What is bid leveling software?
Bid leveling software compares subcontractor proposals line by line so a general contractor or owner can see which bid covers which scope and at what price. Folio's Bid Leveling builds bid packages from the scope of work, invites subcontractors through a portal, parses the proposals they submit with AI, lays them out in a leveling grid against the package scope, and flows the awarded pricing into the estimate.
THE OLD WAY
Five proposals, five formats, one spreadsheet.
Sub proposals arrive as PDFs, spreadsheets and emails. Someone retypes each one into a leveling sheet, guesses at what each exclusion means, and chases the subs who left out a line.
By the time the grid is complete, the bid is due. The award gets made on the sheet and then copied into the estimate by hand.
Folio puts the packages, the invites, the proposals and the grid in one place, and carries the award into the estimate.
WHAT FOLIO DOES
Packages, portal, parsing, grid, award.
Bid packages and sub invites
Group scope lines into bid packages by trade and invite subcontractors. Subs receive the package and submit through a portal.
Why it matters: Subs price the same scope, so their numbers can be compared.
AI parsing of proposals
Folio reads the proposals subcontractors submit and extracts the pricing and line items into the package structure.
Why it matters: No retyping. The grid fills from what the subs actually sent.
Leveling grid and award into the estimate
Proposals are laid out side by side against the package scope. Award a sub and their pricing flows into the estimate.
Why it matters: The award and the number stay in step, in one record.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Built for the people who do this work.
The Precon Manager
Builds the packages, manages the invites and runs the leveling grid to the award.
The Senior Estimator
Sees awarded pricing land in the estimate and reviews the number before it goes out.
The Developer or Owner's Representative
Levels general contractor and trade proposals against the scope to see what each number covers.
of GC capacity spent on bids they will not win
FMI Research
lost annually to poor preconstruction productivity
FMI 2023
lower productivity growth in construction than other industries since 1964
McKinsey Global Institute
FAQ
Common questions
Level the bids. Keep the award in the estimate.
Bring a set of sub proposals. We will show you the grid Folio builds from them.
Or email us at connect@joinfolio.ai