How to Create a Bid Package
Bid packages are structured work packages used to organize takeoffs and estimates within a construction project. They act as containers for different bid type-such as base bids, alternates, and change orders-and are tied to revision sets.
Key Components
- Name: A unique identifier for the bid package
- Date: The bid package date (defaults to the current date)
- Revision Set: Required for regular bid packages and must be selected from existing revision sets
- Markup Method: Defines how markup is calculated (
GROSSorSTRAIGHT)
- Regular Bid Package
- Requires a revision set and can contain full takeoff and estimate data.
- Scratchpad Bid Package
- A temporary workspace that does not require a revision set. Useful when revision sets do not yet exist.
- Revision sets are mandatory for regular bid packages
- If no revision sets exist, only scratchpad packages can be created
- Bid package names must be unique
- At least one revision set must exist to create a regular bid package
Rules and Behaviors
Automatic Dependencies
- Selecting Items or Takeoff automatically selects Components
- This ensures data integrity, since items and measurements belong to components
Selective Copying
- Content can be mixed and matched across groups
- Example: copy only components and annotations from the base bid, but all data from alternates
Validation
- The system validates that the source bid package is valid
- Scratchpad packages cannot use copy selections and always start empty
Practical Use Cases
- Template Creation: Build a master bid package and reuse selected elements
- Bid Package Evolution: Create new packages from previous versions while excluding specific data
- Partial Reuse: Copy only components without measurements for different project phases
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