The line that decides the bid

Everyone who's sat in a bid meeting knows this. The go/no-go comes before anyone has read the whole package. What sinks the bid is one line in the qualifications or one quantity that doesn't add up, found after questions close.

One case on our Try page: a rail authority's surfacing and ballast tender. Yesper's go/no-go was keep pricing, but two issues decide it. The experience requirement isn't met on own contracts, and the ballast quantity leaves out a whole second main track, 1,680 tons, $107,520 the contractor carries unless priced.

You know what decides the bid, with time left to ask. The quantity gap becomes a question instead of ballast nobody gets paid for. Same for the rest of the Try page: a scope matrix for a bid invitation, unit prices onto a bid schedule, crew hours from the work windows.

Try it yourself →