Building a tender package
Available onEstimatorBuilder
Choose New on the Tenders screen, pick the estimate, and select the items the package covers.
Pick the items a trade is pricing and the package writes itself.
Choosing the items
Section titled “Choosing the items”
The paths row has moved on the estimate since the tender was built — 26 m2 here against 28.5 on the job — so it is flagged with a Match button. The bar above says the package has already gone to two subcontractors, which is why changing it is not a quiet act.
A package should be one subcontractor’s scope. Not a trade, not a cost code — the work one business would price and do.
That is usually a cost code, but not always:
| Cost code | Packages |
|---|---|
800 Services |
Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC — three packages |
300 Concrete |
Usually one — the concreter does the lot |
1000 Fixing and joinery |
Carpentry, and Cabinets — often two businesses |
Getting this wrong is the most common cause of bids you cannot compare. If one recipient prices only half the package because the rest is not their trade, you have two bids covering different scopes and no way to line them up.
Adding them
Section titled “Adding them”Items go on the tender’s Items tab.
- Add an item — type in the cost code box to find the cost code (or a heading, to see everything under it), then pick the item. Its quantity and product come from the estimate.
- Add a whole cost code — every item under one cost code at once. Items already on the tender are skipped, so adding the same cost code twice does no harm.
If the estimate changes after you build the package, the lines that no longer match are marked. Match on a row brings it back in line; Match the estimate does them all.
Qty and Code on each row decide whether the subcontractor is shown your quantity and the product code.
Attach the item list PDF
Section titled “Attach the item list PDF”Attach the item list PDF to every invitation includes the item schedule in what the subcontractor receives.
The PDF is a Request for Quotation, addressed to each subcontractor: the tender’s name as the title, your company and logo, who it is for, the job and its site, a reference (RFQ and a number), the date it was issued and the date quotes are due back. Then the items with their quantities and units, with a column for their price and one for their notes, how to reply, and a box for their quote’s validity, lead time and exclusions. A subcontractor who prints it and fills it in by hand still sends back a price you can read against your items.
Send it. A subcontractor pricing against your item list returns a bid that lines up with your bill line for line, which is what makes comparison and award mechanical rather than manual.
Without it, they price off the drawings and return a lump sum. You get a number, but not one you can bring into the bill against items, and not one you can compare against another lump sum with a different scope behind it.
Attachments
Section titled “Attachments”Attach Files adds the documents the package needs — drawings, specifications, engineering details, the site plan, soil report. Tick them in the file picker - see Attaching files.
Attach what is needed to price the work, and no more. A roofer sent the entire 40-sheet architectural set has to find the roof plan; one sent the roof plan, the elevations and the truss layout starts pricing.
Documents can also be set to auto-attach to all new bids from the Documents module, which is the right way to handle the ones that go with every package. See Documents.
When a document changes after sending
Section titled “When a document changes after sending”A revised drawing or a clarification does not go out by re-sending the whole package. On the tender list, Send update emails everyone already sent the tender with only the files you tick — upload the new revision there and it is attached to the tender as well.
The covering email
Section titled “The covering email”The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. Insert a field adds placeholders that are filled in for each subcontractor — their name, the project, their own quote link, and the date quotes are due (`$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3
Section titled “The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. Insert a field adds placeholders that are filled in for each subcontractor — their name, the project, their own quote link, and the date quotes are due (`$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3”Choose New on the Tenders screen, pick the estimate, and select the items the package covers.
Pick the items a trade is pricing and the package writes itself.
Choosing the items
Section titled “Choosing the items”
The paths row has moved on the estimate since the tender was built — 26 m2 here against 28.5 on the job — so it is flagged with a Match button. The bar above says the package has already gone to two subcontractors, which is why changing it is not a quiet act.
A package should be one subcontractor’s scope. Not a trade, not a cost code — the work one business would price and do.
That is usually a cost code, but not always:
| Cost code | Packages |
|---|---|
800 Services |
Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC — three packages |
300 Concrete |
Usually one — the concreter does the lot |
1000 Fixing and joinery |
Carpentry, and Cabinets — often two businesses |
Getting this wrong is the most common cause of bids you cannot compare. If one recipient prices only half the package because the rest is not their trade, you have two bids covering different scopes and no way to line them up.
