Bid package: written bid
Bid writing services for construction contractors
A bid writer for the written parts of your construction bid: the bid form, the required statements and forms, the addenda and the final check. You set the price and sign. We do the writing and organizing.
Fixed price in 2 business hours. Pay only after you accept.
- Fixed price agreed before any work starts
- Plan review is free
- You pay only after you accept the price and delivery date
- Bid packages in 5 business days
- Your facts, your prices, your signature
Key dates
- Solicitation issuedDay 0
- Pre-bid meetingDay 6
- Questions dueDay 13
- Addendum 1Day 16
- Addendum 2Day 20
- Bid due and openingDay 27
Bidmere prepares
- Requirements matrixDay 1 to day 4
- Drafting and form set-upDay 4 to day 20
- Addenda check, review setDay 20 to day 24
Bidder decides and submits
- Facts and questionsDay 2 to day 13
- Approvals and pricingDay 21 to day 26
- Sign, bond, submitDay 26 to day 27
Quick answer
Bid writing services from Bidmere prepare the written parts of a construction bid for general contractors and subcontractors: a requirements checklist, the bid form workbook, written statements drafted from facts you approve, an addenda log and a final review list. Bid packages are priced from $1,950 and ready in 5 business days. Your team prices, signs and submits.
What do bid writing services include?
A bid writer turns the invitation for bids into a complete package ready to sign. On a construction bid the written work is mostly compliance: every form filled the way the owner asks, every addendum acknowledged, every required statement answered.
- Requirements checklist: every form, certification, statement and attachment the instructions call for, each with an owner
- Bid form workbook: base bid, alternates and unit prices laid out to match the bid form lines
- Written statements: bidder qualifications, experience and reference forms, and any short narrative the invitation asks for, drafted from facts you approve
- Addenda log: each addendum, what it changed and where to acknowledge it
- Final review list: signatures, acknowledgments, bid security, envelope marking or portal upload, and the deadline
Not included: bonds, signing, delivering or uploading the bid, and legal review.
Bid writing or proposal writing: which do you need?
This page covers written bids and sealed bids, where price usually decides the award among bids that follow the rules. Other Bidmere services cover related work:
- Negotiated proposals and RFPs, scored on approach, team and experience: see construction RFP proposal writing and proposal writing services.
- Public sealed bids checked line by line before opening: see public sealed bid preparation.
- Subcontractor bids to a general contractor: see subcontractor bid proposals.
- Qualifications only (RFQ or SOQ): see qualifications packages.
Not sure which kind of solicitation you have? Our guide to types of construction bids explains the difference.
Who sets the price in the bid?
Bidmere does not invent your price. The number comes from your estimate, or from an estimate Bidmere prepares at your rates through the bid estimate service, quoted separately. Your team sets markup and approves the final number.
Overlapping work between the estimate and the bid package is not charged twice. Once you approve the totals, they are carried into the bid form workbook so the form and the estimate match.
Have the solicitation in hand? Send the RFP or bid documents. Fixed quote within 2 business hours. Plan review is free, and you pay only after you accept.
Get a fixed quoteWhat gets a written bid rejected?
Most rejected low bids fail on paperwork, not price. The bid writer’s job is to catch these before the deadline:
- An addendum not acknowledged where the bid form asks
- Bid security missing, in the wrong form or the wrong amount
- A required form, certification or signature left out
- Unit prices on the bid form that do not match the plans
- A qualified price or added condition the invitation does not allow
Read responsive vs responsible bidder for how owners test each bid, and how to track bid addenda. For bonds, see bid bond paperwork.
What should you send a bid writer?
- The invitation for bids, bid form and all addenda
- Your estimate, or the quantities and rates to price it
- Company information your authorized signer will certify: licenses, experience, references
- The bond and insurance requirements in the solicitation
- Your due date and your internal review date
Start with a short, non-confidential description in the quote form. Requests can be written in Spanish. For a do-it-yourself start, use the free construction bid proposal template and the construction bid checklist.
Before you send the bid
Common questions about hiring a bid writer
Who is responsible for the final submission?
Your company. We prepare and check. Your authorized signer approves, signs and submits.
What if our deadline is close?
Send the due date with your request. We confirm what can be delivered before you accept, or we tell you the scope needs to shrink.
What if the quote is more than we expected?
You see the fixed price before any work starts and pay nothing unless you accept it. You can also narrow the scope to selected forms or sections.
We need the estimate too. Is that included?
Estimating is scoped separately. Send both needs together and overlapping work is not charged twice.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does a bid writer cost?
At Bidmere, each bid gets a fixed price after we read the documents. Substantial bid and proposal packages are priced from $1,950 and ready in 5 business days. Smaller tasks, such as a short bid form with few attachments, are quoted to the work involved. The quote arrives within 2 business hours, and you pay only after you accept.
What does a bid writer do on a construction bid?
A bid writer reads the invitation, lists every requirement, fills the bid form from your approved prices, drafts the required statements from facts you approve, logs each addendum and runs a final check. Your team keeps the pricing decisions, signs the forms and submits the bid.
Is bid writing the same as proposal writing?
Not quite. A written or sealed bid is usually awarded on price among bids that follow the rules, so the work is mostly forms and compliance. A proposal for an RFP is scored on approach, team and experience, so it needs longer narrative. Bidmere covers proposals on its RFP proposal and proposal writing pages.
How fast can you turn a bid around?
We reply with a fixed quote or our questions within 2 business hours. Bid packages are ready in 5 business days from your accepted quote and complete documents. If the time left before your due date cannot support the work and your own review, we say so before you accept.
Do you submit the bid for us?
No. Bidmere does not sign, deliver or upload bids, and does not guarantee awards. Your authorized signer approves the numbers, signs the forms and submits before the deadline. We give you a final review list so nothing is missed at that step.
Can you write bids for public and private work?
Yes. We prepare written and sealed bids for public owners such as cities, school districts and state agencies, and subcontractor bids to general contractors. The solicitation decides the forms, so send the invitation and all addenda with your request.
Get a fixed quote
Share the project basics. You get a fixed price and delivery date within 2 business hours. Plan review is free, and you pay only after you accept.