A 300-page tender pack lands in your inbox on a Tuesday. You have five days to price it. Where do you start? Most estimators go straight to the drawings — but that's one of the most expensive mistakes in construction bidding. This guide walks you through a professional tender and bid review process, from the first document you should open to the last check before you submit your price.
Most estimators open the drawings first. The drawings tell you what to build — but the contract conditions and specification tell you who pays for what, under what rules, and at what risk. Always read the contract first.
Before you look at a single drawing, open the contract documents. This is the single most important step in any tender or bid review, and the one most commonly skipped under time pressure.
In the UK, you're typically looking at a JCT Standard Building Contract, JCT Minor Works, NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract, or a bespoke form with amendments. In the US, the most common forms are AIA A101/A201, a GMP contract, or an owner-drafted bespoke form.
"The contract is where the money is made or lost. The drawings tell you what to build. The contract tells you who carries the risk when something goes wrong."
The second document to read is the Instructions to Tenderers (UK) or the Instructions to Bidders (US). This tells you exactly what you need to submit, and getting it wrong means disqualification regardless of how competitive your price is.
Missed pre-tender site visits — which are often mandatory — are a common disqualifier. Check the dates immediately. In the UK, many NHS and public sector clients require CHAS, Constructionline Gold or equivalent. In the US, check for required bid bonds, MBE/WBE certifications, and DBE goals.
Before reading the specification or drawings in detail, create a simple index of every document in the pack and check it against the document schedule. Missing documents are one of the most common sources of commercial exposure — you can't price what you don't know about, but the contract often still holds you responsible for it.
| What to Check | UK Term | US Term | Risk if Missing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detailed quantity schedule | Bill of Quantities (BoQ) | Schedule of Values / Quantity Takeoff | HIGH — pricing based on assumption only |
| Hazardous materials survey | Asbestos survey / HSE report | Hazmat / environmental survey | HIGH — programme and cost risk |
| Distribution board / electrical schematic | E-BD drawings | Electrical one-line diagrams | HIGH — cannot design or price scope |
| MEP coordination drawings | M&E coordination | MEP coordination drawings | MED — interface risk with other trades |
| Soil / ground investigation | Ground investigation report | Geotechnical report / soil report | HIGH — groundworks risk |
| Structural calculations | Structural engineer's drawings | Structural engineer drawings | MED — temporary works assumptions |
| Planning conditions | Planning permission conditions | Permit conditions / zoning | MED — working restrictions, materials |
Always check the drawing schedule against the drawings actually included. It's common for 3–5 drawings to be listed but not issued — particularly for later design stages. Flag every missing drawing as a critical RFI before you price the affected scope.
The specification is where scope is defined in words, and it's where the most expensive surprises hide. Read it systematically by trade — don't jump between sections. Mark every requirement that needs a specialist price, every standard that must be met, and every interface with other trades.
In the UK, specifications reference British Standards (BS 7671, BS 5839, BS 5266 etc.). In the US, they're organised by CSI MasterFormat divisions. Either way, the process is the same — read it line by line, flag ambiguities, and note every approved product or named manufacturer that may limit your supply chain.
Read only the sections relevant to your trade first. Note page references for everything you need to price — don't try to read the full spec in one pass.
Named manufacturers (e.g. Gent Vigilon for fire alarms, Wandsworth for nurse call) affect your supply chain and procurement lead times. Identify them early.
Commissioning, testing, certification and O&M manuals are often buried in the spec. They carry real labour cost and must be priced — not assumed to be included by others.
Who provides the power to your equipment? Who patches after your first fix? Who provides builder's work drawings? Unresolved interfaces become variations — or worse, disputes.
Specification says one product, drawing shows another. Schedule says one size, spec says different. Every contradiction is an RFI and potential variation. Flag them all before pricing.
The programme (UK) or schedule (US) tells you when you're expected to work and in what sequence. It directly affects your preliminary costs, your procurement lead times, and your risk of sectional completion LADs or LDs.
