A Comprehensive Construction Bidding Software Features Checklist

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic drove the need for remote solutions, the use of construction bidding software has become nearly ubiquitous. The challenge? Not all construction bidding software is built the same. Some may act more like a glorified file share, while others provide a robust set of features that can add efficiencies to the bidding process. If you’re looking for construction bidding software to meet your agency’s needs, this article is a comprehensive checklist for all the features you should look for in the software you’re vetting.

We’ll forego mentioning online bid submission because that should hopefully be inherent to every software you’re examining. But make sure to check for the rest of these time-saving features, because the cost of switching software after an implementation is always high and may leave you stuck with construction bidding software that isn’t meeting your needs.

Here are the features you should look for when you’re trying to find the right fit:

Error and omission alerts

A simple error or forgotten form can be one of the most costly factors during the bidding process because it can lead to non-responsive bids. Before they started using construction bidding software, we know agencies that had to disqualify low bids that would have saved them over $100,000 on a project. Simple error and omission alerts that highlight forgotten fields in red, don’t allow the contractor to proceed without filling everything out, or make automatic calculations to prevent math errors are all key features to look for when comparing different construction bidding software.

Custom bid templates

Throughout the construction season, you likely have a number of bids that are so similar that they could be duplicated with just a few tweaks here and there. Good construction bidding software will allow you to do exactly that. We’ve spoken with people at agencies who have said their bid prep time has gone from hours to mere minutes. To quote one purchasing director, “Probably about 60% of the bids I’ve done, I’ve templated somehow. Ammunition, road slips, retaining walls, all of those I’ve templated. My bids take me 15 minutes max.” Be sure to ask about templates when you’re doing your bidding software research.

Solicitation scheduling

During the busiest time of bidding season, it can be stressful to manage multiple solicitations at a time. Features like auto-post and solicitation scheduling can be very helpful when you’re juggling multiple solicitations. That way, you can take care of scheduling the bid advertisement while you’re preparing the bid, even if you’re not quite ready to go live with it - and then move on to the next bid without needing to worry about coming back to post the first one.

Proposal scoring

An increasing number of organizations are exploring alternative contracting methods such as Design-Build that focus on accepting and evaluating proposals rather than defaulting to the low bid. Many construction bidding software solutions are only built to handle the unit-price low bidder methodology, but an increasing number are expanding their feature set to accommodate proposal acceptance and scoring. If your agency is starting to use alternative contracting methods alongside your typical bidding process, consider finding construction bidding software that can handle both and includes features for weighted scoring.

Instant and exportable bid tabs

One of the most time-consuming parts of bidding before the advent of e-bidding solutions was the process of putting together and reviewing bid tabs. That time-intensive process is eliminated with construction bidding software that spits out instant bid tabs as soon as the bid is opened and awarded. We spoke to an office administrator who said “The longest a bid tab has ever taken me is maybe two or three hours, compared to four or five before, and it’s never an issue of putting in the numbers. Inputting numbers is the quickest part of what I do now.”

A large user base

One of the ways that construction bidding software can drive down costs, aside from eliminating paper and reducing non-responsive bids, is by reaching a larger audience of potential bidders through a widespread digital bulletin. But to experience those savings, the software needs to boast a large number of contractor users. When you’re vetting different construction bidding software options, be sure to ask about the size of the user base, particularly in the state and nearby states where you’ll be posting solicitations. You don’t want to go through all the work of implementing a new software only to find no one is there to submit to your projects.

Reliable customer support

Bidding can be stressful for everybody involved. Agencies are anxious about their solicitation being set up correctly, while contractors stress about everything from their numbers to trusting that their bid got in on time. It can be helpful to know you have someone to rely on during the potentially nerve-wracking bidding season. The last thing you want to do is call support when you need an answer quickly and be put on an extensive hold. When you’re chatting with different software providers, be sure to ask about their average hold time and where their support team is located - whether it’s in-house with dedicated experience or outsourced to a company that handles a vast array of products can make a huge difference.

Want something that checks all of these boxes?

Good news - you don’t have to look far to find construction bidding software that ticks every box on this checklist. Infotech is the developer of Bid Express, a secure online bidding platform that’s home to 26,000+ vendors nationwide. Bid Express helps agencies streamline their bidding process with online bid submissions, automatic bid tabulations, digital plan sets, and more. See why 300+ agencies trust Bid Express for their online bidding and procurement needs.

If you have questions or would like to see a demo of this construction bidding software, don’t hesitate to contact us.