Vertigraph has shipped quantity takeoff and estimating software to commercial contractors since 1991. In April 2026, the company entered its next chapter under new ownership, AJ Backlund and Mark Schwab. AJ runs the takeoffs; Mark builds the software.
AJ Backlund and Mark Schwab acquired Vertigraph, Inc., taking on the company’s four legacy products and the thousands of estimators already on them. Day one, nothing changes for existing customers. From here, the toolchain modernizes.
Greatly exceed expectations by providing superior software and support that adds substantial operational, financial, and strategic value.
AJ runs civil takeoffs every bid week. Mark builds the software, originally as CivilTakeoff.ai. Together, they bring that estimator-led perspective to Vertigraph’s legacy lineup, BidScreen XL, SiteWorx/OS, BidPoint XL, and Drawing Compare.
AJ is the estimator. He runs civil and earthwork takeoffs at Elite Earthworks and Engineering — managing assets, crews, budgets, and bids on multi-million-dollar projects. He knows what every gap feels like on a bid night, and he brings that ground truth to every product decision Vertigraph makes.
Mark is the software side. He's the founder of CivilTakeoff.ai, a cloud quantity-takeoff platform built to solve the bid-night problems AJ kept running into. With Vertigraph, he's modernizing the toolchain underneath BidScreen XL, SiteWorx/OS, and the rest of the four-product lineup that estimators across the country already rely on.
Leadership runs takeoffs. Product roadmap starts with bid-night pain, not marketing strategy.
Excel is the industry tool. Our software lives inside it, not in a parallel dashboard.
Pay the license fee upfront or roll it into a yearly lease. Either way, the rate we publish is the rate you pay.
US-based support. Calls ring engineers who use the software daily. Email usually gets a same business day reply.
From BidWorx in 1991 to BidScreen XL, SiteWorx/OS, and the April 2026 acquisition, the full chronology.
