Bidding software for a trade is judged at the moment the bid is questioned, which is usually two weeks after it was sent and by somebody comparing it with two others. What matters then is whether the quantities can be shown, whether the inclusions and exclusions are unambiguous, and whether an alternate can be priced in minutes rather than rebuilt. Everything that makes the document look good is worth less than those three.
Quantities first: what roof and masonry bidding software should keep
Roof bidding software should hold the squares, the linear feet of ridge, hip, valley and eave, the penetrations and the tear-off layers as a record, not just as inputs to a total. Masonry bidding software holds units, openings and lintels the same way. When the scope changes, only the affected quantity is re-measured.
Inclusions and exclusions are the bid, in roofing and in HVAC sales proposal software
Deck repair beyond an allowance, disposal, permits, protection of landscaping, and access. HVAC sales proposal software has the same list under different names: the pad, the lineset, the electrical, the permit, the crane. The bid that names them wins the argument later and often wins the job now.
Alternates in minutes, not evenings
Good, better and best is how trade work is sold, and a product that requires three separate bids to show three options costs you the follow-up. One bid with priced alternates, produced from the same quantities, is the shape that closes.
Questions people ask about roof bidding software
Should a trade bid show unit prices?
Show enough for the customer to compare like with like, usually by element or option. A full unit breakdown moves the conversation onto your rates, which is the argument you least want to have.
How are allowances best handled?
Stated as an allowance with a price per unit beyond it, and repeated in the acceptance. An allowance with no rate is an invitation to do the extra work for nothing.
What is most often missed in trade bids?
Access, protection and disposal. They are done on every job, priced on none, and absorbed by the contractor who forgot to list them.