The Best Construction Bidding Software

Get the best software for your business. Compare product reviews, pricing below.

Talk with a software advisor
Talk with an advisor
Get a free consultation from an independent expert.
Or, call toll-free: (800) 827-1151
Talk with a software advisor
Talk with an advisor

Popular Products

No products found
CoConstruct Screenshot

CoConstruct

★★★★★
★★★★★
(2)
CoConstruct is a cloud-based construction management software designed with the needs of builders in mind as well as their clients and trade partners. CoConstruct works to help eliminate the chaos in your day while creating rewarding building experiences for you and your clients. Selections; Scheduling; Client Communications; To-do Management; Budgeting; Estimating; Change Orders; Bidding; Proposals; Timesheets; Job Log; Trade Partner Communication; Sharing Files & Photos; Warranty & Punchlist;
Price Range
   $     $     $     $     $   
   $     $     $     $     $   
Starting Price
$99/month
Client OS
iOS, Android, Web
Deployment
Cloud Hosted
Buildertrend Screenshot

Buildertrend

★★★★★
★★★★★
(7)
Buildertrend is cutting-edge, cloud-based project management software. With more than 1 million users across the globe, they empower the construction industry with a better way to build.
Price Range
   $     $     $     $     $   
   $     $     $     $     $   
Starting Price
$399/month
Client OS
iOS, Android, Web
Deployment
Cloud Hosted
BidScreen XL Screenshot

BidScreen XL

BidScreen XL is an Excel add-in app that measures and color codes areas, lengths and counts directly in MS Excel from plan files. The measurement and color coded drawings are saved with the Excel cell. Excel formulas are then applied to the measurement cell to arrive at calculated quantities and estimated costs. BidScreen XL works with any Excel workbook and a collection of customizable takeoff and estimating spreadsheets are included. BidScreen XL also works with many files types including PDF,
Price Range
   $     $     $     $     $   
   $     $     $     $     $   
Starting Price
$400/year
Client OS
Windows
Deployment
On-Premises
CMiC xProjects Screenshot

CMiC xProjects

The control center of the CMiC system, CMiC Project Controls provides all of the essential tools a company needs to run their construction organization efficiently. Covering the entire financial lifecycle of the project, CMiC Project Controls arms executives with real-time information to execute better business decisions. CMiC Projects includes: CMiC Cost, Revenue and Budget Management; CMiC Bid and Procurement Management; CMiC Change Management; CMiC Forecasting; and CMiC Vendor Relationship
Client OS
Windows, macOS, Linux, Web
Deployment
Cloud Hosted
BidGenius Screenshot

BidGenius

BidGenius is a smart Bid Solicitation and Bid Management software specially designed to centralize and simplify the distribution of Bid Invitation and Bid Management for General Contractors. It is designed by estimators to increase your Bid Accuracy, Speed and Thoroughness. This General Contractor Software is a complete solution from Bid Invitation to preparation of the Final Bid Estimate. BidGenius is a simple yet powerful, one of a kind software that can be an asset to General Contractor
Client OS
Windows
HeavyBid Screenshot

HeavyBid

★★★★★
★★★★★
(3)
HeavyBid by HCSS is an estimating and bidding software for crew-based infrastructure construction. The solution has been used for estimates in earthwork, underground, highway, pipeline, mining, plants, and other heavy construction. HeavyBid will rapidly develop estimates, take and analyze quotes, manage bid-day, submit unit price and lump sum bids, and interface with scheduling and accounting software. @wistia Import DOT data from state websites; Build an entire estimate; Populate quote folders
Client OS
Windows, macOS, iOS
Deployment
Cloud Hosted
Quick Bid Screenshot

Quick Bid

★★★★★
★★★★★
(1)
Quick Bid is the fastest way to estimate a bid from start to finish on a PC. Users easily build any conceivable condition consisting of any combination of materials and labor, even across multiple bid sections. Quick Bid provides a visual snapshot of all material, labor and other costs that make up each bid section. Adjust and change markups at the click of a mouse and Quick Bid will instantly recalculate the entire bid! Unique labor adjustment windows allow users to view any part of a condition
Deployment
On-Premises
WinBID and Remote Takeoff Screenshot

