Drawing-based quoting
Member lists from drawings or detailing exports with weights, surface areas and costs calculated.
Steel fabrication software: quoting, shop tracking & dispatch
Steel fabricators: quote from the drawing, track it to the truck. Cut more steel, less paper.
Takeoffs done with a highlighter, weights looked up in a section table, labour guessed and the whole shop run off a whiteboard by the office door. We build quoting, shop tracking, stock and dispatch systems for steel fabricators that all talk to each other. Then we host them and look after them.
Looking for steel fabrication software that quotes from drawings and tracks the shop?
A fabrication quote hangs on member sizes, lengths, connections, plate, bolts, coatings, labour and freight. Get one of those wrong and you've either lost the job or won it at a loss. Most shops price off a spreadsheet that one estimator understands, then run the job off printed drawings, a whiteboard and a lot of yelling across the floor.
Wollopit builds custom software around how your shop actually works. Member lists come off the drawing with weights, surface areas and costs worked out for you. Labour is priced by operation. Every job is tracked from cutting to dispatch, with mill certs, hours and progress claims in the same place. We connect the detailing and accounting tools you already use, replace the ones holding you back and look after the lot on our own servers.
01The problems
What we hear from steel fabricators
Does your steel fabrication business have these problems? Here's how we'd fix them.
Most fabricators we talk to can weld anything you put in front of them. It's the quoting, the paperwork and the 'where's that job at?' calls that eat the week.
- The problemTakeoffs done by handMembers counted off PDFs with a highlighter and a scale rule. A big tender eats the whole weekend.How we fix itMember schedules imported from your detailing exports or picked off the PDF, building a full member list in minutes.
- The problemWeights from the section tableEvery UB, PFC and SHS looked up in the book and typed into a spreadsheet one line at a time.How we fix itA section library that works out weight, surface area and cost for every member as soon as you enter the size and length.
- The problemSteel prices have movedThe quote from three weeks ago used last month's merchant price and the margin quietly disappeared.How we fix itSupplier price lists loaded in one go, quote validity dates and a one-click re-price before you accept the job.
- The problemLabour is a gut feelFabrication hours guessed per tonne, so simple jobs get overpriced and fiddly ones lose money.How we fix itLabour rates by operation: cutting, drilling, fitting, welding and handling, adjusted for connection complexity.
- The problemGalv and paint added lateCoatings remembered after the quote's gone out, with galvanising freight never priced at all.How we fix itGalv priced by weight, paint by surface area and freight to the galvaniser built into every quote.
- The problemRevisions eat the marginRev C lands in the inbox, someone fabricates off Rev B and nobody prices what changed.How we fix itA drawing register that flags superseded drawings, compares member lists between revisions and turns changes into priced variations.
- The problemNobody knows where a job's atThe builder rings for an update and someone walks the floor to find out.How we fix itA shop board from cutting to dispatch on a big screen and every phone, updated by the team as they go.
- The problemOffcuts rot in the rackNew 12 m lengths ordered while perfectly good offcuts sit under the mezzanine.How we fix itA stock and offcut register with cutting lists that use offcuts first and nest lengths to cut waste.
- The problemMill certs in a shoeboxHeat numbers and certs chased at the end of the job when the engineer asks for the QA pack.How we fix itCerts attached to every delivery, heat numbers linked to pieces and a QA pack ready for AS/NZS 5131 jobs.
- The problemHours never hit the jobTimesheets on paper, so you never find out which jobs made money.How we fix itShop timesheets by job and operation on a tablet, with quoted against actual hours on every job.
- The problemDispatch confusionWrong pieces on the truck, the crane booked for Tuesday and the site not ready until Thursday.How we fix itDispatch lists by load, piece marks checked off as they're loaded and delivery bookings shared with site.
- The problemProgress claims go out lateClaims pulled together from memory at month end with retentions tracked in someone's head.How we fix itProgress claims built from job progress, retentions tracked and invoices sent straight to Xero or MYOB.
02What we build
Solutions
What we build for steel fabricators. Usually all talking to each other.
Pick the one that's hurting most or join the whole lot up. Everything is built around how your team works, not the other way round.
Section & plate library
UB, UC, PFC, SHS, RHS, CHS, angle, flat bar and plate with weights per metre and current prices.
Operation-based labour
Cutting, drilling, coping, fitting and welding time estimated per member and connection.
Coatings & outsourcing
Galv, paint, blasting and subcontracted work priced and scheduled with freight included.
