How general contractors can submit bids on behalf of subcontractors

BuildingConnected allows you to submit bids on behalf of subcontractors. This feature allows you to keep all proposals in a single place and is especially helpful in cases where an invited subcontractor submits their proposal outside of BuildingConnected.

Adding a proposal on behalf of a subcontractor does not send them an email notification. 

There are two workflows where you can submit a bid on behalf of a subcontractor: 

1. From the Bidders tab
2. From the Bid Leveling tab

To add a bid on behalf of a subcontractor from the Bidders tab

To start, click on the project that the subcontractor was invited to.



Select the appropriate bid package.



Look for the subcontractor whose bid you’re submitting. You can use our “Jump to…” feature to quickly find the appropriate company. Learn more at What is the “jump to” feature and when should I use it? 

Once you find the subcontractor, look for the “No proposal submitted” section. Click “Create proposal”.



Next, enter the necessary information and upload any attachments. When you drag and drop or upload an attachment, you can preview the attachment on the right hand side to easily fill in the bid form side-by-side with the subcontractor's proposal.

Click on “Review & Submit.”



Review the information. Click "Back to edit" if corrections need to be made or click on “Submit."



You will immediately see the updates on the “Bidders” tab. The subcontractor’s status will change to “Submitted” and you will see the proposal amount listed in the panel on the right.

The subcontractor did not receive an email invite and was not notified that you submitted a bid on their behalf. However, if the subcontractor logs into their own account and accesses this project, they will be able to see the information you submitted for them. 

To add a bid on behalf of a subcontractor from the Bid Leveling tab

Start by going to the “Bid Leveling” tab for the appropriate bid package. Your experience may vary depending on the status of your bidder list. Here are the 3 scenarios: 

• If other bidders have already submitted, click on the “Add Proposal” button on the top right of the screen.
  
  
  
• If no bidders have submitted yet, you'll see a list of your invited bidders. Click "Add" next to the bidder whose proposal you are adding. You can also add a bid for a bidder that was notified outside of BuildingConnected and you've received their bid, click "Add an unsolicited bid". 
  
  
• If you have not invited any bidders and do not wish to send them an email invitation to bid before adding, you will see the page below. In order to add an unsolicited bid, you can first click "Invite Bidders" and invite yourself using the "Email" tab. Then, you can click "Add an unsolicited bid" and continue. 
  
  

Enter the email address or name of the person whose proposal you’d like to add. Search the "People" or "Companies" tab and click "Add" next to the person or company. If you can't find them, click "Skip to your bid form" at the bottom. 

Next, fill out the bid form. You are not required to enter amounts for every required field. When you drag and drop or upload an attachment, you can preview the attachment on the right hand side to easily fill in the bid form side-by-side with the subcontractor's proposal.



After you enter the necessary details, click on the “Add Proposal” button.

As a reminder, the user you’re adding the proposal for will not receive an invitation to bid email or be notified that you are submitting on their behalf. 



Review the information. Click "Back to Edit" if corrections need to be made or click on “Submit."



You will see the added proposal listed in the “Bid Leveling” tab and in the "Bidders" tab. The subcontractor did not receive an email invite and was not notified that you submitted a bid on their behalf. However, if the subcontractor logs into their own account and accesses this project, they will be able to see the information you submitted for them.