Before you count a single piece, you have to read the callout the way the shop drew it. This is the first thing a new estimator gets wrong, and it is the easiest to fix.
What the parenthetical means
On a framing plan, a beam callout like W21x44 (28) is telling you two things: the member, and the shear-stud count. That number in parentheses is studs, not a mark number. Miss it and your stud count is short across the whole floor.
The quick checklist
- Read the member size first, then the parenthetical.
- Confirm the stud spec on the general notes sheet.
- Cross-check the typical detail before you trust the plan.
This is exactly the kind of thing the AI Takeoff Wizard was trained on. It knows a beam callout's parenthetical is a shear-stud count, because it was built by people who have been on the iron.