Quote builder & tender register
Branded quotes with inclusions and exclusions, follow-ups and a register of what's won and lost.
Drawing register & variations
Revisions tracked, superseded drawings flagged and changes priced as variations for approval.
Shop job board
Every job's stage on one board, from material ordered to loaded on the truck.
Cutting lists & nesting
Cut lists for the saw that use offcuts first and nest full lengths to cut waste.
Stock & offcut register
Steel on hand, offcuts by size and purchase orders to your merchants.
Traceability & QA
Mill certs, heat numbers, weld inspections and ITPs gathered into a QA pack as you go.
Shop timesheets
Hours by job and operation on a tablet, feeding job costing and payroll.
Dispatch & delivery planning
Loads by site, piece checklists, crane and truck bookings and delivery dockets signed on a phone.
Job costing & progress claims
Quoted against actual on every job, progress claims, retentions and invoices into Xero or MYOB.
A website that wins work
Quick on mobile, showing your capability and projects, with a drawing upload form for quote requests.
03The systems
The big ones
Your whole shop, on one system.
These are the systems fabricators ask us about most. Each one works on its own and they get properly useful once they're joined up.
Quoting from drawings
Off the drawing and into a quote before smoko.
Load the member schedule from your detailing software or pick members off the PDF. Weights, surface areas, steel costs, labour, coatings and freight work themselves out, so your estimator spends time on the tricky bits instead of the section table.
- Import member schedules and CSV exports
- Pick members off PDF drawings
- Section library with weights per metre
- Surface area for paint and blasting
- Labour by operation and complexity
- Plate, bolts and consumables
- Galv by weight with freight
- Supplier prices with one-click re-price
- Inclusions, exclusions and validity dates
- Tender register with win rates
Shop tracking
Every job, every stage, one board.
A shop board on the big screen and every phone showing where each job is, from steel ordered to loaded on the truck. The team moves jobs along as they go, so the office stops walking the floor and the builder gets an answer straight away.
- Stages: ordered, cutting, fitting, welding, coating, dispatch
- Big screen board for the shop floor
- Updates from a tablet or phone
- Drawings and cut lists on the job card
- Superseded drawings flagged on the floor
- Due dates and late job warnings
- Outsourced galv and paint tracked
- Hold points for inspections
- Photos attached as work is done
- Customer update emails if you want them
Stock & traceability
Use the offcuts. Find the cert.
Steel on hand and offcuts by size, with cut lists that use what you've got before buying more. Mill certs come in with every delivery and heat numbers follow the pieces, so the QA pack builds itself while the job's being made.
- Stock on hand by section and length
- Offcut register with rack locations
- Cut lists that use offcuts first
- Length nesting to cut waste
- Purchase orders to your merchants
- Mill certs attached to deliveries
- Heat numbers linked to pieces
- Weld inspection and ITP records
- QA packs for AS/NZS 5131 jobs
- Low stock alerts for common sections
Dispatch & site
The right steel on the right truck.
Loads planned by site with piece marks checked off as they go on the truck. Crane and delivery bookings sit on one calendar and the site gets told what's coming and when, with dockets signed on a phone.
- Loads planned by site and erection sequence
- Piece mark checklists for loading
- Truck and crane bookings on one calendar
- Oversize load notes and permits
- Delivery SMS to site supervisors
- Signed delivery dockets on a phone
- Photos of the load before it leaves
- Erection crew schedule
- Directions with Google Maps
- Back-loads and returns tracked
Job costing & claims
Know which jobs made money.
Shop timesheets by job and operation land against the quote, so you see quoted against actual while there's still time to do something about it. Progress claims build themselves from job progress, with retentions tracked and invoices sent to Xero or MYOB.
- Timesheets by job and operation
- Clock on from a shop tablet
- Quoted against actual hours
- Material costs from purchase orders
- Variations tracked against the job
- Progress claims from job stages
- Retentions and release dates
- Payment schedule due dates
- Invoices into Xero or MYOB
- Hours sent to payroll
04How it changes
Before and after
A structural job, wolloped.
Here's how one warehouse frame job could change. Every shop is different, so we map yours first.
Before
- Count members off the PDF with a highlighter
- Look up every weight in the section table
- Guess the hours per tonne
- Forget the galv freight until the invoice arrives
- Fabricate off Rev B because Rev C was in someone's inbox
- Track the job on the whiteboard and hope it's right
After
- Member list imported from the detailer's export
- Weights, surface areas and costs calculated
- Labour priced by operation
- Galv and freight already in the quote
- Rev C flagged on the floor with the changes priced
- Job tracked from the saw to the truck
05Services
Everything under one roof
Software, websites and systems for steel fabricators.