Adding them
Section titled “Adding them”Items go on the tender’s Items tab.
- Add an item — type in the cost code box to find the cost code (or a heading, to see everything under it), then pick the item. Its quantity and product come from the estimate.
- Add a whole cost code — every item under one cost code at once. Items already on the tender are skipped, so adding the same cost code twice does no harm.
If the estimate changes after you build the package, the lines that no longer match are marked. Match on a row brings it back in line; Match the estimate does them all.
Qty and Code on each row decide whether the subcontractor is shown your quantity and the product code.
Attach the item list PDF
Section titled “Attach the item list PDF”Attach the item list PDF to every invitation includes the item schedule in what the subcontractor receives.
The PDF is a Request for Quotation, addressed to each subcontractor: the tender’s name as the title, your company and logo, who it is for, the job and its site, a reference (RFQ and a number), the date it was issued and the date quotes are due back. Then the items with their quantities and units, with a column for their price and one for their notes, how to reply, and a box for their quote’s validity, lead time and exclusions. A subcontractor who prints it and fills it in by hand still sends back a price you can read against your items.
Send it. A subcontractor pricing against your item list returns a bid that lines up with your bill line for line, which is what makes comparison and award mechanical rather than manual.
Without it, they price off the drawings and return a lump sum. You get a number, but not one you can bring into the bill against items, and not one you can compare against another lump sum with a different scope behind it.
Attachments
Section titled “Attachments”Attach Files adds the documents the package needs — drawings, specifications, engineering details, the site plan, soil report. Tick them in the file picker - see Attaching files.
Attach what is needed to price the work, and no more. A roofer sent the entire 40-sheet architectural set has to find the roof plan; one sent the roof plan, the elevations and the truss layout starts pricing.
Documents can also be set to auto-attach to all new bids from the Documents module, which is the right way to handle the ones that go with every package. See Documents.
When a document changes after sending
Section titled “When a document changes after sending”A revised drawing or a clarification does not go out by re-sending the whole package. On the tender list, Send update emails everyone already sent the tender with only the files you tick — upload the new revision there and it is attached to the tender as well.
The covering email
Section titled “The covering email”The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. , written out as Friday 31 October 2026; it prints nothing if the tender has no due date).
Each subcontractor gets their own copy of this email when you invite them. If you change it afterwards, the tab tells you how many not yet sent still have the older version, and Give them this version brings them up to date.
Include:
- What the package is, and which job
- When you need the price back — set Quotes due by on the Tender tab and put `$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3
Choose New on the Tenders screen, pick the estimate, and select the items the package covers.
Pick the items a trade is pricing and the package writes itself.
Choosing the items
Section titled “Choosing the items”
The paths row has moved on the estimate since the tender was built — 26 m2 here against 28.5 on the job — so it is flagged with a Match button. The bar above says the package has already gone to two subcontractors, which is why changing it is not a quiet act.
A package should be one subcontractor’s scope. Not a trade, not a cost code — the work one business would price and do.
That is usually a cost code, but not always:
| Cost code | Packages |
|---|---|
800 Services |
Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC — three packages |
300 Concrete |
Usually one — the concreter does the lot |
1000 Fixing and joinery |
Carpentry, and Cabinets — often two businesses |
Getting this wrong is the most common cause of bids you cannot compare. If one recipient prices only half the package because the rest is not their trade, you have two bids covering different scopes and no way to line them up.
Adding them
Section titled “Adding them”Items go on the tender’s Items tab.
- Add an item — type in the cost code box to find the cost code (or a heading, to see everything under it), then pick the item. Its quantity and product come from the estimate.
- Add a whole cost code — every item under one cost code at once. Items already on the tender are skipped, so adding the same cost code twice does no harm.
If the estimate changes after you build the package, the lines that no longer match are marked. Match on a row brings it back in line; Match the estimate does them all.
Qty and Code on each row decide whether the subcontractor is shown your quantity and the product code.
Attach the item list PDF
Section titled “Attach the item list PDF”Attach the item list PDF to every invitation includes the item schedule in what the subcontractor receives.
