The low electrical quote excludes night work that the other bidder included. Construction bid leveling puts both proposals on a common scope before you compare their prices. Keep the submitted totals intact, then add or deduct supported amounts for scope differences and show unresolved items beside the adjusted totals.
A leveled total can include a bidder’s written revision and your estimate for an exclusion (label which is which). It gives the buyout reviewer a common basis to compare costs. The award still depends on confirming who will perform the work and what the subcontract will cover.
Fix the package scope and drawing revision
Start with the issued bid package, addenda, and base scope. Put scope items on rows where a bidder’s inclusion or exclusion could change the decision. Include the areas, quantities, and units needed to compare proposals, plus who is expected to provide access, testing, or related work. The construction quantity takeoff article covers tying those quantities to the drawing revision.
Check which addenda each bidder acknowledged. When an addendum changes a quantity or adds an obligation, get a written clarification before treating a blank price as included. Autodesk describes how its BuildingConnected bid leveling workflow lines up submissions against a shared bid form and separates alternates from base line items.
Put allowances on a stated basis and carry optional alternates on separate rows. For an allowance that needs adjustment, compare the amount already in the base with the common allowance you want to evaluate. Adding the common allowance without backing out the amount already included would count part of that scope twice.
Copy the bid comparison fields and calculate the adjustment
Store each submitted base once on a proposal row keyed to package, bidder, and revision. Give each scope comparison its own row linked to that proposal. The reviewer can then see what each submission said and how a scope question changed the comparison.
Package. Package ID [ ], base drawing and spec revisions [ ], acknowledged addenda [ ], scope item ID and description [ ], quantity and unit [ ], common requirement [ ].
Proposal row. Package ID [ ], bidder [ ], proposal reference and revision [ ], submitted base total [ ].
Scope comparison row. Proposal row key [ ], scope item ID [ ], coverage [included, excluded, alternate, or unresolved], quote page or clarification reference [ ], signed adjustment [ ], amount type [bidder revision or estimator allowance], source and date [ ], clarification owner and due date [ ], proposed party responsible for the work [ ].
Calculate leveled total = submitted base + required additions - out-of-scope amounts to remove. Sum only the signed scope adjustments for each proposal, then add that sum to its submitted base. Autodesk calls a line-item adjustment a bid plug, and documents adjustments to quantity, unit cost, or value. In a spreadsheet, show the adjustment separately so a new quote version can replace an allowance without counting both.
Assume two hypothetical quotes for the same electrical package, in dollars and on the same tax basis. The common scope includes night work and startup testing. Bid A excludes both. Its bidder supplies a written $13,000 add for night work, and the estimator carries $8,000 for startup testing from a budget estimate. Bid B includes both in its submitted base.
| Comparison line | Bid A | Bid B |
|---|---|---|
| Submitted base | $196,000 | $214,000 |
| Night work | +$13,000, bidder clarification | Included |
| Startup testing | +$8,000, estimator allowance | Included |
| Leveled total | $217,000 provisional | $214,000 |
Bid A starts $18,000 lower and ends $3,000 higher after the supported adjustments. Its $217,000 total is provisional because the allowance is an internal estimate. If that scope is later quoted at $5,000, the two leveled totals would tie under these assumptions. Keep the break-even amount visible so the buyer knows which clarification can change the ordering.
Resolve the exclusions that could change buyout
For each open item, send the bidder the scope wording, drawing or spec reference, and the question the current proposal leaves open. Ask for a price and an explicit scope statement when both are needed. If another trade will perform the work, confirm where that amount sits in the estimate so the same addition does not land in both packages.
Keep a material exclusion with no defensible price marked unresolved, and show which bid it affects. A zero is a price assumption. Carry the comparison to buyout with its open clarifications and confirm the awarded scope before turning it into a commitment. The committed costs article explains how the resulting obligation enters project cost reporting.
Use a deduction only when the amount and responsibility can be supported. If a bidder included temporary power but the general contractor will provide it under the common scope, request a deduct price and record the work that will move. Avoid subtracting a rough share of an unbroken lump sum and presenting it as a confirmed bid revision.
When a revised proposal incorporates an earlier written add into its base, retire the matching adjustment from the new comparison and keep it in the old version. If the revision also offers a discount tied to an award of multiple packages, evaluate the conditional total in a separate scenario. Include its award condition so a reviewer cannot apply it to one package in isolation. When the comparison goes for approval, identify the reviewer and the versions used, so someone can reproduce the recommendation after the next addendum.
Inspect the scope records for one bid package
Start with a supported source and see how the submission versions and adjustment references are recorded.
Where Permute fits in bid review
Permute is the context layer we sell between business data and the AI tools people already use. We can connect a reviewed Excel bid register and proposal references stored in Google Drive, then match the supplied package, bidder, and revision identifiers.
We can apply your adjustment rules in a reusable comparison and leave rows unresolved when required evidence is absent. A preconstruction lead can ask which rankings depend on an internal estimate and inspect the underlying quote and clarification references within their permissions.
Keep scope acceptance and awards with preconstruction
We read connected records for this review. The estimator confirms coverage, accepts or rejects a pricing assumption, and records the award through the approved process. Refresh the comparison after a proposal or package revision so the team sees which basis each total uses.
Send a common scope to buyout
Level construction bids against the same package and revision, preserving the price each bidder submitted. Show the evidence behind each adjustment and flag unresolved scope without assigning it a zero. Bid A’s lower submission depends on exclusions whose treatment changes the ranking. Carry the confirmed scope and open items forward with the totals so the award reviewer can see what is being bought.
Review how your bid comparisons retain their sources
Bring a redacted proposal, a scope comparison, and one clarification that changed a leveled total.
Questions about leveling trade bids
Can I use an alternate to cover a gap in base scope?
Use it in the base comparison only if the bidder confirms that it covers the missing requirement and states the applicable price. Retain its original alternate reference so the same scope cannot be counted again in an alternate scenario.
How should I mark a proposal that is silent on a scope item?
Mark coverage unresolved and cite the section you reviewed. Ask the bidder for written confirmation before labeling it included or carrying a firm addition.