TL;DR
Reliable cost estimates depend on reliable models. This guide walks through five steps that connect structured requirements, automated model verification, and an AI-generated estimating dashboard through the Plannerly API. Pick an element, define how it should be modelled and measured, write verification rules, check the model against an IDS specification, then let AI turn the verified data into quantities, costs, risk sliders, and earned value in one place.
Watch: a step-by-step walkthrough from defining a wall element's methods of measurement to generating a live AI dashboard via the Plannerly API.
Step 1 - Pick the element and define methods of measurement
"I need quantities for the walls" is not something a modeller can act on, and not something an estimator can trust. Start by picking one specific element - an interior wall, a duct fitting, a ceiling, a skirting - and write down exactly how it should be modelled. Do you need openings, surface area, length for skirting, finishes, internal vs external? These choices drive everything downstream.
Create a new project in Plannerly and open the Docs module. Click Library in the toolbar and pick the Methods of measurement template that fits your element - in this example, walls, floors and ceilings - and save it to your project. It now lives in the project alongside the requirements and travels with the contract pack later.
Step 2 - Add requirements and verification rules in Scope
Add the element as a row in your scope, name it, and classify it using the buildingSMART Data Dictionary (bSDD). The example uses Uniclass 2025 - start typing "wall" and pick the specific wall type. Set the IFC entity type (for the wall example, IfcWall) and switch on Classification Codes and Entity Types in Display options.
Open the Requirements panel and create the five properties that matter for the estimate - Acoustic Rating, Fire Rating, Wall Type Name, Volume, and one more relevant to your wall family. Write a verification rule for each one. For the acoustic rating, choose Define Rule (Using AI), describe the rule in plain language ("must follow UK acoustic rating standards") and let Plannerly's AI generate a regular expression - then sanity check it. Assign the five requirements to the element, then click Export and choose IDS Specifications to export everything as an IDS specification.
Step 3 - Set up dashboards and the contract export
Requirements only earn their keep when progress against them is visible and the responsible team is contractually committed. In the Docs module, create a Dashboard category and use Add Chart to add two charts - Information requirement completion as a Doughnut and Scope task status as a Bar chart. Both fill in automatically as soon as models are checked and approvals move forward.
Click Export, choose Document and include the methods of measurement, a cover page, the grid of requirements, the rules, the details, and a generated Document Index. The preview shows everything paginated and indexed. Add Signatures if you need a formal appointment. The contract is generated from the same data the team will be checked against - so there is no gap between what was agreed and what gets verified.
Step 4 - Link and verify the model
Once a team has delivered, open the Verify module and drag the task to Complete on the Kanban board. Drop in an IFC, Revit, SketchUp, or DWG file, or connect your models from Autodesk Forma (this also covers Forma Data Management, ACC, Autodesk Docs and BIM 360). To keep new versions coming through, tick Keep the latest Autodesk Forma revision ready on the model. Plannerly reads every property in the model once it is processed. If you see Process model, select it first.
Use the link icon on the task (Map to Model Elements) to add a rule - "name contains interior wall" links every interior wall to the task in one go. Click Check and Verify evaluates the results. A first pass typically lands at eighty per cent or so, and tells you exactly which property is missing or failing the regex. Fix the model or fix the rule (you can edit a property name in Verify if the model used "AcousticRating" with no space, for example) and click Check again until you hit one hundred.
Step 5 - Generate the AI estimating dashboard via the Plannerly API
Click your profile picture, choose API keys and create one with New key. A key acts as you, with your roles and permissions in each project, so Read-only access is enough here. Creating API keys is part of Pro, including its 14-day trial, and Company. Never paste the key into an AI chat: save it in a file only you can read, then use an AI tool that can read that file (Claude Code works well for this). Write a prompt that says where the key is saved, the project name, the part of the estimate to focus on, the KPIs and scenarios you want, and a website to pull branding from so the report matches your company. Hit go and let it build the dashboard.
The output is interactive. Risk sliders raise or lower contingency. Duration sliders show what happens with front-loaded versus back-loaded spends. Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Cost Performance Index (CPI) sit alongside quantities and costs. AI did not estimate anything - it read clean data from the API and presented it well. That is the line worth holding. Bundle the methods, requirements, timeline, and dashboard into a single export and assign it for review or e-signature.
