How do I protect my electrical bid from material price increases?
Limit how long your price is good for, date every supplier quote you carry, and write escalation language into your proposal for the volatile items: wire and cable, switchgear and anything with a long lead time. Then read the GC's subcontract before you sign, because it may take that protection away.
A short validity period: state how many days your price holds, and that it's subject to reconfirmation after that.
Dated quotes: carry each supplier quote with its date and expiry, so you know which prices are stale.
Escalation language: say that wire, cable and gear are priced as of a date, and that changes beyond a stated threshold will be adjusted, with the supplier's quote as proof.
Separate prices for volatile items: price the gear or the wire as its own line, so an adjustment doesn't reopen the whole bid.
Early release: offer to buy long-lead and volatile material at award, if the GC will pay for stored material.
Lead times: state the lead times your price assumes, so a late release doesn't become your cost.
Read the subcontract before you sign
A subcontract can say the price is firm for the whole job, whatever your proposal said. Compare the two, and raise any conflict before you sign. This page is general information, not legal advice: for a large or long job, have the escalation wording and the subcontract reviewed.
Questions estimators ask
Will a GC accept an escalation clause?
Some will, especially on long jobs and for volatile items like wire and gear; others won't. A clause tied to the supplier's documented price change is easier to accept than an open-ended one.
How long should my bid price be valid?
Long enough for the owner to award the job, and no longer than your suppliers' quotes hold. Match it to the quote dates you carried, and say what happens after it lapses.
How does Bidprobe help?
The review reads the front-end documents with the rest of the package and flags risky contract terms, each tied to the page it came from, so you see them before you price.
See the risky terms before you price.
One free bid check on every new account, no card required. Most checks come back in 5 to 15 minutes.