1. A method for generating a collection of takeoff objects from a computer-aided design (CAD) drawing, the method comprising: parsing the CAD drawing to identify a set of drawing objects, wherein each identified drawing object is associated with a set of drawing object instances in the CAD drawing; generating, for each of the identified drawing objects, a takeoff object configured to store a quantify type, a quantify property, and cost data used to generate a cost estimate for the identified drawing object; prompting a user to specify a value for each of the quantify type, the quantify property, and the cost data, for a first takeoff object; storing the values for each of the quantify type, the quantify property, and the cost data, in the first takeoff object; and storing the first takeoff object in the CAD drawing.