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While construction is arguably one of the most tangible industries, many big pieces that drive a project’s success aren’t items people can put their hands on. Instead, they need to wrap their heads around specific aspects to make informed decisions well before groundbreaking.

Every project owner needs to choose a general contractor (GC) to manage the project, for example. To select the right partner, owners solicit bids, then evaluate them. The most important moment in this bidding process comes when it’s time to choose a bidder and award them the contract. 

How do decision-makers do this in a fair and transparent way while also focusing on the best bidder for their requirements and preferences? Bid tabulation helps. 

Building a Bid Tabulation Sheet

Bid tabulations compile the key details of all the submitted bids onto a table. This way, the project owner’s team can neatly review and compare bids. 

Any good bid tabulation template will list each contractor on their own row, with columns for all of the criteria required on the project. The columns in the bid tab sheet need to match the requirements in the invitation to bid (ITB) that the owner sends out to solicit bids. 

The key columns to include in a bid tabulation template include the following.

Base Price and Possible Alternate Pricing

The base bid price is the most important column in the bid tab sheet. This is the total that the contractor submitted for the project. In other words, it’s the result of their construction estimating. 

In some cases, the base bid price might not be the only dollar-focused column. If the owner hasn’t yet pinned down the project, they may include two more columns: one for alternate pricing and one for the bid total with that alternate.

Say, for example, that an owner is considering adding a complex addition to the project and wants to get pricing information about that option. They can include that in their ITB as an alternate. The responding bidders would then submit their base bid price (for the project without the alternate) and their price for the alternate. By adding those two prices together in a third column, the owner can determine the total budget for the project should they decide to move forward with that alternate. 

ITB Requirements

A strong bid tabulation document doesn’t just capture pricing information. It also lays out any other specifications required in the ITB, including:

• GC acknowledgment of any addenda that went out after the ITB to supplement or change it
• Signatures on any required affidavits
• The necessary insurance and bonding
• Any safety certifications, records, etc
• Bills of quantities, if required
• Confirmation of union labor or other specified labor force

Essentially, if the ITB asked for any documentation to prove that the GC is up to the project, the owner’s team should add a column to capture that in their bid tabulation sheet. If the project requires a specific welding certification, for example, the bid tab document should include a column where the owner’s team can check yes or no. 

Ranking

Finally, the bid tabulation template should include a column in which the owner can rank the contractors. 

Let’s say the owners’ team can see that three contractors came in with comparable pricing, but only one of them submitted all of the required paperwork in response to the bid. They can mark “1” in the ranking column for that contractor. This indicates that GC is the owner’s top choice. 

A Bid Tabulation Template

What is a bid tabulation doing to make it easier for owners to choose the right general contractor? It compiles all of the details about the GC’s pricing and competency in one place in a structured and organized way. This helps to streamline the decision-making process. 

Bid tab documents should change from project to project based on the unique specifications of that build. That said, starting with a bid tabulation template generally makes it easier to organize the details received in various bids.

Here is a basic template owners’ teams can use, tailoring it by adding or deleting the columns they need to appropriately evaluate contractors. The columns the owner’s team adds or deletes should be a direct reflection of what they asked for in the ITB. 

Free Download

Bid Tab Template

Download this simple bid tab template and customize it for any project.

• Ready to use with custom data
• Reuse for multiple projects
• Trusted by construction professionals

Free Download (Google Sheets)

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Bid Tabulation on Public Projects

On a private project, the process for collecting and compiling bid information into a bid tabulation sheet usually happens behind closed doors. On a public project, though, the bid tab process is opened up to the bidders.

Generally, bids for public works are submitted in sealed envelopes. On the date on which the bids are due, everyone gathers in a room (in-person or virtually) as bids are unsealed and tabulated. The project owner’s team might use a whiteboard in the room or a shared screen in a virtual meeting to show their work as they go through each bid, mark down the base price, and check yes or no on any other requirements. 

In other words, on a public project, the bid tabulation document is shared with the public. That means contractors can see where they fell among their competitors on the bid tab sheet. 

Bid Tabulation vs. Bid Leveling

If all of this sounds a lot like bid leveling, it’s because it is. Both tabulation and leveling compile details about submitted bids in an effort to make them easier to compare. 

What is a bid tabulation sheet doing differently than a bid leveling document, then? The biggest differentiator lies in their users. Owners primarily use bid tabulation to evaluate bids from GCs, while GCs often use bid leveling to analyze bids from specialty contractors. Because the GC needs to ensure that the complete scope of work is covered for each specialty trade, detailed bid leveling is often a more complex process, resulting in a more extensive comparison spreadsheet. Bid tabulation, by comparison, is generally simpler. 

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Why Bid Tabulation Matters

Bid tabulation documents give owners a way to organize the information contractors submit in their bids so that they can choose the best partner for the project. These bid tabs deliver an efficient comparison tool to support informed decision-making.

Because bid tabulation ensures that contractors are all evaluated on the same criteria, it builds fairness into the process. It levels the playing field because the owner is considering facts and numbers when deciding who should be awarded the contract. As a result, it can help to limit the owner’s risk of disputes. 

To best yield these benefits, owners need to create their bid tabulation sheet in a way that precisely mirrors the requirements they sent out in their invitation to bid. Whether they use a bid tabulation template or start from scratch, their team should go through the ITB piece by piece, capturing requirements in the bid tab document.

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