WinBID and Remote Takeoff

★★★★★
★★★★★
(4)
WinBID and Remote Takeoff by Plexxiswork together as one system that is the single best estimating software for wall and ceiling contractors. They unite all the features you expect any great system to have on a modern, team based platform that outperforms all others. The complete dynamic items database and dynamic processes and templates design enables estimators to configure WinBID to fit any personal preference or condition. For both commercial and residential construction estimating, this
Client OS
Windows
Stratusvue System Screenshot
The StratusVue System is comprised of three integrated, cloud-based software solutions: BidVue Invitation to Bid / RFP Management ; PlansandSpecs Project and Document Management ; and BIMfx BIM-Enabled Data Closeout and Turnover . BidVue offers fast, efficient management of a project’s bidding or proposal process.; Project managers and estimators can create an electronic bid book, manage vendor qualifications, and distribute multiple bid packages through a central hub that keeps all parties
Client OS
Web
Deployment
Cloud Hosted
BidOrganizer Screenshot

BidOrganizer

On April 28, 2016, Oracle announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Textura, a leading provider of construction contracts and payment management cloud services. As such, BidOrganizer is no longer sold or supported. Oracle recommends Oracle Textura Payment Management as a replacement. Source: Oracle.com What if there was a product that could automatically track and organize all bids into one location that could be easily accessed wherever, whenever? BidOrganizer does
Client OS
Web
Deployment
Cloud Hosted
Procore Screenshot

Procore

★★★★★
★★★★★
(4)
Procore is your complete online construction management software. Procore provides cloud-based project management applications to help construction professionals build quality projects on time and within budget. Procore is designed to combine standard construction software functionality (i.e. construction project scheduling and job logging) with the power of the Internet; providing you with automated e-mails, web-based document sharing, and digital photo archiving. @youtube Procore’s
Price Range
   $     $     $     $     $   
   $     $     $     $     $   
Starting Price
$375/month
Client OS
Web
Deployment
Cloud Hosted
SimpleHVAC Screenshot

SimpleHVAC

SimpleHVAC is a commercial HVAC estimating software designed specifically for sheet metal contractors. The software helps track projects, input duct work and other materials, adjust options and pricing, and generate bids. Projects can be easily tracked and you can get a top down view of every estimate in a quick fashion. SimpleHVAC was created by a commercial HVAC contractor who felt most options on the market were too complicated and expensive for the basic HVAC contractor. Through many trials
Price Range
   $     $     $     $     $   
   $     $     $     $     $   
Starting Price
$347 (perpetual license)
Deployment
On-Premises
Digisoft DS Screenshot

Digisoft DS

★★★★★
★★★★★
(2)
Maintaining DCAA compliance can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be when you have an integrated system that can help keep your company compliant at all times. Whether you are a seasoned government contractor looking to streamline your operations/accounting, or a new contractor looking for best practices, DS” powered by Digisoft Solutions” can help your company achieve and maintain compliance throughout the life of your government contracts. DCAA Compliance; Timekeeping + Time Off;
Price Range
   $     $     $     $     $   
   $     $     $     $     $   
Starting Price
$25/user/month
Client OS
Web
Deployment
Cloud or On-Premises
Bid Retriever Screenshot
Bid Retriever automatically retrieves and organizes projects and their supporting documents so you can manage your bids all in one easy-to-use system. Save time, eliminate manual processes and prevent rework by connecting, organizing and managing project bids so your team can work more collaboratively and stay ahead of deadlines. Automatically retrieves and aggregates project details from multiple sources so contractors can easily submit and manage bids. Generate Your Bid Board; Automatic
Price Range
   $     $     $     $     $   
   $     $     $     $     $   
Starting Price
$1,599/user/year
Client OS
Web
Deployment
Cloud Hosted
Estimating Link Screenshot

Estimating Link

★★★★★
★★★★★
(1)
Estimating Link software is designed specifically for heavy civil construction estimating and bidding. This easy-to-use program helps you centralize your data, increase your speed and accuracy, and increase profit margins.
Price Range
   $     $     $     $     $   
   $     $     $     $     $   
Starting Price
$166/month
Client OS
Windows, Web
Deployment
Cloud or On-Premises
InEight Screenshot

InEight

★★★★★
★★★★★
(1)
InEight provides field-tested project management software for the owners, contractors, engineers and architects who are building the world around us. Over 575,000 users and more than 850 customers worldwide rely on InEight for real-time insights that help manage risk and keep projects on schedule and under budget across the entire life cycle. From pre-planning to design, from estimating to scheduling, and from field execution to turnover, InEight has powered more than $400 billion in projects
Client OS
Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web
PlanHub Screenshot

