How do general contractors compare electrical bids?
They level them. The GC's estimator lines the electrical proposals up against the same scope, prices back in anything a bidder excluded, and compares the adjusted totals. So the lowest number on paper doesn't always win: a clear scope, every alternate and unit price filled in, and the addenda listed make your number easy to trust.
Addenda acknowledged, every alternate and unit price filled in, bid security if the form asks for it. Incomplete proposals are often set aside first.
2
Lines up the scope
They list what each bidder includes and excludes, system by system, against the drawings and specs.
3
Plugs the holes
For anything one bidder excluded and the others carried, they add a number, often a high one, to that bidder's price.
4
Compares the adjusted totals
The lowest leveled number, not the lowest proposal, is usually the one they carry in their own bid.
5
Calls the close ones
Before award, they ask the low bidders to confirm scope and price. That call is your chance to clear up an exclusion.
How to make your proposal level well
List every addendum by number.
Describe the scope by system, so it maps onto the GC's leveling sheet.
Keep exclusions specific: a vague exclusion gets plugged with a big number.
Fill in every alternate and unit price the form asks for.
Put what your price assumes in written clarifications, not in a phone call later.
Questions estimators ask
What is bid leveling?
Adjusting subcontractor bids so they cover the same scope, then comparing them. Exclusions get priced back in and missing items get flagged, so the GC compares like with like.
Will an exclusion make me lose the job?
Not by itself. A specific exclusion the GC can price is better than a vague one, which tends to get plugged with a high number. What loses jobs is scope the GC can't figure out.
How does Bidprobe help?
Before you submit, the review lists the scope gaps and the recommended qualifications and exclusions, each tied to the sheet or spec section it came from, so the scope you state matches what the documents actually ask for.
Submit a scope the GC can level.
One free bid check on every new account, no card required. Most checks come back in 5 to 15 minutes.