What is a bid tabulation?
A bid tabulation, or bid tab, is the owner’s record of the bids received on one solicitation: who bid, what each bidder’s total was, and often the price of every bid item. The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing defines it as “a summary document of all bidders with their total extended prices” that the owner has checked for accuracy, and notes it may also include unit prices for each item.
Federal agencies use a different name. Under FAR 14.403, the contracting officer completes an abstract of offers (Optional Form 1419 for construction) that records the bids, and abstracts for unclassified acquisitions are available for public inspection.
When a bid tabulation is made
After bid opening. On a sealed bid, the owner opens every bid received by the deadline in public, reads them aloud if practical and records them; FAR 14.402-1 sets this out for federal work, and state and local owners follow similar rules. The Federal Highway Administration’s guidance for federal-aid projects describes the same step: open the bids, share the list of bidders and their bids, and identify the “apparent” low bid.
Many owners post a preliminary tab within days of the opening and a verified one later. Caltrans, for example, labels its recent bid summaries as preliminary results subject to change.
What is on a bid tab
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Contract or project number, letting or bid opening date | Which solicitation, and when it was priced |
| Bidders, ranked | Who bid and in what order. FDOT’s tabs also show each bid as a percent of the low bid. |
| Total bid | Each bidder’s total, base bid and alternates where the form has them |
| Engineer’s estimate | The owner’s own estimate, shown on many DOT tabs, such as Caltrans’s |
| Item, quantity, unit price and extended amount | Item-level prices for each bidder on unit-price work. Not every owner publishes this level; some list totals only. |
Short on time? Send the RFP or bid documents and we do this for you. Fixed quote within 2 business hours. Plan review is free, and you pay only after you accept.
Get a fixed quoteApparent low bidder is not the award
The lowest number on a tab is the apparent low bid. Before award the owner checks two things:
- Responsive: the bid follows the solicitation. FAR 14.301 says a bid must comply in all material respects with the invitation for bids.
- Responsible: the bidder can perform. Federal award goes to the responsible bidder whose conforming bid is most advantageous, considering only price and price-related factors (FAR 14.408-1).
Some owners say so on the tab itself. The City of Kingsville, Texas, notes that it has not checked its posted tabulations for errors or decided whether any bid meets the requirements. FDOT shows the intent to award in a separate column from the bid tab. For more on the two tests, see responsive vs responsible bidder.
Where to find public bid tabulations
| Owner | What is published |
|---|---|
| TxDOT | A bid tabulations dashboard with bids on projects let in the past 24 months, statewide and district lettings, with TxDOT’s estimate. Older tabs are in an archive. |
| Caltrans | Bid summaries by bid opening date, as PDFs with the engineer’s estimate, bidders by rank and the low bidder’s item prices. |
| FDOT | Bid tabs on the letting project page, with unit price and extended amount for each bidder and each bid as a percent of the low bid. |
| NYSDOT | Highway letting results by letting date, as PDF tabulations with each bidder’s total. |
| NYC Department of Design and Construction | Preliminary bid results with bid amounts. DDC also streams its bid openings live. |
| Federal agencies | The abstract of offers, which FAR 14.403 makes available for public inspection on unclassified work. Ask the contracting office named in the solicitation. |
For other owners, look on the procurement or bid results page of the agency that issued the solicitation, or ask the contact named in it. Bidmere’s construction bid sites guide lists where public work is advertised.
Average unit prices built from bid tabs
Several DOTs turn their bid tabs into historical prices by item, which is often quicker than reading tabs one by one:
- TxDOT publishes historical bidding information by bid code for the past 24 months, which replaced its earlier 3-month and 12-month average cost documents.
- FDOT publishes historical item average costs: a weighted average of awarded prices, weighted by quantity, with statewide moving averages and 6- and 12-month reports in PDF or Excel.
- Caltrans has a searchable contract cost data site with historic bid data.
Averages hide the spread. Check a few recent tabs for the item in the same district before you trust an average on your own bid.
How contractors use bid tabs to price the next bid
- Check your number. On jobs you lost, find where you landed against the low bid, item by item when the tab shows items. A gap on one or two items usually points at a quantity, production rate or material price, not the whole estimate.
- Price items you rarely carry. Recent unit prices from the same owner and region are a reality check for items outside your usual scope.
- Know the field. See who bids which owners, how many bidders a typical letting draws, and how far apart they land.
- Read the engineer’s estimate. When low bids keep landing well above or below it, the owner’s estimate is a weak guide for that kind of work.
- Track your own results. Log your rank and percent above low on every public bid. Over a season it shows which owners and job types you win.
Bidding public work? Bidmere prepares measured estimates priced at your rates and organizes the bid package your team signs and submits. Single-trade estimates from $195 in 48 hours; bid packages from $1,950. See public sealed bid preparation and state DOT lettings.
Bid tabulation template: tabulating bids yourself
Owners make the official tab. If you want to tabulate bids yourself, for example the prices you collected on past lettings or quotes from your own subs and suppliers, the free bid sheet template includes a bid tab sheet that compares up to five bidders line by line and finds the low bid. To compare subcontractor bids against one scope list, use bid leveling instead: a bid tab compares prices, while leveling first makes sure every bid covers the same scope.
Need help pricing a public bid?
Send the solicitation and plans. Bidmere returns a fixed quote within 2 business hours. Estimates are measured from your plans and priced at your rates; bid packages include a requirements matrix, organized forms and a final review checklist. Your team reviews, signs and submits.
Frequently asked questions
What is a bid tabulation?
A bid tabulation, or bid tab, is the owner’s record of the bids received on a solicitation: the bidders, each total bid and often the price of every bid item. Public owners prepare it after bid opening and usually publish it.
Are bid tabulations public?
On public work, usually yes. State and local owners commonly post them on their procurement or letting pages. For federal contracts, FAR 14.403 makes the abstract of offers available for public inspection on unclassified work.
Does the lowest bid on a bid tab win?
Not automatically. The lowest bid on a tab is the apparent low bid. The owner must still confirm the bid is responsive to the solicitation and the bidder is responsible before awarding the contract.
What is an abstract of offers?
The federal record of bids received. Under FAR 14.403 the contracting officer completes Standard Form 1409, or Optional Form 1419 for construction, or an automated equivalent, and certifies it.
Where can I find DOT bid tabulations?
On each DOT’s letting or bid results page. TxDOT has a bid tabulations dashboard, Caltrans posts bid summaries by bid opening date, FDOT posts bid tabs on its letting project page and NYSDOT posts letting results by date.
What is the difference between a bid tab and bid leveling?
A bid tab lists the prices bidders submitted. Bid leveling, done by a general contractor on subcontractor bids, first adjusts each bid to the same scope so the prices can be compared fairly.
Is there a bid tabulation template?
Yes. The free Bidmere bid sheet template includes a bid tab sheet that compares up to five bidders line by line and finds the low bid. It works in Excel and Google Sheets.
Can Bidmere help price a public bid?
Yes. Bidmere prepares estimates measured from your plans and priced at your rates, and bid packages your team reviews, signs and submits. Single-trade estimates are from $195 in 48 hours; bid packages from $1,950. You get a fixed quote within 2 business hours.