Guide to Construction Job Bidding Templates

Increase Contract Wins with Digitalized Job Bidding Template Apps

What is a Construction Bid? 

Professionals in the construction business often have to submit construction bid forms to clients planning to build or remodel residential, commercial or institutional structures. Job bidding proposals may vary, but they often have three primary sections.

• A Line Item Sheet that lists each expenditure and its projected cost
• A Scope of Work document that fleshes out each line item
• A legally-binding Construction Contract that states your terms

Job bidding by professionals such as contractors, plumbers, construction workers, remodelers, dispatchers and roofers can be very competitive, and it’s advantageous to implement helpful digital tools to gain an advantage over your competitors.

What is a Construction Bid Form Template?

A construction bid form template is an app that streamlines and digitalizes the process of creating a construction bid. It is a document or file used as a guide to fill in all the essential information needed for a construction bid proposal.

There are several  benefits of using a digital construction bid form template, but the three most important ones are:

• You can quickly and easily create a professional-looking construction bid.
• You can share the document with other people involved in the project, such as the architect, engineers, and clients.
• You can save time by having all the information you need in one place.

What to Include in a Construction Bid Form Template 

Line Item Sheet

The Line Item spreadsheet includes every element associated with the build. Items may include permit costs, lumber, excavating, cleaning, plumbing, doors, trim, drywall labor, brickwork, electrical installation, finish labor and flooring wood. A site visit, accurate measurements and attention to detail will enhance this document.

The most difficult part of the job bid may be predicting the cost estimate of each line item. Since prices can fluctuate over time, a bidder should never work from old data. While reviewing current prices, the project management team needs to calculate their profit margin and waste percentage. A smart bidder will study a wide range of variants that occur with regards to the location and time period of the build.

An extreme weather event in any part of the country might affect the nationwide price and supply of materials.

• Consider the cost of materials and labor in your immediate locale. Prices can vary throughout a state or region.
• Consider the season in which you are building. Will you be delayed by storms, snow, and rain?

If you bid too high on a project, you might lose the bid. But if you bid too low, you may not cover your costs, and it may indicate that you don’t understand the scope of the project. Finding the delicate balance between these two extremes is enhanced by experience and good recordkeeping.

When a construction professional first enters the business, he might want to consider a Labor Only contract to avoid the calculation of supplying materials. As with all contracts, be specific with cost delegation. For example, the client may agree to supply the lumber for a project, but not include the cost of nails, adhesives, disposal of materials and other general costs incurred.

Scope of Work Document

The Scope of Work document lets you expound on the Line Item List. It will break down how many faucets and doorknobs you may need to complete a project. While a template is useful here, it’s important to personalize the form so it doesn’t look like a standard presentation. The client wants to know you put thought and consideration into your proposal.

A Scope of Work document typically contains:

• An Explanation of Costs of particular items
• Timelines that show each stage of the project
• Terms of Payment states when and how you’ll be paid
• Signature lines for all involved parties

Make sure to speak your client’s terminology in the document. The reader wants to see themself in your proposal. With that in mind, make sure your client is comfortable with terms like load-bearing wall, drywall, floor plan, and field measure. 

Construction Bid Form Contract

The Construction Bid Form is a contract that is a legally binding agreement stating the responsibilities of the bidder while protecting them from unnecessary liability. Damage from extreme weather is often a contentious part of a contract. Legal professionals recommend that a Delay Damages clause be included in a contract.

Job bidders tend to guard against surveying by competitors, by making their bid negotiations covert. At the same time, a construction project is a dynamic process with lots of moving parts, so it’s helpful to have input from trusted sources of expertise. While it’s important to hold your bid close to your chest, make sure at least one other person reviews your bid for accuracy and enhancement.

The Advantages of Using a Digital Construction Bid Form Template 

Digital templates can be helpful when you’re writing a bid contract. The trick is to customize them to present a personalized package. Paper forms can slow you down and allow another bidder to swoop in and walk away with the job. When you choose to use a construction bid form app, you can expect

• Faster and more accurate bids
• Better clarity and communication with clients, co-workers and subcontractors
• Elimination of paperwork in the field and your office

Paperless is Faster and Will Make You More Competitive

A paperless, digital job bidding template app quickly calculates and estimates a bid ahead of paper-laden competitors. Without needing access to reams of paper, the app can pull material lists and labor rates to quickly and accurately complete the bid – right from the location.

A high-functioning construction app also has the flexibility to customize a bid, calculate costs, edit submissions (the PDF the client receives), capture images to document work, and can be shared in real-time, which can speed up a bid for a project. Once you’ve downloaded the GoCanvas app, it’s simple to drag and drop the fields you need to customize your forms. GoCanvas also has effective sharing and storing options:

• Convert data captured to a PDF document and forward to the client or supervisor
• Download to Excel
• Export to your accounting or other software

Meeting the Needs of Construction Companies with Our Estimate Template Mobile App

GoCanvas offers a number of Job Bidding Templates:

• Designed for fast-moving handyman services, the Handyman Bid Mobile App makes it easy to store the details of the job and calculate a quick job estimate.
• The Bid Template proposal app is designed for versatility. It calculates labor costs, stores plan dates, job information, and budget.
• The Plumbing Work Bid calculates materials, time, fees and labor costs to create a comprehensive project bid.
• The Roofing Bid Proposal balances all the tricky components of a roofing project, including the type of roofing, proposed project, and terms and conditions.
• The Remodeling Bid Proposal Form keeps track of all the specs for a construction project bid for submission to a competitive bidding or open bid process. Just some of the details include taxes, permits, tax-exempt status, other construction bid details, and more.

Convenient contractor job bidding form apps help you grow your business. Once your bid is secured, you can digitalize other paper-based processes including Project Implementation, Inspections, Work Orders and more. To learn more about how you can use GoCanvas for your business, contact us today!