How to Create a Bid Package – Truebuilt

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

Basic Information

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 (GROSS or STRAIGHT)

Types of Bid Packages

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.

Requirements and Constraints

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

Copy Selections

Copy Selections allow you to selectively reuse content from existing bid packages when creating a new one. This helps speed up setup and maintain consistency.

Common Use Cases

Creating variations of existing bid packages

Starting new packages based on previous work

Maintaining consistency across similar bids

Copy Selection Structure

Copy selections are organized into three groups:

Base Bid – Core bid content

Alternates – Optional pricing alternatives

Change Orders – Scope modifications

Copyable Content Types

Within each group, you can selectively copy:

Components – Structural elements and assemblies

Items – Individual line items

Takeoff – Quantity measurements and dimensions

Annotations – Notes, markups, and documentation

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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