How tendering works
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A tender is a package of work you send out for pricing. Each subcontractor you send it to gets a bid — their copy, which they price and return.
One tender, several bids. That distinction runs through the whole module.
What a tender carries
Section titled “What a tender carries”| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
| Items | The BOQ items the package covers |
| Recipients | The suppliers invited to price it |
| Attachments | Drawings, specifications, site information |
| Subject and body sent with each invitation | |
| Label and Note | Your own reference and internal notes |
The trail it leaves
Section titled “The trail it leaves”This is the reason to use it rather than your mailbox.
Every bid records who was invited, what they were sent, when it went, and what came back. A price brought into the bill carries a Related bid link, so an item’s rate can be traced to the subcontractor who quoted it and the package they were quoting.
When a subcontractor says “that is not what I priced”, the package they were sent is attached to the job rather than in somebody’s sent items.
Templates
Section titled “Templates”Create new template, Load template and Load default save and reuse a tender’s structure — the wording, the covering email, the standard attachments.
Worth setting up early. Most builders send the same twelve packages on every job, and the covering email says the same thing every time.
What good tendering gets you
Section titled “What good tendering gets you”Beyond the price itself:
- Comparable bids. Everyone pricing the same scope, so the cheapest is actually the cheapest rather than the one that left the most out.
- A record of what was asked. Which is what settles a scope argument later.
- Rates in the bill with a source. See Comparing bids and awarding.