How to create bid form templates (BC Pro)

With BC Pro, you have access to bid forms that can be customized to meet your project’s needs. They can include clarifications, disclaimers, and requests for lump sum breakdowns. You can also create templates for your bid forms, which can save you time by allowing you to standardize and import these templates into all your BuildingConnected projects. 

There are two types of bid forms. Learn about them in Project bid forms overview (BC Pro) and Scope-specific bid forms overview (BC Pro). 

In this article, you'll learn how to:  

• Create a project bid form template
• Create scope-specific bid form templates
   

To create a project bid form template

Click "Projects" using the menu on the left-hand side and navigate to the “Bid Form Templates” tab. 



Click on “+ New Bid Form Template.”



Enter a number, name, and description, and select a currency. After adding these details, click on “Create Template.”



You will be directed to the “Project Forms” tab. Click on “Edit.”



Edit your project bid form by adding items to each section. Adding items is similar to editing a project bid form. See How to edit project bid forms (BC Pro) for tips and to learn more. 

Note: The changes made to project bid form templates are not automatically applied to any existing projects that were created from this template.

Bid Form Templates have to be individually imported to a project in order for the form to be available to bidders. Learn more in How general contractors can import bid form templates (BC Pro).
 

To create scope-specific bid form templates

Once you’ve set up the project bid form, you can then set up customized scope-specific bid form templates. These templates can be added to bid packages for future projects.

In a bid form template, click the “Scope-Specific Bid Packages” tab. 



Click on “+ New Bid Package.”



Enter a number, bid package name, and keywords and click “Save.”

Based on your the bid package name you enter, suggestions will appear in the drop-down menu. Also if there are keywords to match, those will auto-populate based on the name. 

For example, in the screenshot below, when you enter Demo and select Demolition in the Bid Package Name drop down menu, the keyword Demolition filled in automatically. You can always remove keywords by clicking the "x" icon and add additional keywords as applicable. 



Click “Edit" and select from the drop-down menu: 

- Edit: Start from scratch to create your scope-specific bid form. 
- Use bid form template: Use an existing scope-specific bid form from another template or an existing project. A window will open where you can select the relevant template or project and the scope-specific bid form. 
- Import Assemble file: If you use Assemble, you can use an Assemble file to create your scope-specific bid form. Select the file from your computer. Learn more in How to import quantities from Assemble into Bid Forms (BC Pro).



Edit your project bid form by adding items to each section. Adding items is similar to editing a project bid form. See How to edit scope-specific bid forms (BC Pro) for tips and to learn more. 

Note: If you have existing projects or bid packages that use this bid form template, the changes made are not automatically applied to those projects or bid packages. 

Scope-specific bid form templates have to be individually imported into a bid package in order for the form to be visible to subcontractors. See How general contractors can import bid form templates (BC Pro).