PlanHub

★★★★★
★★★★★
(5)
PlanHub is a centralized project planning and quoting system designed specifically for General Contractors and Subcontractors. Offering benefits such as unlimited project posting, bid invites, team members, and more, PlanHub works to ensure that General Contractors have a customizable online plan room to organize subcontractor team members and post jobs available for bidding. PlanHub also offers demo requests for your convenience so you can experience how PlanHub can help your business before
Price Range
   $     $     $     $     $   
   $     $     $     $     $   
Starting Price
$59/month
Client OS
Web
Deployment
Cloud Hosted

We searched and searched, but we couldn’t find any products in our database that match your criteria. Perhaps our team of software experts can help? They’d be happy to provide a list of free the best construction bidding software recommendations that meet your exact requirements.

Sort by 
Filter by User Rating
Filter by Price Range
Filter by Deployment
Filter by Client OS
LinkedIn
Buyer’s Guide

What is Construction Bidding Software?

Construction bidding software manages bid project data, documents and subcontractor communications during preconstruction. Sometimes found as a part of a larger construction management software, construction bidding features are accomplished by commonly included functionality modules such as contact management, project calendars, proposal request management, prequalifications, RFI creation tools, and more.

Features of Construction Bidding Software

The advantage of today’s bid management solutions is that they leverage a single, comprehensive system to provide all of the following functionality:

  • Bid sourcing and submission review
  • Advanced analytics
  • Project management
  • Contact management

Companies seeking even further functional integration have the option of selecting a construction ERP package, with bid management provided as a component of the full construction management solution.

Bid Sourcing and Review

Tools designed to help identify bid candidates and accurately assess the quality of proposals represent cornerstone bid management system functionalities.

  • Bid target discovery tools: Bid management systems offer both internal and external tools for identifying suitable bid targets. Search tools help general contractors leverage their own database of subcontractors to find bid submission candidates. Additionally, some software systems offer access to networks of subcontractors, providing an additional means of discovering bid invitees.
  • Bid submission interface: Traditionally, soliciting bids has meant a considerable amount of leg work transferring subcontractor proposals into a consolidated repository for tracking and comparison. Many online bid management solutions now offer submission portals. Utilizing a common submission interface eliminates the step of collating responses into a common format.
  • Bid response filtering: Filtering tools offer the ability to surface only the bids which match definable criteria. This capability helps limit the time spent reviewing bid submissions that don’t meet the qualification requirements (such as union-status or insurance coverage).
  • Vendor comparison matrix: Comparing a large set of responses can be difficult. Visual presentations of bid response data that provide a top-level comparison of proposal attributes can make the comparison process easier and more effective.
  • Automated project cost roll-ups: Automated project cost roll-up calculation offers the ability to easily determine total potential vendor costs across a variety of vendor selection what-if scenarios and subcontractor combinations.

Analytics

What makes for a successful bid process? To answer the question, general contractors are increasingly looking to the analytics tools available in bid management software. Business intelligence capabilities help turn the massive amount of data captured throughout the bid management process into tactical information.

  • Bid portfolio tracking: Visibility into the portfolio of upcoming bids is a necessity for accurate business planning. Understanding response rates and other key status indicators across the range of bids-in-process provides the data to more accurately allocate resources and plan cash-flow.
  • Automatic reporting: Recreating reports can be tedious. The ability to save report templates allows a more efficient means for staying on top of key bid tracking data.
  • Bid outreach tracking: There is a direct correlation between the number of bid recipients and the ability to source more aggressive pricing and more qualified subcontractors. Simply put, the more options you have, the more likely you are to find what you are looking for. Measuring bid invitation outreach efforts provides an opportunity to understand what is working and what isn’t, when it comes to soliciting bids.
  • Visual dashboards: Visual information is often easier to digest. Graphical presentations of bid management data can help executives stay up to speed on bid activity.
  • Flexible report exports: While bid management systems attempt to create a comprehensive, all-in-one experience, there can be occasions where it is necessary to export data for further reporting. Most bid management products offer the ability to export reports in a variety of different formats, such as .PDF, .XLS, and .CSV.

Contact Management

A large part of the complexity involved in bid management arises from communicating with so many different parties. In order to minimize this complexity, bid management tools provide an integrated interface for managing bid-related communication.

