Electrical takeoff sheet for Excel and PDF
An electrical takeoff sheet lists every device and fixture type on a plan set, one row per type, with a column for each drawing sheet and a total per row. The free Excel version below adds up the counts, multiplies typical rooms, and compares your fixture totals against the fixture schedule so differences show up before pricing. The PDF is the same layout for counting on paper.
Download the free electrical takeoff sheet template
No signup. The Excel file has working formulas, frozen headers, print areas set to fit a letter page, and an Instructions tab. Nothing is locked, so you can rename categories, add rows and add sheet columns.
What is in the electrical takeoff sheet Excel file
Most electrical estimating takeoff sheets share one shape: types down the side, sheets across the top. This electrical spreadsheet keeps that shape and adds the two checks estimators usually do by hand, typicals and the fixture schedule.
| Tab | What it holds | Formulas |
|---|---|---|
| Takeoff | Item code, description, type tag and unit, then 12 sheet columns. Rows are grouped: lighting fixtures, emergency and exit, receptacles, switches and controls, power and equipment, fire alarm, communications, other. | Total per row (sum of the sheet columns) and total marks per sheet. |
| Typicals | Room or area type, sheet, item, count in one typical room, number of typicals. | Total = count in one room x number of rooms. |
| Fixture schedule check | Each fixture tag with the quantity from the schedule. | Counted qty pulled from the Takeoff tab by tag, difference, and an OK or Check status. |
| Instructions | How to fill each tab and the counting conventions below. | None |
How to use the takeoff sheet
- Fill in the project block: project name, plan set date and revision, estimator and bid date.
- Replace the Sheet 1 to Sheet 12 headers with the sheet numbers you will count, such as E-101 or EP-201. Insert columns before Total if you need more.
- Edit the rows to match the legend on the drawings. For fixtures, type the tag exactly as it appears on the fixture schedule (A, A1, X1); the schedule check matches on that text.
- Count one type at a time across the whole set, or one sheet at a time down the column. Pick one and keep to it.
- Enter typical rooms on the Typicals tab and carry the totals into the Takeoff tab, or link them with a formula.
- Fill in the schedule quantities on the Fixture schedule check tab and work every row marked Check down to zero or to a written reason.
- Add your estimating software's item codes so the totals paste straight into your estimate.
Counting conventions that keep a takeoff consistent
Two estimators counting the same set should get the same totals. That only happens when the rules are written down. These are the ones built into the Instructions tab:
- Count from the latest revision only, and write the revision in the project block. Superseded sheets are a classic source of double counts.
- Count each device once. When an enlarged plan and the overall plan show the same room, pick one sheet and note it in the Notes column.
- Count devices called out in keyed notes or general notes even when they are not drawn.
- Keep items outside your scope (fire alarm, data, security) in their own groups, so they can be priced separately or deleted. If your shop does bid them, the guide to low voltage estimating covers how that work is usually counted and priced.
- Split device types the way they are priced: a GFCI is not a duplex, a weatherproof GFCI is not a GFCI, a dimmer is not a switch. Do the same for locations where several devices share one box, because the box fill rules often push them into a larger box with its own price.
- Mark each counted symbol on the drawing as you go, in a color per type. Uncounted symbols are what is left.
Typical rooms: count once, multiply once
Hotels, apartments, classrooms and office suites are often drawn once and noted as typical. The risk goes both ways: a typical counted once and never multiplied, or multiplied and then counted again on a sheet that shows all the rooms. The Typicals tab keeps the math visible:
Total for the item = count in one typical room x number of typical rooms
A guest room with 6 duplex receptacles, typical of 48, gives 288 receptacles. Check the multiplier against the floor plans, not only against the note, because mirrored units and accessible rooms are often drawn separately and should not be in the typical count.
Reconciling the takeoff with the fixture schedule
When the engineer puts a quantity column on the fixture schedule, it is a free second count. When it disagrees with yours, one of you missed something, and it is better to find out before the lighting package goes out for quotes. Here is how the check tab reads after a count:
| Tag | Schedule qty | Counted qty | Difference | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 124 | 124 | 0 | OK |
| B | 36 | 32 | -4 | Check |
| X1 | 18 | 19 | +1 | Check |
A negative difference usually means a missed sheet, a typical not multiplied, or fixtures shown on a reflected ceiling plan you did not count. A positive one often means a fixture counted on two sheets, or a schedule that was not updated after a revision. Write where the difference is in the last column; if the schedule is wrong, say so in your clarifications on the bid proposal.
Electrical takeoff sheet PDF and material take off sheets on paper
The PDF version is a blank material take off sheet for counting with a pencil and highlighters on printed plans, or for a site walk on a small job. Page one has a column per sheet for six device groups; page two has the fixture schedule check and a typicals table. Write the sheet number at the top of each column. When you are done, the totals go into the Excel file or your estimating software. For a small job you can skip the workbook and type the totals straight into the browser estimate calculator, which takes a pasted list of items and quantities.
From takeoff sheet to electrical estimating worksheets
A takeoff is quantities only. To turn it into a price you need material costs, labor units, labor rate and markup, which is what the electrical estimate template does. Conduit and wire lengths are measured, not counted, and are not on this sheet; most estimators measure them separately or price them with assemblies. For the full process, see the guide to electrical estimating.
A spreadsheet works, but on a large set the counting is the slow part. AmpCount fills this kind of sheet automatically from the legend on a vector PDF set: it counts every device and fixture on every sheet, keeps uncertain marks out of the total until you confirm them, checks fixtures against the schedule, and exports the counts per sheet to Excel. The electrical takeoff software guide compares it with the other ways to count.
Questions about the takeoff sheet
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. The SUM and SUMIF formulas, data validation and frozen rows carry over.
Can I add more sheet columns?
Insert columns anywhere between Sheet 1 and the Total column. The totals sum the whole range, so new columns are included.
Is the electrical takeoff sheet free?
Yes, both files download directly with no account. Use and change them however you like.
Count the devices, check the numbers
AmpCount reads the legend on a vector PDF set, counts every electrical device and fixture on every sheet, keeps uncertain marks out of the count until you confirm them, and checks fixtures against the schedule. $149 a month or $1,490 a year for a team of up to 3, cancel anytime, full refund within 14 days.