The Top 6 Benefits of Construction Bidding Software

Federal, state, and local agencies nationwide are using construction bidding software to post, accept, award, and analyze bids.

In a recent study of heavy civil engineers and contractors, researchers found that 69% of civil contractors use an online service to find opportunities and submit bids, with an additional 88% leveraging some kind of bid notification system. From increased bid security to improved bid accuracy, the group cited a number of benefits to construction bidding software. In this article, we’ll review some of the most helpful aspects of construction bidding software.

Go green with paperless bidding

Construction bidding software helps teams eliminate paper waste from their bidding process. In many platforms, all proposals, bonds, and other related documents will be exportable in an electronic format. This feature not only saves trees, but also reduces money spent on consumables (paper, toner, etc.). Construction bidding software also helps organizations reduce the carbon footprint produced by vendors driving to pick up and deliver various paper documents.

Reduce non-compliant bids due to errors and omissions

The costliest aspect of paper-based bidding isn’t the materials - it’s when an organization has to reject what would be the low bid due to an error or omission. Construction bidding software prevents this from happening in a simple way: it won’t allow bid submissions that are complete or riddled with errors. Depending on your platform, systems will typically prompt vendors to let them know what their bid is missing so they can make adjustments and get it in by the deadline. This feature also helps protect organizations from claims and disputes by keeping a thorough, time-stamped record of bid completion and submission.

Simplify bid submission for your vendors

From postage and courier costs to traffic and inclement weather, vendors face no shortage of hurdles when it comes to submitting a paper bid packet. In areas where extreme weather is common, bid submission can even be a dangerous task. Construction bidding software removes all the obstacles to bid submission by making it as easy as sending an email. Vendors can say goodbye to the frantic race to meet a deadline and instead spend that time ensuring their bid is competitive and complete.

Post addendums and address questions with ease

Posting addendums is a stressful process for many agencies. Every time an agency puts one out, there are concerns about whether the vendor community will see it, whether they’ll see it with enough time to adjust their bid, and whether they’ll understand the change. Email and phone calls can help, but it’s also helpful to have one hub for all bidding-related communications. With construction bidding software, addendums are often incorporated into the bid form requirements, so vendors will understand the changes needed as they prepare their bid. Additionally, most construction bidding software offers a Q&A feature for quick question resolution.

Streamline post-letting analysis and reporting

Bid tabulation can be one of the most painful portions of the bidding and procurement process, especially if you’re accepting bids on paper. For some agencies, it can take 4-5 just to run one bid tab. Construction bidding software collects, tabulates, and presents all bidding information in a comprehensive, exportable report to save agencies ample time in post-letting reporting and analysis.

Host safe and secure remote bid openings

Construction bidding software supports safe and secure remote bid openings in a number of ways. Bids are secured and signed from start to finish. When conducting a bid opening, there’s no need for physical bid security since the bids are already held in a digital lockbox. Once the bid opening time is reached, bids can be analyzed and automatically tabulated, and apparent bid results can be attained in minutes. There’s no need to check for errors or verify bid bonds since all of this was completed via error-checking features. In a post-COVID world, construction bidding software is essential to the process.

If you are looking for construction bidding software, you may be interested in Bid Express. Initially launched in 1999 as the first electronic bidding platform for highway construction, Bid Express has become a national standard for secure online bid submissions. To find out if Bid Express is the right fit for your organization, contact us or sign up for a demo at https://www.infotechinc.com/bid-express.