Features/Bidding
Bidding
Every bidder prices the same set.
A bid is a price for a drawing set, so the worst thing that can happen is two bidders pricing two different sets. In LODE, bidding is a tab on the project. Addenda go through the same revision engine as every issuance, the bid room serves only the current set, and when the numbers come in you can show which set was out to price.
Bid management for architects comes down to one question: did every bidder price the same set? LODE serves each bid room from the compiled current set, publishes addenda as issuances, and flags a bid that priced a superseded one.
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Bidding is a tab on every LODE project, not a separate product. It works from the same drawing set, so nothing has to be exported to it.
How does LODE run bidding?
A cycle per bid package, each with its bidders, addenda, questions and tabulation in the same project. Bidders open a bid room from a link and see the current set and nothing else. Questions are answered once for the whole cycle. Base bids tabulate side by side, and the award becomes the contract sum in Financials.
Bid cycles and packages
Run a cycle per bid package and see all of them at once. Each cycle has its own bidders, addenda, questions and tabulation, in the same project.
Bidders and prequalification
A bidder list per cycle, with prequalification tracked next to it. Who was invited, who opened their bid room, who declined: it is written down, so nobody has to remember.
Addenda, through the revision engine
An addendum is an issuance like any other. Its sheets and spec sections supersede the old ones, and every bid room serves the new set from the moment it is published.
Questions and substitutions
Bid questions are logged, answered and can be imported in batches. Substitution requests get their own log with a decision on each. No answers buried in reply-all.
Tabulation and bid report
Base bids side by side as they open, and a bid report generated from the tabulation for the owner meeting.
Award
Record the award, GMP or lump sum, and the contract sum starts there. Financials picks it up without anyone retyping a number.
A bid that missed an addendum is flagged.
How does LODE handle addenda during bidding?
The usual bid-phase failure is silent. Addendum 02 goes out by email, two bidders never open it, and the spread in the numbers is really a spread in the documents. In LODE the addendum supersedes sheets and sections through the compiler, the bid room serves only the current set, and the room records when each bidder opened it. At tabulation you enter the addenda each bid form acknowledges, and the table flags any bid that priced a superseded set.
- Addenda entered off each bid form at tabulation, and a bid that missed one is flagged
- The bid room is a link, not an account. Bidders see the current set and nothing else
- Questions answered once, visible to every bidder in the cycle
- The recorded award becomes the contract sum in Financials
Who is LODE's bidding for?
Architects running a bid period and the bidders they invite. Bidders need no account. Prequalification is tracked beside the bidder list, and who opened their room, and when, is written down.
Frequently asked questions
How are addenda issued during bidding?
An addendum is an issuance like any other. Its sheets and spec sections supersede the old ones through the compiler, and every bid room serves the new set from the moment it is published.
How do I know a bidder priced the current set?
The bid room records when each bidder opened it. At tabulation you enter the addenda each bid form acknowledges, and the table flags any bid that priced a superseded set.
Do bidders need an account?
No. The bid room is a link. Bidders see the current set, the addenda and the answered questions, and nothing else in the project.
Can I run more than one bid package at once?
Yes. Run a cycle per package and see all of them together. Each has its own bidders, addenda, questions and tabulation.
What happens after the award?
Record the award as GMP or lump sum. The contract sum starts there and Financials picks it up without anyone retyping a number.
Go deeper
Learn
Addendum vs bulletin vs ASI
Three instruments, three moments: before the contract, a minor change at no cost, a change that needs a price. With the AIA forms and clauses for each.
Learn
What is a conformed set?
The bid set with every addendum folded in: what goes into it, who prepares it and when, and how it differs from the IFC and record sets.
Run your next bid on the current set.
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