Tender register: from the tender notice to a won project
Every tender you might bid for sits in one register. It keeps the last day to submit, fee and EMD, documents, priced items and the split of the bid. The bid is approved before it goes, other bidders are ranked, and a won tender makes the project with its BOQ and budget.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- A tender's last day is in someone's diary, and the team finds out on the morning it closes.
- EMD drafts and bank guarantees go out and nobody follows up to get them back.
- The bid goes out at a price no manager checked, with a margin nobody worked out.
- After a win, the BOQ and budget are typed again from the bid's spreadsheet.
How it works
- Add a tender when you find it. Enter the work, client, their tender number, where you found it, the last day to submit and your bid manager.
- Press Bid, or No Bid with the reason. Price the bid on the Items tab, or Import Items from the client's Excel or CSV.
- Split the bid by cost code on the Split tab and check the margin. Tick each document Ready and attach its file.
- Send for Approval. A Construction Manager approves the bid or sends it back with a reason; the items, value and split are then fixed.
- Mark it Submitted. When bids are opened, add the other bidders and their bids; your rank, L1 or L2, is worked out.
- Mark it Won, with the agreed value, or Lost, with the reason. On a won tender, Make Project makes the project, its draft BOQ and draft budget.
Everything it does
The tender
- Number CTEN/year/ and five digits; the work, client, Their Tender No., priority
- Found Through: Government Portal, Private Invitation, Newspaper / Notice, Consultant / Architect, Other, with a link
- City, country, project type, kind of work, the client's estimate
- Bid manager and estimator
- Published, pre-bid meeting, Last Day to Submit, bids opened, we submitted on
- Bid valid for a number of days, with the Bid Valid Until date worked out
- 'Due in N days', 'Due today' or 'Deadline passed' while the tender is open
Fee, EMD and documents
- Document fee and Fee Paid
- EMD / bid security: amount, form (Bank Guarantee, Demand Draft, Paid Online, Exempt, Other), reference, given on, returned on, forfeited
- EMD status: Not Needed, To Give, Given, Returned or Forfeited, with the filter EMD to Get Back
- Documents to submit: name, Ready, file and note
- Submitted with documents not ready: the chatter lists them
Pricing the bid
- Items: sections, notes and items with item no., description, unit, quantity, our rate and cost code
- Our Bid is the items' total; with no items, type it
- Import Items: Excel or CSV, to replace the items (default) or add to them; units not found stay in the description
- Split: from a template or typed; each share's amount and what your items hold for that cost code; the margin left
- Items, bid value and split change only while Found or Preparing Bid; the split again once won, until the project is made
Status and result
- Found, Preparing Bid, Bid for Approval, Approved to Submit, Submitted, Won, Lost, No Bid, Cancelled
- No Bid and Lost need the reason written first
- Cancelled by Client at any time before the result
- Bidders: name, contact, bid, Us; L1 is the lowest bid, equal bids share a rank
- Agreed Value starts as your bid; change it after negotiation
- Managers can reopen a tender that made no project yet
The project from a won tender
- Needs the client; made by a Construction Manager
- One project with the client, type, kind of work, the agreed value and the city
- Or a contract with a project for each block, each with its share
- The bid manager and estimator join the project's team
- A draft BOQ Main from the items, and a draft budget from the split, already applied
Views and reports
- List, a board by status, a calendar of deadlines and a pivot of bid value by status and bid manager
- Filters: My Tenders, Open, Due in 7 Days, Won, Lost, EMD to Get Back
- Group by status, client, bid manager, where found and deadline month
Who uses it
Construction SalesAdds tenders, prices and splits bids, keeps documents, EMD and bidders, and records the result. Sees their own tenders and unassigned ones.
EstimatorPrices the items and imports the client's schedule of quantities.
Construction ManagerSees every tender, approves or sends back bids, reopens tenders and makes the project from a win.
Where you use it
- Web: Construction > Sales > Tenders
- Web: Construction > Sales > Configuration > Tender Settings (managers)
- The SmartMy Construction app: Sales > Tenders, with Open, Due in 7 days, Closed, Mine and Find. You can add a new tender and see its steps, documents with a photo, bidders and our bid, EMD given and returned. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not on the phone: items and the split are priced on the web, and a tender won on the phone makes one project
- Not built: reading tenders from e-procurement portals, or submitting bids to them
What you control
Settings
- Remind before the deadline: 3 days to start with; 0 sends no reminder
- Usual bid validity: 90 days
- Usual split of the bid: none to start with
- The Tender Bid approval chain (Construction managers to start with)
Approvals
- Tender Bid: Construction managers approve to start with; add levels such as a director. As with every chain, whoever sent the bid may decide it at a level they approve
Notifications
- Tender Deadline Near: to the bid manager, by phone notification, in the app and by email. It is checked every hour and sent once per last day, again if that day changes
- The reminder is sent at once; a person can switch off email or the phone notification for themselves, and the in-app notice always arrives
- Approvers get each bid in Approvals and as a to-do
Questions
Can sales staff see each other's tenders?
Construction Sales see tenders where they are the bid manager or estimator, the ones they created, and unassigned ones. Construction Managers see all.Can the price change after the bid is approved?
No. Once sent for approval the items, bid value and split are fixed. A manager can send it back, and it returns to Preparing Bid.Do we get reminded about EMD to collect?
There is no message for it. The EMD column and the filter EMD to Get Back list every tender whose EMD is given and not yet returned.Can we load the client's BOQ from Excel?
Yes. Import Items reads an Excel or CSV schedule of quantities, with sections, notes and units, while the bid is being prepared.What does a won tender make?
One project, or a contract with a project for each block. Each gets a draft BOQ from your items and a draft building budget from your split.Related features
MONEYBudget split by cost code, with split templates and the margin leftShare the contract or bid value out over cost codes by per cent, such as materials 50 % and labour 20 %. Start from a split template, change the shares for this job, and see the margin that is left. Apply Split turns the shares into the budget lines.MONEYContracts over several projects, with the overall layerA job too big for one site, such as 1,000 apartments in ten blocks, runs as one project per block under one contract. The contract adds up the blocks: value, per cent done, budget, spent and billed, with a project for the shared works.ESTIMATINGBOQ with versionsKeep each project's bill of quantities in the system, item by item, priced and tied to places and cost codes. Import it from the client's Excel, make it final, and when the scope changes start a new version: the old one is kept as Replaced. Site progress, the budget, work orders and client bills all work from the same items.ESTIMATINGRate analysis and the cost libraryBuild each BOQ rate from its material, labour, plant and subcontract cost, plus overhead and profit, using basic rates kept in one cost library. When cement or labour rates change, update the analyses and take the new rates into a draft BOQ.MONEYVariations, retention back and bank guaranteesPrice extra or changed work as a variation and send it to the client with its PDF. The client agrees on the portal, by signature or in writing. Then its items become contract items to bill. Ask for the client's retention back in one step, and keep every bank guarantee with a reminder before it expires.ACROSS SMARTMY CONSTRUCTIONApproval chainsBudgets, material requests, wage runs, work orders, subcontractor and client bills, client updates, piece work, permits and more need approval. They go to the right people in order, set up without code. Every decision is kept with who made it, when and why.
See your next site report on it.
Tell us what you build, how many sites you run and how your client hears about progress today. We will set up a project with you and send your first daily update.