Add Bid and Define the Bill of Quantities
The Add Bid screen lets you record a new bid for a specific client and set its bill of quantities (main items, sub-items and work items), to estimate the initial cost of a potential project.
Before you start, make sure that:
- The Construction app is enabled from Settings, then Apps Manager.
- You have the Add Bids permission.
Contents
Steps
Bid details
Enter the following details:
- Bid Title (required): a text field.
- Bid No.: generated automatically by the system.
- Client (required): an auto-search list. You can search by the client’s name, code, email or mobile number, and it shows active clients only. If the Branches app is enabled, the list shows only the current branch’s clients, unless clients are shared between branches. A New Client button next to the field lets you add a client without leaving the screen.
- Valid Until (optional): a date.
- Description (optional): a text area.
- Attachments (optional).
Bill of Quantities
The bill of quantities has three hierarchical levels:
- Main Tender: the top level, used to group large sections of the scope of work (such as “Electrical works” or “Finishing works”).
- Sub-tender: a more detailed level under a main tender (or under another sub-tender, up to 3 levels).
- Work Item: the last, executable level. It represents actual work linked to an item defined in inventory, has a quantity and a unit of measure, and no other item can be placed under it.
One main tender line is added automatically when the form opens, and the item field appears empty with the hint Enter Main Tender.
Enter the following for each line:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Item (required) | The title of the main tender or subtender. In a work item line, it becomes a Select Work Item list showing the active work items defined in inventory (limited to the current branch if the Branches app is enabled and they aren’t shared). When you choose the work item, the line title fills in automatically. |
| Quantity (required) | Appears in work item lines only, with the Unit list next to it. |
| Unit (required) | Appears in work item lines only, and shows the units of the unit template linked to the chosen work item. It opens only after you choose the work item, and the first unit is selected automatically. |
To add a new line, click one of the three buttons below the table: Main Tender, Subtender or Work Item. The Main Tender button is always available, while the Subtender and Work Item buttons stay disabled until there’s at least one main tender line. You can add up to 3 levels of subtenders, and add a work item only under the last subtender, or under the main tender if it has no subtenders.
You can also:
- Select several lines to run bulk actions. A bar appears below the table with the number of selected lines and the Delete, Expand Group and Collapse Group buttons.
- Drag any item with its sub-items and drop it at a matching level to reorder it.
After filling in the details, click Save to save the bid as Issued, Save as Draft, or Cancel to discard all changes.
Why is the Unit field locked?
The Unit field in a work item line stays locked until you choose the Work Item in the same line, because the available units are loaded from the chosen work item’s unit template. When you hover over it, the hint Choose an item appears.
| Case | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| The Unit field is locked | No work item has been chosen in the line. | Choose the work item in the Item column first. The field opens and the first unit is selected automatically. |
| The field is locked when editing or cloning a bid | The work item saved in the line is no longer active, so the line is cleared. | Choose another active work item, or reactivate the item from inventory. |
| The field is open but the list is empty, and Unit is required appears on saving | The work item has no unit template. | Click Manage Units below the Unit list to add units for it, or set a unit template for the product from its edit page. |
| You want a unit that isn’t in the list | The work item’s unit template doesn’t include this unit. | Add the unit to the template from Unit Templates, or change the unit template from Manage Units. |
Adding or changing a work item’s units from the bid
- Choose the work item in the line, then open the Unit list.
- Click Manage Units below the list.
- In Unit Source, choose:
- Select From Existing: then pick the unit template from Select Template.
- Create New Unit Template: then enter the Base Unit Name and the other units.
- Save. The message Units saved successfully appears, and the units of every line in the table that uses the same work item are updated.
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Note: The Manage Units button needs the Edit General Settings permission. Without it, the button is disabled with the hint Requires Permission. If the work item has been used in earlier transactions, its unit template and base unit name can’t be changed.
How the system works
- You can’t add a sub-tender under a main tender or sub-tender that already contains a work item; work items are added only at the last level.
- If the account’s plan doesn’t allow more bids, creating a new record is blocked, and a message appears with an Upgrade Now button and a Cancel button.
- When you save the bid, it’s added under the branch the user signed in from, and the action is recorded in the activity log.
- When you edit a bid that has quotations or cost sheets, the Client field is locked and can’t be changed.
- A bid linked to a project can’t be edited or deleted.
Validation rules
- If you leave a required field empty, Required appears next to it, and the Unit field shows Unit is required.
- Item titles at the same level under the same parent item must be unique. If a title is repeated, the message Title should be unique appears.
- When you delete one or more lines that contain sub-items, a confirmation window titled Deleting lines with sub-items appears. It explains that deleting removes all the sub-tenders and work items under them, with Cancel and Delete buttons.
- When the bid is saved successfully as issued, the message Bid #(bid number) saved successfully appears, and you move to the bid view screen.
Notes
- When you save the bid as a draft, it doesn’t get a serial number; instead, the system uses the bid ID preceded by “#” as a temporary number.
- The bid’s bill of quantities has no prices; pricing is done later in the cost sheet and the quotation.