The process of combining bids gives you the option to have estimators work on specific sections, divisions, or trades of a project at the same time. Once the sections are complete, you can combine the separate bids into a single Bid for submittal.
(Also known as "merging" Bids.)
This article is written for interactive bids, but you can take this information and apply it to standalone On-Screen Takeoff or Quick Bid projects.
You may ask why you cannot just copy the takeoff and allow On-Screen Takeoff to create the Conditions - great question! Because of the way OST copy/pastes, the Conditions may not be created in the same order as the original bids - the steps indicated below assure that you can set the combined bid back to "Interactive mode".
Combining Bids works for Takeoff, Bid/Typical Areas, Conditions, and Condition details; it is best to set Markups, Payroll changes, Material Pricing, and Labor/Production adjustments etc. after the bids are combined.
The following example shows the entire process of combining two bids into one.
In our scenario, there are two estimators that have created two separate bids for the same job; each having done a specific section. These bids are interactive and already priced in Quick Bid although markups and Payroll information may need to be adjusted after combining the bids so these individual totals my change (see Figure 1 and Figure 2).
Figure 1: On-Screen Takeoff - Two Complete Interactive Bids
Figure 2: Quick Bid - Two Complete Interactive Bids
First, you will probably want to add the numbers together from the 2 Quick Bid estimates to give a ‘round about’ number to your GC for preliminary bidding. Then, if you are awarded the bid, you’ll want to combine the 2 separate estimates into one.
(In this example: $62,545 + $297,288 = $356,833)
Next, you will need to create a new bid in On-Screen Takeoff and one in Quick Bid, both with the same name (in this example we are using Kirksey Sample Bid - Combined as the name). The bid in On-Screen Takeoff should have all the plan pages as the original two.
Do not make these bids interactive yet.
In On-Screen Takeoff, copy all the conditions from the first bid and paste them into to Combined bid. To do this, perform the following steps:
To ensure
Condition names and numbers match between On-Screen
Takeoff and Quick Bid, the following steps must be followed in the exact order detailed below.
On the Image tab of the first bid click a Condition in the Condition window
Click Edit > Select All to select all the conditions (you can also press <Ctrl> <A> as a keyboard shortcut)
When all Conditions are highlighted, click Edit > Copy to copy the conditions (you can also press <Ctrl> <C> as a keyboard shortcut)
Open the 'Combined' bid, and then click inside the Condition window
Click Edit > Paste to paste the conditions from the first bid (you can also press <Ctrl> <V> as a keyboard shortcut)
Repeat this process for the second bid, copying/pasting the Conditions into the Combined bid.
Next, in Quick Bid, copy all the conditions from the first bid and paste them into to Combined bid. To do this, perform the following steps:
On the Condition tab of the first bid, click the first Condition
Press and hold the <Shift> key on your keyboard and select the last condition - this will highlight all the conditions
When all the conditions are highlighted, right-click and select Copy to copy the conditions (you can also press <Ctrl> <C> as a keyboard shortcut)
Open the 'Combined' bid, and then right-click inside the Condition window and select Paste to paste the conditions from the first bid (you can also press <Ctrl> <V> as a keyboard shortcut)
Repeat this process for the second bid, copying/pasting the conditions into the Combined bid. This will give you a list of all Conditions used in both bids along with their pricing, but no Quantities.
Now that all the conditions match, right-click the Combined bid in Quick Bid and select Connect to On-Screen Takeoff Bid...
Enter the bid number for the On-Screen Takeoff Combined bid in the Connect to On-Screen Takeoff Bid window, and then click Connect
A prompt indicates that the bid is already connected to another job, click Yes to confirm reassigning it
In the Connect Verification window, select Yes to confirm connecting the bids
Once connected, open the Cover Sheet, of the Combined bid, in On-Screen Takeoff and set the Price Using method to Quick Bid (interactive)
Depending on the size of your bid (number of Conditions), it may take up to a minute to reestablish the interactive connection.
There's no takeoff in the 'Combined' OST bid yet, we'll copy that over next. What we have done so far is to create the framework that allowed us to create a single, interactive bid.
Now, you have a single bid, with all your conditions, interactively connected between On-Screen Takeoff and Quick Bid.
Next, page by page, copy all the takeoff from the first bid into the combined bid. To do this, perform the following steps:
On the Image tab of the first bid click in the Image window for the first page with takeoff
Click Edit > Select All to select all the takeoff (you can also press <Ctrl> <A> as a keyboard shortcut)
Note that all the takeoff now has an orange border around it, signifying it is selected
When all the takeoff is highlighted, click Edit > Copy to copy the takeoff (you can also press <Ctrl> <C> as a keyboard shortcut)
Open the Combined OST bid to the same page, make sure the scale is correct, and then click inside the Image window to set the focus there.
Click Edit > Paste to paste the conditions from the first bid (you can also press <Ctrl> <V> as a keyboard shortcut) - do not right-click and select Paste - your takeoff will not be pasted in the correct place.
This pastes all the takeoff from the first bid into the Combined bid
Repeat this process for all pages in the bid. When you are done, perform these same steps for the second bid; copying/pasting the takeoff to the combined bid.
When all the takeoff from the two bids are copied to the combined bid, click Bid > Refresh Quick Bid to refresh the screen in Quick Bid (you can also press <F9> as a keyboard shortcut).
All quantities should feed into Quick Bid and since you have already copied over the pricing information, the bid should total the same as the sum of the separate bids.
Now, you can copy over any Equipment, Other or Subs information from both original bids and then modify your Payroll Class information, Markups, and Indirect Expenses to ensure they are accurate and not duplicated.
