Bid board software: from invitation to priced bid.
A bid board lists the projects you've been invited to or are tracking, with documents, contacts and due dates. Project search tools find new work. Most contractors lose opportunities in the gap between invitation and a priced bid, and that's where takeoff speed matters. Here's what the main tools do, what they publish about price, and how to choose.
Send one plan set. See what the AI extracts and what it flags for review. No obligation.
- Bid boards explained
- Tools and pricing
- Bid/no-bid
- Faster turnaround
From invite to submitted
- Find: project search and GC invitations.
- Decide: bid/no-bid scoring.
- Quantify: takeoff from the documents.
- Price and propose: estimate and proposal.
A bid board covers steps 1 and 2 and tracks the deadline for 4. It doesn't do step 3 for you.
What they do and cost
| Tool | What it is | Published price (checked Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| BuildingConnected Bid Board Pro (Autodesk) | Consolidates invites from BuildingConnected and forwarded email ITBs; bid calendar, assignment, Plan Room of publicly posted GC projects, win-rate analytics | Quote only ("Request a Quote") |
| PlanHub | GC network and project finder; free profile to receive invites and bid locally | Premier $1,999/yr (50 mi), $2,349 (100 mi), $3,299 (200 mi); Enterprise quoted |
| ConstructConnect Project Intelligence | Project leads with plans, specs, addenda and plan holder lists | Starter $129/month per market; Professional from $199/month; Premium from $10,000/yr |
Prices change, and many vendors negotiate. Confirm on the vendor's pricing page before you budget.
A quick checklist
- Where do your GCs send invites? If most use BuildingConnected, a board that consolidates those invites saves the most clicks.
- Do you need new leads or just tracking? Lead services (PlanHub, ConstructConnect) cost more than tracking alone, and radius-based pricing matters if you travel.
- Team size: assignment and company-wide views matter once two or more estimators share the board.
- Win-rate data: record why you lost (price, scope, relationship). Analytics are only as good as what gets entered.
- Document handoff: check how plans get from the board into your takeoff tool without re-downloading.
Bid/no-bid scoring
GC relationship / award fairness x0.30 4
Scope fit (your trade, your size) x0.25 5
Schedule / estimator capacity x0.20 2
Location / travel x0.15 4
Bond / insurance fit x0.10 5
Score = 1.2 + 1.25 + 0.4 + 0.6 + 0.5 = 3.95 -> bid
Change the weights to fit your business. The point is to decide consistently, and early, before anyone spends hours on takeoff.
Where bid boards fall short
- Duplicate invites: the same project from four GCs. Group them so you take off once and price for each GC's scope split.
- Stale documents: an addendum posted after you downloaded. Check for new files the day before bid.
- Lead volume isn't pipeline: more invites don't help if your estimators can't price them. Capacity is usually the constraint.
The quantities a trade estimator actually needs
These are the items RenderDraw proposes from the drawings, each linked to the sheet it came from, for your estimator to accept, correct or reject.
| Item | What is measured or counted | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Counts | Symbols, devices, fixtures and doors against the legend | Plans, legends, schedules |
| Lengths | Walls, runs, edges and linear items | Plans, details |
| Areas | Rooms, finishes, roofs, paving | Plans, finish schedules |
| Volumes | Concrete, earthwork, fill | Sections, schedules |
| Scope items | Requirements, exclusions and alternates | Specs, general notes, addenda |
From plan set to reviewed quantities.
AI-powered, human-approved. Each stage records what ran, what changed and who approved it.
Send one plan set
Upload the plan set, legends and schedules, the spec sections for your scope and any addenda. Add an addendum if you have one.
AI proposes quantities
Counts, lengths and areas come back with the source sheet and location attached to every row.
Estimator review
Low-confidence items surface first. Your estimator accepts, corrects or rejects each one.
Map to your assemblies
Approved quantities map to your items, assemblies and estimating assumptions.
Price reviewed rows
Labor units, material pricing and supplier quotes apply only to rows that passed review.
Hand off with evidence
Reviewed quantities move on to your estimate, catalog or quote workflow with the source trail still attached.
Supported files and tasks depend on your trade and implementation. Confirm them in the free sample run.
The AI drafts. Your estimator decides.
Speed is easy to promise. Defensible numbers are the job, so RenderDraw keeps the estimator in control of every quantity that gets priced.
- Source on every row. Each quantity keeps its source sheet, location and reviewer decision.
- Lowest confidence first. The review queue shows the drawing tile with the detection highlighted and the extracted value.
- Uncertain items flagged, not hidden. Anything the AI can't confirm goes to the estimator rather than being guessed.
- Nothing priced before approval. Rows move on to pricing only after they are accepted.
Questions estimators ask.
What is a bid board?
A list or system tracking projects to bid, with documents, contacts and due dates.
How much does bid board software cost?
It varies. BuildingConnected Bid Board Pro is quote-only. PlanHub Premier is $1,999 to $3,299 a year depending on radius. ConstructConnect Project Intelligence starts at $129 a month per market (published November 2026).
Is there a free bid board for subcontractors?
PlanHub offers a free profile to receive GC invitations and bid within a local radius. Paid tiers add wider search and tools.
What is construction project search software?
Services that find and list upcoming projects and bid opportunities, often with plans and plan holder lists.
How do I bid more jobs?
Score bid/no-bid early, take off faster, and stop pricing jobs you're unlikely to win.
See what the AI reads on your own drawings.
Send one representative trade plan set. RenderDraw reviews it and follows up with what the AI extracted and what it flagged for review. Your files remain private while the request is assessed, and there is no obligation.
- Upload the plan set, legends and schedules, the spec sections for your scope and any addenda.
- RenderDraw reviews the set and the scope you want tested.
- We follow up with extracted quantities, flagged items and next steps.
Where these numbers come from
We checked this guide against the standards, manufacturer documents and industry references below (last reviewed November 2026). Figures marked as rules of thumb are typical ranges, not requirements; your project documents, local code and your own cost history govern.