the other product’s current price and what it covers, read that vendor’s own site.
Who is Estimark built for?
UK builders and contractors who want the estimate and everything downstream of it on one record.
- On-PDF quantity takeoff with push-to-quote, and a drawing register with revision control.
- Job costing with actual, committed and forecast cost, against the estimate it came from.
- Payment applications, variations and retention on Construction Act dates.
- CIS, the section 55A reverse charge, RAMS and certificates on the same job.
NoteEstimark holds no security certification: no ISO 27001, no SOC 2, no Cyber Essentials. If your procurement requires one, Estimark cannot meet it today.
What does Estimark do about UK statutory construction work?
It handles the four obligations a UK contractor is judged on: CIS deduction, the VAT domestic reverse charge, Construction Act payment timing, and the safety records that go with them.
- CIS deducted on labour only, excluding materials, VAT and plant hire, on 6th-to-5th tax months, with HMRC verification when connected and the CIS300 recorded with both statutory declarations.
- VAT domestic reverse charge under section 55A: the statutory wording on the invoice, nil VAT, controlled per client.
- Payment applications with Construction Act dates, the pay less deadline calculated, and retention tracked to release.
- RAMS with operative sign-off, inductions, permits and a live muster roll, plus EIC, EICR, Minor Works, PAT and CP12 certificates with typed test results.
NoteEstimark records the CIS300 and locks it to its tax period. It does not file the return to HMRC on your behalf.
When would Buildxact be the better answer?
When the requirement is estimating alone, the job management already exists elsewhere, or the firm trades outside the UK.
- A firm that has settled job management and wants only a better estimate is buying one thing, not a platform.
- A builder trading in more than one country needs a product carrying more than one country’s tax rules.
NoteEstimark describes its own product here. For the other product’s current price and what it covers, read that vendor’s own site.
Estimark, in numbers
- CIS base
- Labour only
- CIS tax month
- 6th to 5th
- Reverse charge
- Section 55A
- Payment terms
- Construction Act
- Damp and mould
- Awaab’s Law timescales
- Certificates
- EIC, EICR, CP12, PAT
- Built for
- United Kingdom
- Field app
- Works offline
Pro
£299 a month +VAT
Job Costing is included from Core, Payment Applications from Pro and Variations from Solo. CIS Compliance is included from Solo.
What you get
- On-PDF takeoff with push-to-quote
- Job costing with actual, committed and forecast cost
- Payment applications, variations and retention
- RAMS, inductions, permits and the muster roll
- Xero, QuickBooks and Sage integration
Questions
Estimark vs Buildxact: frequently asked
Is Estimark a Buildxact alternative?
For a UK builder, yes. Estimark carries on-PDF takeoff and quoting, and then the job costing, CIS, payment applications, certificates and site safety that follow the estimate.
Does Estimark do takeoff from a drawing?
Yes. Quantities are measured on the PDF and pushed into a quote, with the drawing held in a register that carries revision codes and supersede or reinstate.
Can I compare the estimate against what the job cost?
Yes. Job costing holds actual, committed and forecast cost against the job the estimate produced, with a cost value reconciliation pack. It is included from Core.
Which is cheaper?
Estimark publishes every plan and module price at /pricing. Compare it against the other vendor’s own current pricing rather than a figure quoted on a third-party site.
Related
Job costing & CVR
Actual, committed and forecast cost per job, with a cost value reconciliation pack.
Payment applications & retention
Construction Act dates, pay less deadlines and retention release.
For builders & contractors
Job costing, CIS, payment applications, site safety, plant and fleet.
Pricing
Every plan and every module, with the current price against each one.
Try it on a real job.
14 days, full access, every plan. No implementation fee. All prices exclude VAT, added at 20% at checkout.
Moving from another system? What comes across, what we do with you in the first fortnight, and how long it takes.