The PDF is a Request for Quotation, addressed to each subcontractor: the tender’s name as the title, your company and logo, who it is for, the job and its site, a reference (RFQ and a number), the date it was issued and the date quotes are due back. Then the items with their quantities and units, with a column for their price and one for their notes, how to reply, and a box for their quote’s validity, lead time and exclusions. A subcontractor who prints it and fills it in by hand still sends back a price you can read against your items.
Send it. A subcontractor pricing against your item list returns a bid that lines up with your bill line for line, which is what makes comparison and award mechanical rather than manual.
Without it, they price off the drawings and return a lump sum. You get a number, but not one you can bring into the bill against items, and not one you can compare against another lump sum with a different scope behind it.
Attachments
Section titled “Attachments”Attach Files adds the documents the package needs — drawings, specifications, engineering details, the site plan, soil report. Tick them in the file picker - see Attaching files.
Attach what is needed to price the work, and no more. A roofer sent the entire 40-sheet architectural set has to find the roof plan; one sent the roof plan, the elevations and the truss layout starts pricing.
Documents can also be set to auto-attach to all new bids from the Documents module, which is the right way to handle the ones that go with every package. See Documents.
When a document changes after sending
Section titled “When a document changes after sending”A revised drawing or a clarification does not go out by re-sending the whole package. On the tender list, Send update emails everyone already sent the tender with only the files you tick — upload the new revision there and it is attached to the tender as well.
The covering email
Section titled “The covering email”The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. Insert a field adds placeholders that are filled in for each subcontractor — their name, the project, their own quote link, and the date quotes are due (`$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3
Section titled “The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. Insert a field adds placeholders that are filled in for each subcontractor — their name, the project, their own quote link, and the date quotes are due (`$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3”Choose New on the Tenders screen, pick the estimate, and select the items the package covers.
Pick the items a trade is pricing and the package writes itself.
Choosing the items
Section titled “Choosing the items”
The paths row has moved on the estimate since the tender was built — 26 m2 here against 28.5 on the job — so it is flagged with a Match button. The bar above says the package has already gone to two subcontractors, which is why changing it is not a quiet act.
A package should be one subcontractor’s scope. Not a trade, not a cost code — the work one business would price and do.
That is usually a cost code, but not always:
| Cost code | Packages |
|---|---|
800 Services |
Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC — three packages |
300 Concrete |
Usually one — the concreter does the lot |
1000 Fixing and joinery |
Carpentry, and Cabinets — often two businesses |
Getting this wrong is the most common cause of bids you cannot compare. If one recipient prices only half the package because the rest is not their trade, you have two bids covering different scopes and no way to line them up.
Adding them
Section titled “Adding them”Items go on the tender’s Items tab.
- Add an item — type in the cost code box to find the cost code (or a heading, to see everything under it), then pick the item. Its quantity and product come from the estimate.
- Add a whole cost code — every item under one cost code at once. Items already on the tender are skipped, so adding the same cost code twice does no harm.
If the estimate changes after you build the package, the lines that no longer match are marked. Match on a row brings it back in line; Match the estimate does them all.
Qty and Code on each row decide whether the subcontractor is shown your quantity and the product code.
Attach the item list PDF
Section titled “Attach the item list PDF”Attach the item list PDF to every invitation includes the item schedule in what the subcontractor receives.
The PDF is a Request for Quotation, addressed to each subcontractor: the tender’s name as the title, your company and logo, who it is for, the job and its site, a reference (RFQ and a number), the date it was issued and the date quotes are due back. Then the items with their quantities and units, with a column for their price and one for their notes, how to reply, and a box for their quote’s validity, lead time and exclusions. A subcontractor who prints it and fills it in by hand still sends back a price you can read against your items.
Send it. A subcontractor pricing against your item list returns a bid that lines up with your bill line for line, which is what makes comparison and award mechanical rather than manual.
Without it, they price off the drawings and return a lump sum. You get a number, but not one you can bring into the bill against items, and not one you can compare against another lump sum with a different scope behind it.
Attachments
Section titled “Attachments”Attach Files adds the documents the package needs — drawings, specifications, engineering details, the site plan, soil report. Tick them in the file picker - see Attaching files.
