How-to
How to read a bid package — an estimator's guide
A bid package is a stack of documents that don't always agree with each other, assembled by people who weren't thinking about your margin. Reading one well is less about speed than about order — knowing what each part is for and where the gaps tend to live.
The anatomy
Most packages, public or private, are some version of this:
- Invitation / advertisement — what the job is, who's letting it, the bid date.
- Instructions to Bidders — how to bid: format, bonds, deadlines, qualifications.
- General & Supplementary Conditions — the legal and commercial terms; the supplements are where the project-specific obligations hide.
- Technical specifications — by CSI division, the detailed requirements for each scope.
- Drawings — the graphic scope; read against the specs, which usually govern.
- Addenda — changes issued after the package; they override what they amend.
A reading order that catches more
Read the addenda first — they change the rest. Then the supplementary conditions, where bonding, insurance, wage, and liquidated-damages terms live. Then the specs against the drawings, division by division. Reading in this order means you're checking each detail against the terms that govern it, instead of finding out at the end that an addendum moved the goalposts.
Where the gaps and silences live
The boundaries are where the trouble is: between drawings and specs (which one governs?), between divisions (who owns the item that touches two?), and between what the documents say and what the project requires but never states. A liquidated-damages clause that runs $2,500 a day is loud. The wage determination that's referenced but not attached is quiet — and it's the quiet ones that get you.
Reading it in minutes
On a big multi-volume set this is hours of careful work, and the careful part is the first thing a deadline takes. BidScan reads the package — addenda, conditions, specs — and returns the obligations, cost drivers, self-perform scope, and the unanswered questions, each cited to its source line. The estimator still owns the judgment; the tool makes sure the whole set is accounted for: read, or named as unread. Your first scan is free.
Common questions
What's in a construction bid package?
Typically the invitation, instructions to bidders, general and supplementary conditions, technical specifications by CSI division, drawings, and any addenda. The supplementary conditions and addenda are where project-specific obligations most often hide.
What order should I read a bid package in?
Addenda first (they change everything else), then supplementary conditions, then specifications read against the drawings, division by division. This checks each detail against the terms that govern it.
Do drawings or specifications govern when they conflict?
The contract documents usually state an order of precedence, and specifications commonly govern over drawings — but always confirm it in the instructions or conditions for that specific package, because it varies.
Keep reading
Read your next bid with BidScan
BidScan reads your package and cites every finding — the gaps, the obligations, and the silences. Your first scan is free, and there is nothing monthly to start.