What goes in a bid tab
Every estimating team has its own layout, but a bid tab that holds up in a scope review covers the same ground:
- The package. Project, trade package, bid date, and the addenda each bidder acknowledged.
- Bidders. One column (or row) per bidder, kept in a neutral order.
- Base bid. As stated on the bid, with the arithmetic checked where the bid gives line items and a total.
- Alternates. Lined up by the numbers on the bid form, with add or deduct, and a way to choose which ones you are carrying.
- Allowances. Whether each bidder carried the allowances the documents specify, at the specified amounts.
- Unit prices. Rate and unit for each requested unit price, side by side.
- Scope. The scope items of the package, with each bidder's position: included, excluded, qualified, or not mentioned.
- Exclusions and qualifications. As written, because the wording matters.
- Adjustments. Plug values for the gaps, clearly marked as your numbers, not the bidder's.
- Adjusted total. Base bid plus the alternates you carry plus your plugs.
- Open questions. What you need each bidder to confirm before award.
- Sources. Where each number came from, so anyone can check it later.
The workbook Bidtab exports
When Bidtab levels a package it fills a workbook with seven sheets. Formulas are live, so you can keep working in the file: mark alternates Y to carry them, enter plug values, and the adjusted totals update.
| Sheet | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Summary | One row per bidder: base bid, selected alternates (a formula over the Alternates sheet), a plug values column you fill in, an adjusted total formula, and a count of open questions. |
| Leveling | Scope items as rows and bidders as columns. Each cell reads Included, Excluded, Qualified or Not stated, with its own fill color and a comment giving the document, page and quote. |
| Alternates | Alternates aligned by number and description, with an Include? (Y) column and, for each bidder, add or deduct and the amount. |
| Allowances & Unit Prices | One table of allowances and one of unit prices (item, rate and unit), each with its source. |
| Exclusions & Qualifications | Each bidder's exclusions and qualifications as written, with the page they came from. |
| Open Questions | Questions grouped by bidder, ready to send to each subcontractor. |
| Sources | Every figure and statement Bidtab read: bidder, kind, item, amount, status, document, page, how it was read, the quote, and whether it was verified on the page. |
The adjusted total is base bid + selected alternates + plug values. If a carried alternate or the base bid is unclear on the page, the total reads "See open question" rather than adding a number nobody verified. Bidders stay in the order you uploaded them.
Download a sample
The sample workbook is a real Bidtab export, built from three invented roofing bids (no real companies or prices). Use it to see the structure, or as a starting point for your own layout.
Download the sample workbook (.xlsx)
Prefer to look first? Open the same comparison in your browser.
There is no blank version of this workbook, because Bidtab builds it from your bids: the bidder columns, alternates and scope rows come from what the bids state. Upload your bids and the workbook is filled for you, with every figure cited.
Tips for any bid tab
- Keep "not stated" separate from "excluded". Silence is a question, not an answer.
- Copy exclusions word for word. Paraphrasing is where meaning gets lost.
- Label your plugs. A reviewer should never mistake your estimate for a bidder's price.
- Record the page for every number. The bid tab will be questioned, often weeks later, by someone who wasn't there when you built it.
- Don't sort by price. Keep the bidders in a neutral order so the table informs the decision.
For the reading itself, see how to level subcontractor bids.