Learn key strategies to consider when delivering your bid form cover sheet, including maintaining responsibility over all self-perform and subcontractor work, referencing governing plans, and handling addendums. Discover the importance of using client-provided bid forms and learn why it's crucial not to provide more detail than required in an estimate.
Key Insights
- The proposer of an estimate is responsible for all self-perform work and subcontractor work, and it's the estimator's duty to ensure that all necessary items for building the project are included in the estimate. It's vital to reference all governing plans, specifications, and the latest addendum date.
- When putting together an estimate and bid, always use the client-provided bid forms. Even if you believe your standard form is more appealing, it's crucial to use the forms provided by the client.
- Do not provide more detail in an estimate than required. If the client doesn't request a detailed spreadsheet, don't provide it. To prevent changes, it's best to submit estimates as a PDF file and email the proposals for a record of the submission with the date and time stamp.
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So, when you're ready to finally deliver your bid form cover sheet, here are a few things to keep in mind. The proposer of an estimate—technically, the company you work for—is ultimately responsible for all self-performed work and subcontractor work, but it is the responsibility of the estimator to ensure that all items required to build the project are included in their estimate. Include references to governing plans and specifications, commonly referred to as bid documents or a bid set, including the release date and the latest addendum date.
It's not uncommon to have various addenda on different sheets. In addition to the architect's drawings, there are sometimes several different drawings provided by different engineers, and each may have its own addenda on its own set of bid documents. When you put together an estimate and bid, bid forms provided by the client should always be used.
If they are provided, always use them. Do not provide a different form, even if you think your standard form looks nicer. Always use the provided forms.
Now, this is a big deal. Do not provide more detail in an estimate if it is not required—meaning do not give them the spreadsheet if they do not ask for it. And if they do ask for it, you may consider not providing the calculations that go with it, just the dollar amounts. If required, password-protect the file against changes or use the Save As Values feature, which flattens the file and removes all formulas from the estimate.
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As a best practice, submit estimates as a PDF file to prevent any changes whenever possible. And finally, emailing proposals provides an excellent record of the submission, complete with a date and time stamp. So, it's a good idea to email your estimate if this method of delivery is allowed.
