Stage 3 — Should we configure software or build a component?

Ask the incumbent vendor to demonstrate the narrow requirement before commissioning custom development. FastEST publishes spreadsheet/data exports, QuoteSoft describes trade estimating and integration routes, and Bluebeam offers measurement and document-comparison functions by edition. These are starting points for a fit check, not proof of compatibility with your specific installation.

If a gap remains, compare a document-processing component with a packaged extension. AWS's table-extraction guidance identifies layouts requiring scrutiny; test these instead of assuming clean input. AWS best practices

For a custom component, keep the deterministic calculations separate from generated text. The extraction service may propose a value, but the calculation engine should use approved fields and produce a reproducible result. Version the schema, prompts, model configuration and calculation rules.

Exit evidence: options decision, licence/API confirmation, cost exclusions and a documented reason for any bespoke work.