Add Bid and Define the Bill of Quantities

This screen allows you to record a new bid for a specific client and define its Bill of Quantities (main tenders, subtenders, and work items) to estimate the preliminary cost of a potential project.

Before you start, make sure of the following:

• This screen requires the “Add Bids” permission.
• Activate the Construction app by navigating to Settings from the main menu and selecting Apps Manager.

Steps

• From the main menu, click Construction.
• Select Bids.
• Click the Add button.

Bid Details

Enter the following data:

• Bid Title (Mandatory): Text field.
• Bid No.: Automatically generated by the system.
• Client (Mandatory): Searchable autocomplete list. You can search by the client’s name, code, e-mail, or mobile number; the list displays active clients only.
  • If the Branches app is activated, the list displays clients of the current branch only unless clients are shared across branches, in which case it displays clients across the entire account.
  • A New Client button appears next to the field to add a client directly without leaving the screen.
• Valid Until (Optional): Date.
• Description (Optional): Text area.
• Attachments (Optional).

Bill of Quantities

• The Bill of Quantities consists of three hierarchical levels:
  • Main Tender is the highest level in the hierarchy and is typically used to group large sections of the scope of work (such as “Electrical Works” or “Finishing Works”).
  • Sub Tender is a more detailed level that falls under the main tender (or another sub tender, up to 3 levels) and is used to break down the main tender into smaller parts.
  • Work Item is the final execution level. It represents a specific actual work associated with an item defined in Inventory, with a quantity and unit of measurement, and no other sub-items can be added under it.
• One main tender line is automatically added when the creation form is opened for the first time. The Item field appears empty with the placeholder text: “Enter Tender”.
• Enter the following data for each line:
  • Item (Mandatory; if the line is at the work item level, the field changes to a dropdown displaying active work items defined in Inventory, restricted to the current branch if the Branches app is activated and the work items are not shared).
  • Quantity (Mandatory; appears only on a work item line).
  • Unit (Mandatory; appears only on a work item line; a dropdown containing unit templates defined in the system).
• To add a new line, click one of the three buttons below the table: Main Tender, Sub Tender, or Work Item. The Main Tender button is always available, while the Sub Tender and Work Item buttons remain disabled until at least one main tender line exists in the table. You can add up to 3 levels of subtenders under the main tender, and add a work item only under the last sub tender or directly under the main tender if it has no subtenders.
• You can perform the following actions:
  • Select multiple lines to perform bulk actions on them. A bar appears below the table showing the number of selected lines, with Delete, Expand Group, and Collapse Group buttons.
  • Click Delete to delete the selected line or lines.
  • Click Collapse Group or Expand Group to collapse or display the selected item and the elements contained within it.
  • You can drag any item along with its child items and drop it at a similar level within the hierarchy to reorder it.
• After entering the data, click Save to save the bid with the status “Issued”, Save as Draft to save it as a draft, or Cancel to discard all changes.

How the System Works

• A sub-tender cannot be added under a main tender or another sub-tender that already contains a work item; work items can only be added under the last level.
• If the current account plan does not support adding more bids, creating a new record is blocked, and a message appears with an Upgrade Now button (to navigate to the Plans screen) and a Cancel button (to close the message).
• When the bid is saved, it is added under the branch from which the user logged in, and the action is recorded in the Activity Log.

Validation Rules

• When a mandatory field is left empty, the text “Required” appears next to it.
• Main tender titles at the same level and under the same parent main tender must be unique. When a duplicate is entered, the message “Title should be unique” appears.
• When one or more lines containing sub-items (subtenders or work items) are deleted, a confirmation dialog appears with the title “Delete Lines Containing Sub-Items” and the text: “You have selected one or more lines for deletion. This will also remove any sub-items associated with them, such as subtenders and work items, and items depending on the type of each selected line. Are you sure you want to delete the selected lines?”, with Cancel and Delete buttons.
• When the bid is successfully saved with the status “Issued”, the message “Bid Added Successfully” appears, and the user is redirected to the Bid view screen.

Notes

• When the bid is saved as a draft, an automatic serial number is not generated. Instead, the system uses the bid ID in the database, prefixed with “#”, as a temporary code.