Attach what is needed to price the work, and no more. A roofer sent the entire 40-sheet architectural set has to find the roof plan; one sent the roof plan, the elevations and the truss layout starts pricing.
Documents can also be set to auto-attach to all new bids from the Documents module, which is the right way to handle the ones that go with every package. See Documents.
When a document changes after sending
Section titled “When a document changes after sending”A revised drawing or a clarification does not go out by re-sending the whole package. On the tender list, Send update emails everyone already sent the tender with only the files you tick — upload the new revision there and it is attached to the tender as well.
The covering email
Section titled “The covering email”The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. , written out as Friday 31 October 2026; it prints nothing if the tender has no due date).
Each subcontractor gets their own copy of this email when you invite them. If you change it afterwards, the tab tells you how many not yet sent still have the older version, and Give them this version brings them up to date.
Include:
-
What the package is, and which job
in the email, so the date in the email, the PDF and the subcontractor’s page is the same date
-
When the work is programmed for
-
Any conditions — retention, payment terms, insurance requirements
-
Who to ring with questions
The programme date matters more than builders expect. A subcontractor who knows the work is in March prices differently from one who assumes it is next week, and one who does not know at all often does not price at all.
Name, due date and notes
Section titled “Name, due date and notes”
The notes are for your own team — subcontractors never see them. Ready to send is the guard: invitations cannot be emailed until it is ticked, so a half-built package cannot go out by accident.
Name is what the tender is called in the tender list. Notes are for your team; subcontractors do not see them. Both are on the tender’s first tab.
Quotes due by is the date you need prices back. It is printed on the Request for Quotation, shown at the top of the subcontractor’s pricing page, and available in the email as `$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3
Section titled “Quotes due by is the date you need prices back. It is printed on the Request for Quotation, shown at the top of the subcontractor’s pricing page, and available in the email as `$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3”Choose New on the Tenders screen, pick the estimate, and select the items the package covers.
Pick the items a trade is pricing and the package writes itself.
Choosing the items
Section titled “Choosing the items”
The paths row has moved on the estimate since the tender was built — 26 m2 here against 28.5 on the job — so it is flagged with a Match button. The bar above says the package has already gone to two subcontractors, which is why changing it is not a quiet act.
A package should be one subcontractor’s scope. Not a trade, not a cost code — the work one business would price and do.
That is usually a cost code, but not always:
| Cost code | Packages |
|---|---|
800 Services |
Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC — three packages |
300 Concrete |
Usually one — the concreter does the lot |
1000 Fixing and joinery |
Carpentry, and Cabinets — often two businesses |
Getting this wrong is the most common cause of bids you cannot compare. If one recipient prices only half the package because the rest is not their trade, you have two bids covering different scopes and no way to line them up.
Adding them
Section titled “Adding them”Items go on the tender’s Items tab.
- Add an item — type in the cost code box to find the cost code (or a heading, to see everything under it), then pick the item. Its quantity and product come from the estimate.
- Add a whole cost code — every item under one cost code at once. Items already on the tender are skipped, so adding the same cost code twice does no harm.
If the estimate changes after you build the package, the lines that no longer match are marked. Match on a row brings it back in line; Match the estimate does them all.
Qty and Code on each row decide whether the subcontractor is shown your quantity and the product code.
Attach the item list PDF
Section titled “Attach the item list PDF”Attach the item list PDF to every invitation includes the item schedule in what the subcontractor receives.
The PDF is a Request for Quotation, addressed to each subcontractor: the tender’s name as the title, your company and logo, who it is for, the job and its site, a reference (RFQ and a number), the date it was issued and the date quotes are due back. Then the items with their quantities and units, with a column for their price and one for their notes, how to reply, and a box for their quote’s validity, lead time and exclusions. A subcontractor who prints it and fills it in by hand still sends back a price you can read against your items.
Send it. A subcontractor pricing against your item list returns a bid that lines up with your bill line for line, which is what makes comparison and award mechanical rather than manual.
Without it, they price off the drawings and return a lump sum. You get a number, but not one you can bring into the bill against items, and not one you can compare against another lump sum with a different scope behind it.
Attachments
Section titled “Attachments”Attach Files adds the documents the package needs — drawings, specifications, engineering details, the site plan, soil report. Tick them in the file picker - see Attaching files.
