Why the decision matters
Every bid costs estimator hours. An estimator who bids everything checks nothing. A short list of good bids beats a long list of rushed ones.
Questions to answer first
- Is the scope work you do every month, or work you do once a year.
- Is the job in your normal travel area.
- Can your crews do the work in the schedule shown.
- Do you know the GC, and has that GC awarded you work before.
- How many other subs are bidding your trade.
- Do the bonds, insurance and wage rules fit your company.
- Are the documents complete enough to price.
- Is there time to do the takeoff well before the bid date.
Read the cover facts before the drawings
The first pages of the Project Manual answer half of these questions. Look for the bid date, the completion date, the bond requirements and the wage requirements. Ten minutes there can save a day of takeoff on a job you should not bid.
Keep score
Track each bid: the GC, the job type, the result and the reason if you learn it. After a year the pattern is plain. You see which GCs award you work and which only use your number as a check.
How to say no
Tell the GC as soon as you decide. A short email is enough. GCs count on coverage in each trade, and a late no hurts them. An early no keeps you on the list for the next job.
Takeoff Tool reads the cover facts from the packet and shows the quote each one came from. That gives you the bid date, bonds and wage status before you start counting.
Bidding and estimating · Updated 11 Nov 2026