  • Email management: Most bid management suites integrate an email client. The advantage of integrated email clients is better support for tasks like sharing email templates, associating messages with projects, and providing unified message access to multiple bid managers. Integration with Microsoft Exchange and other mail server systems is common.
  • Web publishing: Publishing bid solicitations online offers a means of connecting with an expanded audience of subcontractors. Some systems offer an entirely branded and turnkey web presence to contractors interested in publishing bid opportunities. Other software options allow general contractors to add their bid solicitations to networks dedicated to bringing together GC’s and subs.
  • Contact information tracking: One of the core benefits of a bid management system is the ability to build a searchable database of subcontractors. Customizable contact database fields help bid management professionals store any data they’d like about subcontractors and other contacts in a queryable manner.
  • Contact import tools: Importing contact information from Outlook, Excel, and other sources offers an opportunity for data-entry time-savings.

Project Management

While you may not conceive of bid management software as a classic “project management” application, it incorporates many features from the PM playbook. Critical project management oriented features include:

  • Project oriented organization: Bid management solutions are organized by projects. While each project will be subdivided into biddable tasks, a hierarchical organization structure with the project at the top level allows for the definition and application of global settings (such as identifying a project scope statement, targeted completion date, or point of contact).
  • Job/activity/task definition: Activity, job, or task definitions are utilized to define each biddable unit of the project. Bid level definitions allow for the presentation of specialized information that is relevant for each job (for instance, pitch and square footage for a roofing job).
  • Status tracking: Effectively managing the bid process requires monitoring the completion of various tasks. Status tracking can be utilized to keep an eye on project set-up, communication, and contract award conditions.
  • Document management: Sourcing subcontractors necessitates sharing files. Document management capabilities offer storage and version control capabilities for project plans, licensing paperwork, and other related documentation.
  • Access control: The ability to restrict access to schedules, definitions, and documents lets bid managers share data with varied audiences, while maintaining granular control over who sees what.

Bid Management in the Successful Construction Firm

General contractors navigate a complex set of business challenges–not the least of which is the bid management process.

Complex though it may be, taming the bid process is critical. Effective bid management means not only capturing more project work, but sourcing the right subcontractors to profitably complete projects.

Why Bid Invitation Management Software Is Popular?

Bid invitation management solutions are proving especially popular because they help deliver 4 specific positive outcomes:

  1. Lower subcontractor pricing. Improved notification processes yield more bid submissions, which increases the likelihood of receiving more aggressive vendor pricing.
  2. Better subcontractors. The lowest priced subcontractor is not always the best option. Sourcing more choices also helps general contractors select the most qualified subcontractors.
  3. Reduced operating costs. Integrated bid management systems are easier to use and require less administrative overhead.
  4. Improved strategic decision-making. Integrated bid management software solutions provide an opportunity to gather business intelligence data that can be used to make better strategic decisions.

Considerations for Choosing Bid Management Software

The features included within each bid management program will vary–as will user interface presentations. But beyond these functional differences, there are a few other key contrasts between the available software options that bear consideration: security, platform, and integration.

  • Security: Access control should represent a primary point of concern for bid management software evaluators. With multiple internal and external audiences (executives, bid managers, project managers, and subcontractors), it’s important to be able to customizably define user access control. An auditable log of program interaction will provide a forensic reporting option if the ethics involved in bid selection come into question. Buyers interested in web-based options will want to further qualify security considerations such as data encryption standards and physical data center protection. (The Cloud Security Alliance does a great job of discussing cloud security standards and is worth checking out if you are actively engaged in considering web-based software.)
  • Platform: Buyers will find bid management systems available in both traditionally licensed client-server and software-as-a-service (SaaS) deployments. The benefits associated with a number of commonly provided features–web publishing of solicitation requests and access to subcontractor networks–has lead to a larger adoption rate of web-based systems.
  • Integration: While bid management solutions consolidate much of the actual bid invitation and review process, there are some important potential functional integration points to consider, including: estimating, proposal management, and forecasting applications. When evaluating integration capabilities, the presence of an API indicates a solution whose developer has already paid attention to how data can be brought into and out of their software. Another option for bid management buyers looking to support functional integration is to source the software as a component of a larger, entirely integrated construction management or construction ERP solution. (General contractors considering looking to consider a wider range of functionality than just bid management, can check out our construction management software guide here.)