Attach what is needed to price the work, and no more. A roofer sent the entire 40-sheet architectural set has to find the roof plan; one sent the roof plan, the elevations and the truss layout starts pricing.
Documents can also be set to auto-attach to all new bids from the Documents module, which is the right way to handle the ones that go with every package. See Documents.
When a document changes after sending
Section titled “When a document changes after sending”A revised drawing or a clarification does not go out by re-sending the whole package. On the tender list, Send update emails everyone already sent the tender with only the files you tick — upload the new revision there and it is attached to the tender as well.
The covering email
Section titled “The covering email”The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. Insert a field adds placeholders that are filled in for each subcontractor — their name, the project, their own quote link, and the date quotes are due (`$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3
Section titled “The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. Insert a field adds placeholders that are filled in for each subcontractor — their name, the project, their own quote link, and the date quotes are due (`$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3”Choose New on the Tenders screen, pick the estimate, and select the items the package covers.
Pick the items a trade is pricing and the package writes itself.
Choosing the items
Section titled “Choosing the items”
The paths row has moved on the estimate since the tender was built — 26 m2 here against 28.5 on the job — so it is flagged with a Match button. The bar above says the package has already gone to two subcontractors, which is why changing it is not a quiet act.
A package should be one subcontractor’s scope. Not a trade, not a cost code — the work one business would price and do.
That is usually a cost code, but not always:
| Cost code | Packages |
|---|---|
800 Services |
Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC — three packages |
300 Concrete |
Usually one — the concreter does the lot |
1000 Fixing and joinery |
Carpentry, and Cabinets — often two businesses |
Getting this wrong is the most common cause of bids you cannot compare. If one recipient prices only half the package because the rest is not their trade, you have two bids covering different scopes and no way to line them up.
Adding them
Section titled “Adding them”Items go on the tender’s Items tab.
- Add an item — type in the cost code box to find the cost code (or a heading, to see everything under it), then pick the item. Its quantity and product come from the estimate.
- Add a whole cost code — every item under one cost code at once. Items already on the tender are skipped, so adding the same cost code twice does no harm.
If the estimate changes after you build the package, the lines that no longer match are marked. Match on a row brings it back in line; Match the estimate does them all.
Qty and Code on each row decide whether the subcontractor is shown your quantity and the product code.
Attach the item list PDF
Section titled “Attach the item list PDF”Attach the item list PDF to every invitation includes the item schedule in what the subcontractor receives.
The PDF is a Request for Quotation, addressed to each subcontractor: the tender’s name as the title, your company and logo, who it is for, the job and its site, a reference (RFQ and a number), the date it was issued and the date quotes are due back. Then the items with their quantities and units, with a column for their price and one for their notes, how to reply, and a box for their quote’s validity, lead time and exclusions. A subcontractor who prints it and fills it in by hand still sends back a price you can read against your items.
Send it. A subcontractor pricing against your item list returns a bid that lines up with your bill line for line, which is what makes comparison and award mechanical rather than manual.
Without it, they price off the drawings and return a lump sum. You get a number, but not one you can bring into the bill against items, and not one you can compare against another lump sum with a different scope behind it.
Attachments
Section titled “Attachments”Attach Files adds the documents the package needs — drawings, specifications, engineering details, the site plan, soil report. Tick them in the file picker - see Attaching files.
Attach what is needed to price the work, and no more. A roofer sent the entire 40-sheet architectural set has to find the roof plan; one sent the roof plan, the elevations and the truss layout starts pricing.
Documents can also be set to auto-attach to all new bids from the Documents module, which is the right way to handle the ones that go with every package. See Documents.
When a document changes after sending
Section titled “When a document changes after sending”A revised drawing or a clarification does not go out by re-sending the whole package. On the tender list, Send update emails everyone already sent the tender with only the files you tick — upload the new revision there and it is attached to the tender as well.
The covering email
Section titled “The covering email”The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. , written out as Friday 31 October 2026; it prints nothing if the tender has no due date).
Each subcontractor gets their own copy of this email when you invite them. If you change it afterwards, the tab tells you how many not yet sent still have the older version, and Give them this version brings them up to date.
