Bid comparison worksheet
Two sheets. The first records each bidder and the checks you made on them. The second levels the proposals line by line so that every column describes the same job. The method is taught in Module 7; load the example rows to see the fictional Alder Street kitchen levelled.
Sheet 1: bidders and checks
One row per bidder. "Verified" means you looked the license up on the licensing authority's own site, not that the bidder told you the number.
Sheet 2: levelling grid
One row per scope item, including the items only some bidders mentioned. For each bidder: the status (included, excluded, allowance, or not mentioned) and the amount you are carrying for levelling. Amounts in the "levelled" columns are what you add or subtract to bring each bidder to the same basis; the first row should be the proposal total. The totals row then shows each bidder's levelled total. The sheet has three bidder columns; for more bidders, export this one as CSV and continue in a spreadsheet.
How to use the totals
- Put each proposal's total in the first row as a levelled amount. Every other row carries the adjustment (positive or negative) for that bidder, or zero.
- Unknowns that may or may not apply (a panel upgrade, rock in the trench) get their own row and are better shown as two totals: copy the sheet's CSV and compute both, or note the alternate in the questions column.
- Terms that are not money (deposit, retainage, change pricing, warranty, start) live in Sheet 1 so they are compared, not forgotten.
- Questions raised by levelling go in the last column and then to the bidders, in writing, with the answers recorded here.
This worksheet compares what proposals say. It does not tell you which contract to sign or what the terms mean in your jurisdiction. Deposit limits, lien and waiver practice, insurance adequacy and contract language are questions for your building department, licensing authority, insurance agent and attorney.