Bid Leveling Service | Sub Proposal Leveling

Who it's for

GC estimators and precon teams leveling sub numbers on every bid, often on the same day the numbers arrive.
Trade subcontractors leveling their own lower-tier and supplier quotes.
Teams that need a consistent, defensible leveling sheet to show owners, partners or a GMP review.

The problem

No two subs write a proposal the same way. One sends a detailed breakout, one sends a single number with half a page of exclusions, one sends a number and nothing else. Leveling them by hand means reading every line, building the comparison, chasing down what each bidder did and didn't include, and doing it again when the revised numbers show up.

It's slow, it's tedious, and it's the step that gets rushed on bid day. The low number often isn't low once you account for what's missing.

What's included

Proposal review. We read every proposal in the package, including the exclusions, qualifications and fine print.
Scope matrix. Each bidder lined up against your bid tab scope, item by item: included, excluded, unclear or not mentioned.
Adjusted comparisons. Where a bidder leaves scope out, we flag it so you can see which number is really low.
Targeted clarification questions for low-detail bidders, written so you can send them as-is.
Estimator review. Every line of the matrix is checked by an estimator before it goes back to you.

What you get

A leveled Excel bid matrix. One sheet per trade package, set up the way your team reads a bid tab.
Clarification questions ready to send to subs. Specific, per bidder, tied to the scope items they didn't address.

Monthly retainer

If you level bids every week, a retainer saves you from setting up each package one at a time. You commit to a monthly volume of trade packages, and in return you get a lower per-package rate, priority in the queue and a matrix format set up once to match your company's templates. It works well for precon teams with a steady bid calendar. Ask us to quote one based on your typical month.

Turnaround

Standard turnaround is 24–48 hours from when we have the proposals and your bid tab. Rush is available when numbers come in late. Tell us your deadline and we'll confirm what we can turn around, and the rush price, before we start. Revised proposals can be folded into an existing matrix.

Pricing

$350–$750 per trade package, with a 3-package minimum per order. We quote before we start. Where it lands in the range depends on:

Number of bidders in each trade package.
How the proposals are written. Clean, itemized breakouts go faster than single-number proposals with pages of qualifications.
Scope complexity of the trade.
Rush. Faster-than-standard turnaround is quoted up front, based on your deadline, before we start.

Retainer rates are quoted by monthly volume.

FAQs

Why the 3-package minimum?

Setting up a bid's scope and format takes real time. The minimum keeps the per-package price where it is. Most bids have more than enough packages to meet it.

Can you use our bid tab and leveling template?

Yes, and we'd rather. Your team already knows how to read it. If you don't have one, we'll use ours.

Will you contact our subs?

No. We write the clarification questions, and you send them. Your sub relationships stay yours.

What if revised numbers come in after you deliver?

Send them over. We'll update the matrix and flag what changed. Minor revisions are usually folded in. Larger rebids are quoted as a new package.

Send proposals for leveling

The estimator still makes every call. We just make sure nothing goes unread.