Include:
- What the package is, and which job
- When you need the price back — set Quotes due by on the Tender tab and put `$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3
Choose New on the Tenders screen, pick the estimate, and select the items the package covers.
Pick the items a trade is pricing and the package writes itself.
Choosing the items
Section titled “Choosing the items”
The paths row has moved on the estimate since the tender was built — 26 m2 here against 28.5 on the job — so it is flagged with a Match button. The bar above says the package has already gone to two subcontractors, which is why changing it is not a quiet act.
A package should be one subcontractor’s scope. Not a trade, not a cost code — the work one business would price and do.
That is usually a cost code, but not always:
| Cost code | Packages |
|---|---|
800 Services |
Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC — three packages |
300 Concrete |
Usually one — the concreter does the lot |
1000 Fixing and joinery |
Carpentry, and Cabinets — often two businesses |
Getting this wrong is the most common cause of bids you cannot compare. If one recipient prices only half the package because the rest is not their trade, you have two bids covering different scopes and no way to line them up.
Adding them
Section titled “Adding them”Items go on the tender’s Items tab.
- Add an item — type in the cost code box to find the cost code (or a heading, to see everything under it), then pick the item. Its quantity and product come from the estimate.
- Add a whole cost code — every item under one cost code at once. Items already on the tender are skipped, so adding the same cost code twice does no harm.
If the estimate changes after you build the package, the lines that no longer match are marked. Match on a row brings it back in line; Match the estimate does them all.
Qty and Code on each row decide whether the subcontractor is shown your quantity and the product code.
Attach the item list PDF
Section titled “Attach the item list PDF”Attach the item list PDF to every invitation includes the item schedule in what the subcontractor receives.
The PDF is a Request for Quotation, addressed to each subcontractor: the tender’s name as the title, your company and logo, who it is for, the job and its site, a reference (RFQ and a number), the date it was issued and the date quotes are due back. Then the items with their quantities and units, with a column for their price and one for their notes, how to reply, and a box for their quote’s validity, lead time and exclusions. A subcontractor who prints it and fills it in by hand still sends back a price you can read against your items.
Send it. A subcontractor pricing against your item list returns a bid that lines up with your bill line for line, which is what makes comparison and award mechanical rather than manual.
Without it, they price off the drawings and return a lump sum. You get a number, but not one you can bring into the bill against items, and not one you can compare against another lump sum with a different scope behind it.
Attachments
Section titled “Attachments”Attach Files adds the documents the package needs — drawings, specifications, engineering details, the site plan, soil report. Tick them in the file picker - see Attaching files.
Attach what is needed to price the work, and no more. A roofer sent the entire 40-sheet architectural set has to find the roof plan; one sent the roof plan, the elevations and the truss layout starts pricing.
Documents can also be set to auto-attach to all new bids from the Documents module, which is the right way to handle the ones that go with every package. See Documents.
When a document changes after sending
Section titled “When a document changes after sending”A revised drawing or a clarification does not go out by re-sending the whole package. On the tender list, Send update emails everyone already sent the tender with only the files you tick — upload the new revision there and it is attached to the tender as well.
The covering email
Section titled “The covering email”The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. Insert a field adds placeholders that are filled in for each subcontractor — their name, the project, their own quote link, and the date quotes are due (`$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3
Section titled “The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. Insert a field adds placeholders that are filled in for each subcontractor — their name, the project, their own quote link, and the date quotes are due (`$DueDate— title: Building a tender package description: Choosing the items, deciding whether to show quantities, attaching drawings, and writing a package that comes back comparable. plan: [‘Estimator’, ‘Builder’] sidebar: order: 3”Choose New on the Tenders screen, pick the estimate, and select the items the package covers.
Pick the items a trade is pricing and the package writes itself.
Choosing the items
Section titled “Choosing the items”
The paths row has moved on the estimate since the tender was built — 26 m2 here against 28.5 on the job — so it is flagged with a Match button. The bar above says the package has already gone to two subcontractors, which is why changing it is not a quiet act.
A package should be one subcontractor’s scope. Not a trade, not a cost code — the work one business would price and do.
