Estimating Bid Types

The BidMagic construction estimating software calculates the cost of each Specifications category by one of four different methods:

• Labor and Materials-- your employees do the work, and you provide materials.
• Subcontractor and Materials-- subcontractors do the work, and you provide materials.
• Subcontractor Only-- subcontractors do the work and provide their own materials, with costs figured on a unit price basis.
• Flat Fee-- subcontractors do the work for a fixed dollar amount, or some other fixed dollar method is used for the category.

The method currently in use for the category is displayed on the Specs card, immediately to the left of the Price Box.

NOTE: General Conditions 2, Wall & Roof Framing and Miscellaneous Framing do not have a bid type, since they use the same method as the first card in their category.

To change the bid calculation method, click in the bid type, and choose a different bid type from the pop-up menu.
Choose Labor & Materials if the work for that category will be done by your own crew. Labor costs will appear in the Labor column, while material costs will appear in the Materials column.

Choose Subs & Materials if the labor for that category will be subcontracted, but you will still be providing materials. Labor costs will appear in the Subcontractor column, while material costs will still appear in the Materials column.
Choose Subs Only if both labor and materials will be provided by a subcontractor, based on unit prices or an estimate of the actual work to be performed. Both labor and material costs will appear in the Subcontractor column. You will enter line items as usual into Specifications.

Choose Flat Fee if labor and materials will be provided by a subcontractor for a flat fee, or if you prefer to estimate that category using a simple dollar amount rather than unit pricing. Use this choice for each category where you receive firm bids from your subcontractors or suppliers.

When you choose Flat Fee, line items will not be displayed at all on the Specifications card. Instead, you'll be able to enter a single dollar cost for labor, materials and subcontractors respectively.