Key questions to ask: Is the programme realistic for the scope? Is the building occupied during works? Are there restricted working hours — and what do they mean for your productivity rates? Are there sectional completion dates with separate LAD/LD provisions attached to each?
A 26-week programme for a hospital ward refurbishment in a live clinical environment is tight. A 16-week programme for a full M&E fit-out of a 3,000m² commercial floor plate is almost certainly unachievable. If the programme is unrealistic, say so in your qualifications — and price the risk accordingly.
By this point you should have a list of everything that could go wrong commercially. Formalise it. A structured risk register does three things: it helps you price risk premiums properly, it informs your qualifications, and it protects you in disputes after award.
| Risk | Rating | Commercial Impact | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missing Bill of Quantities / no quantity schedule | HIGH | Pricing based on assumptions — significant exposure on quantities | Request BoQ or price with detailed assumptions stated |
| Asbestos / hazmat survey not provided | HIGH | Unknown programme delays and remediation costs | Exclude asbestos-related works; request survey |
| 45-day payment terms (amended from standard 30) | HIGH | Financing cost — price extended prelims accordingly | Include finance cost in rate build-up |
| Termination for convenience — no profit compensation | HIGH | Risk of loss on mobilisation costs if terminated early | Qualify: exclude profit loss from termination clause |
| Incomplete MEP coordination drawings | MED | Interface risk — scope gaps discovered on site | Include provisional sum; flag in qualifications |
| Listed building / heritage constraints | MED | Approval delays; restricted fixing methods | Include time and cost for heritage approvals |
| Sub-metering not specified | LOW | Additional cost if required but not priced | Exclude; flag as assumption in qualifications |
Every gap, ambiguity, and contradiction you've identified needs a formal Request for Information submitted before the RFI deadline. Well-written RFIs protect you commercially — they create a paper trail that shows you identified the problem before submission, not after award.
A good RFI has four elements: the specific reference in the documents, the exact question, the assumption you're pricing on if no answer is received, and the commercial impact of that assumption.
Subject: Cable schedule E-CS-001 availability
Reference: Drawing schedule, page 6 — cable schedule E-CS-001 listed as "not issued"
Question: When will cable schedule E-CS-001 be available? Should the existing £35,000 provisional sum be adjusted pending its issue?
Pricing assumption: Sub-mains cabling priced as £50,000 provisional sum pending issue of cable schedule.
Commercial impact: Without cable schedule, sub-mains installation cannot be accurately priced for a 3,200m² building with four ward distribution boards.
Your price submission should be accompanied by a comprehensive list of qualifications and exclusions. This is not weakness — it's commercial protection. Every experienced client and main contractor knows that a properly qualified bid is a more credible bid than a bare lump sum.
Qualifications should cover: items excluded from scope, assumptions made on quantities or design, risk items priced as provisional sums, contract terms you're not accepting as written, and any departure from the employer's requirements.
"A bare lump sum with no qualifications is not a clean bid — it's a commercial blank cheque. Qualify everything you're uncertain about."
Not every tender is worth bidding. A go/no-go analysis should consider: the commercial attractiveness of the contract value, the programme risk given site constraints, the technical complexity relative to your capabilities, the competitiveness of the bid given how many others are invited, and the quality of the tender documents themselves.
Poorly documented tenders — missing BoQs, incomplete drawings, onerous unamended contract terms — are higher risk bids. They also tend to attract fewer credible competitors, which can work in your favour. But they require more robust qualifications and higher contingency.
| Factor | Green | Amber | Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document quality | Full BoQ, complete drawings | Some information missing | No BoQ, major gaps |
| Contract terms | Standard JCT / AIA unamended | Minor amendments | Onerous amendments, no-profit termination |
| Programme | Realistic with float | Tight but achievable | Unrealistic, no float |
| Client relationship | Known, repeat client | Unknown but reputable | Unknown, no track record |
| Competitors invited | 2–3 known competitors | 4–6 companies | Open tender, 10+ |
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