That is usually a cost code, but not always:
| Cost code | Packages |
|---|---|
800 Services |
Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC — three packages |
300 Concrete |
Usually one — the concreter does the lot |
1000 Fixing and joinery |
Carpentry, and Cabinets — often two businesses |
Getting this wrong is the most common cause of bids you cannot compare. If one recipient prices only half the package because the rest is not their trade, you have two bids covering different scopes and no way to line them up.
Adding them
Section titled “Adding them”Items go on the tender’s Items tab.
- Add an item — type in the cost code box to find the cost code (or a heading, to see everything under it), then pick the item. Its quantity and product come from the estimate.
- Add a whole cost code — every item under one cost code at once. Items already on the tender are skipped, so adding the same cost code twice does no harm.
If the estimate changes after you build the package, the lines that no longer match are marked. Match on a row brings it back in line; Match the estimate does them all.
Qty and Code on each row decide whether the subcontractor is shown your quantity and the product code.
Attach the item list PDF
Section titled “Attach the item list PDF”Attach the item list PDF to every invitation includes the item schedule in what the subcontractor receives.
The PDF is a Request for Quotation, addressed to each subcontractor: the tender’s name as the title, your company and logo, who it is for, the job and its site, a reference (RFQ and a number), the date it was issued and the date quotes are due back. Then the items with their quantities and units, with a column for their price and one for their notes, how to reply, and a box for their quote’s validity, lead time and exclusions. A subcontractor who prints it and fills it in by hand still sends back a price you can read against your items.
Send it. A subcontractor pricing against your item list returns a bid that lines up with your bill line for line, which is what makes comparison and award mechanical rather than manual.
Without it, they price off the drawings and return a lump sum. You get a number, but not one you can bring into the bill against items, and not one you can compare against another lump sum with a different scope behind it.
Attachments
Section titled “Attachments”Attach Files adds the documents the package needs — drawings, specifications, engineering details, the site plan, soil report. Tick them in the file picker - see Attaching files.
Attach what is needed to price the work, and no more. A roofer sent the entire 40-sheet architectural set has to find the roof plan; one sent the roof plan, the elevations and the truss layout starts pricing.
Documents can also be set to auto-attach to all new bids from the Documents module, which is the right way to handle the ones that go with every package. See Documents.
When a document changes after sending
Section titled “When a document changes after sending”A revised drawing or a clarification does not go out by re-sending the whole package. On the tender list, Send update emails everyone already sent the tender with only the files you tick — upload the new revision there and it is attached to the tender as well.
The covering email
Section titled “The covering email”The Email tab holds the subject and body the subcontractor actually reads first. , written out as Friday 31 October 2026; it prints nothing if the tender has no due date).
Each subcontractor gets their own copy of this email when you invite them. If you change it afterwards, the tab tells you how many not yet sent still have the older version, and Give them this version brings them up to date.
Include:
-
What the package is, and which job
in the email, so the date in the email, the PDF and the subcontractor’s page is the same date
-
When the work is programmed for
-
Any conditions — retention, payment terms, insurance requirements
-
Who to ring with questions
The programme date matters more than builders expect. A subcontractor who knows the work is in March prices differently from one who assumes it is next week, and one who does not know at all often does not price at all.
Name, due date and notes
Section titled “Name, due date and notes”
The notes are for your own team — subcontractors never see them. Ready to send is the guard: invitations cannot be emailed until it is ticked, so a half-built package cannot go out by accident.
. Leave it blank for no date.
Name tenders consistently — Roofing, Plumbing, Electrical — and the tenders
list becomes readable across every job at once.
Templates
Section titled “Templates”Email templates are on the Email tab. Save this email as a new template stores the text, and Use this template brings it back on the next tender. Update it with this email, Rename and Delete work on your own templates; SmarteBuild’s are marked and cannot be changed — save a copy of one instead.
Make default sets the template every NEW tender’s email starts from. That one
then shows as - default in the list, and the button becomes Clear default when
you want new tenders to start blank again. It is a setting for the whole company and
it does not change tenders that already exist. SmarteBuild’s own templates cannot be
the default — save your own copy of one first.
Set up a template per trade. Each new job then means selecting the items and sending, rather than rewriting the same email for the twelfth time.