Whether you're starting fresh or upgrading what you've got, it's one team from the first sketch to the support call.
Custom software for steel fabricators
Built around how your steel fabrication business actually runs: drawing-based quoting, section & plate library and the admin in between, in one system you own.
Websites for steel fabricators
Fast, hand-built websites that rank for the searches your customers make and turn visits into enquiries, bookings or orders.
Steel fabrication business system upgrades
Running on spreadsheets, old software or a platform you've outgrown? We move your data across and upgrade in stages so the business never stops.
Apps and portals for steel fabricators
Operation-based labour and coatings & outsourcing: customer and staff portals that work on any phone without an app store.
Integrations and automation
We connect Tekla Structures, Tekla PowerFab and Strumis so information moves on its own and nobody retypes it.
Hosting, support and care
Managed hosting, updates, backups and security for your steel fabrication business, looked after by the people who built it.
06Integrations
Connections
Plays nicely with what you already use.
We connect to the detailing, accounting and site tools you rely on. Happy with your fabrication platform? We build around it. Holding you back? We replace it.
- Tekla Structures
- Tekla PowerFab
- Strumis
- Advance Steel
- SDS2
- AutoCAD
- Bluebeam Revu
- Xero
- MYOB
- Procore
- Aconex
- Microsoft 365
- Google Workspace
- Dropbox
- Deputy
- SafetyCulture
- Stripe
- Twilio SMS
- Google Maps
07How we work
The process
Some people dip their toe in. We turn up in a rebreather.
We get properly below the surface of your steel fabrication business: the systems, the busy days and the jobs everyone hates. Then we fix the bits that matter most first.
- 01
Think
We spend time with your estimator, on the shop floor and in the office, then work out where the hours and the margin are leaking.
- 02
Archi-tech
We plan it before writing code: your sections, labour rates, shop stages, stock, QA, dispatch, hosting and cost.
- 03
Build
Real engineering, shown to you early and often. Usually quoting first, so you get a win on your next tender.
- 04
Look after
We host it, maintain it and keep improving it. When something breaks you call the people who built it.
08Questions
FAQ
Things steel fabricators ask us.
Something else on your mind? Ring 0423 011 252 and ask the people who'd build it.
Can it read our drawing files?
It depends on the format. We can usually import member schedules or exports from Tekla, Advance Steel or SDS2 to save typing. For plain PDFs we build a quick way to pick members off the drawing.
Does it work out steel weights and surface areas?
Yes. A section library holds weights per metre and surface areas for every size you use, so weight, paint area and steel cost are calculated as soon as you enter a member.
We already use Tekla PowerFab or Strumis. Do we have to switch?
No. If your fabrication platform is doing its job, we build around it: quoting tweaks, shop boards, dispatch, claims or whatever's missing. If it's holding you back, we'll show you what replacing it would involve before anything changes.
Can it handle mill certs and QA for AS/NZS 5131 jobs?
Yes. Certs get attached to deliveries, heat numbers follow the pieces and inspection records are logged as you go, so the QA pack is ready when the engineer asks for it.
Will the blokes on the floor actually use it?
That's what we design for. Big buttons on a shop tablet, a board on the wall and as little typing as possible. If it slows the floor down, we haven't done our job.
Does it connect to Xero or MYOB?
Yes. Progress claims, invoices and purchase orders can flow straight into Xero or MYOB so nobody retypes them.
How much does a steel fabrication system cost?
It depends on what you need, so we quote up front once we understand it. No surprise invoices, no lock-in and you own what we build.
How long does it take?
Smaller pieces like a quoting tool or shop board can be quick. Bigger systems are planned in stages so you get the first win early instead of waiting for everything at once.
Who looks after it once it's built?
We do. We host it on our own managed servers and keep it updated and secure. When you need something you ring the people who built it.
We already have systems. Can you upgrade them instead of starting again?
Usually, yes. Most steel fabricators we work with keep what's working and upgrade the rest in stages. We move your data across, connect the old and new while we switch and retire the old system only when the new one is proven.
Contact
Got a steel fabrication business problem? Consider it wolloped.
Tell us what's slow, broken, manual or missing. You don't need a spec, just describe what's going on.