Profile · Active 2026; AI takeoff add-on in pre-beta

Steel Erection Bid Wizard

Bid Wizard is the only purpose-built erector estimating product in this guide. It assigns hours and equipment to erection scope, and more than 400 erection shops rely on it. The company is now layering an AI takeoff product on top, still in pre-beta. The overlap with Lift is narrower than it sounds. Erection labor estimation and AI fab takeoff sit on different sides of the workflow.

Vendor
Steel Estimating Solutions (Vince Hughes)
Founded
2017
Headquarters
United States
Status
Generally available

01 · Spec sheet

Members detected Labor estimation, Equipment estimation, Erection-side scope
Integrations Tekla, eTakeoff, SDS2
Pricing License model on request
Elevations Not applicable
Customers 400+ steel erectors

02 · Strengths

  • Vince Hughes built it as a working erector, not a software founder, which gives it deep field credibility.
  • More than 400 shops on the platform, with deep references in the erection community.
  • Integrates downstream with Tekla, eTakeoff, and SDS2 for cross-team workflows.
  • Editable assumptions per task, which turns a generic estimate into a shop's own book.

03 · Gaps

  • Erector-side focus, not a fabrication takeoff tool.
  • The AI takeoff add-on is pre-beta, not yet shipping.
  • Marketing reach is smaller than the AI-native entrants crowding NASCC.

04 · How it compares to Lift

For a side-by-side breakdown with Lift, including the head-to-head scoring and the full spec table, see the dedicated comparison page.

→ Lift vs Steel Erection Bid Wizard

05 · Sources