Frequently asked questions

16 questions about GeneralBid

Is the Bid Leveler really free?

Yes. No account, no card, and no limit on how many sheets you level; each one holds up to 40 bidders and 300 lines. It runs in your browser and does not stop working after a trial.

Where do my numbers go?

The levelling is worked out in your browser and the sheet is kept in this browser's local storage so a refresh does not lose it. Three things are sent to us, and only when you ask: a proposal you drop in to be read, a spec section you drop in to draft scope lines, and a sheet you save with “Save & get a link”. Anonymous links expire after 30 days.

How is an exclusion priced?

With a plug. If you entered your own estimate for that line, that is the plug. Otherwise it is the median of the bidders who priced it, or the highest price if you choose the conservative method. Each bid's levelled total is its stated number plus its plugs.

What is the difference between excluded and not mentioned?

Excluded means the bid says so, and you can ask for an add price. Not mentioned means the bid is silent, which is how scope ends up in nobody's contract. Both are plugged; not mentioned is highlighted because it is the one people miss.

Can I paste from my existing spreadsheet?

Yes. Copy the block with bidder names across the top and scope lines down the side. A Total or Base bid row, Tax and Bond rows, Alt rows and an Estimate column are all recognised, as are words like incl, excl, NIC and by others.

How are proposals read?

The PDF or pasted text is sent to GeneralBid with your scope line names, and an AI model (Claude, from Anthropic) reads it onto those lines: a price, included, excluded, or not mentioned, each with the quote it came from, plus the base bid, tax, bond, exclusions and qualifications. It is told to leave a line the proposal never mentions as not mentioned rather than guess, and never to make up a price. It is not perfect, especially on scanned pages, so you review every line before it is applied, and any warning is shown to you.

Can I start from the spec instead of the bids?

Yes. Drop in the spec section for one trade, or paste its text, and you get one scope line per item a sub would price separately, each with the spec paragraph it came from, such as 09 21 16 – 2.3.B. Commonly missed items the spec states, like testing, mock-ups, attic stock and warranties, come out as their own lines, and the spec's alternates as alternates. It never invents quantities or prices. You tick the lines you want, and any already in your sheet are left out.

Is my proposal or spec stored?

No. The file is sent to GeneralBid and passed to Anthropic, the AI provider that reads it for us, and the result comes back to your browser. We keep neither the file nor its text. Under Anthropic's commercial terms for its API, content sent to it is not used to train its models; Anthropic may keep it for a limited period under those terms, for example to detect misuse. What you apply lives in your browser's sheet, like everything else you type. The privacy policy has the details.

Is there a limit on reading proposals?

Yes, a few a minute and a daily cap per connection, so the free tool stays free, and reading can pause for the free tool on a very busy day. If you reach a limit, a free account keeps you going. Pasting, templates and typing into the sheet have no limit.

Can subs email their proposals in?

Yes, in GeneralBid Pro. Every package has its own inbox address. Forward a proposal to it, or give it to subs as the reply-to on your invitations, and each PDF is read onto the package's scope lines and waits in the package inbox until you review and apply it. We keep the reading and who it came from; the email and its attachments are not stored.

Do subcontractors pay, or need an account?

No. A sub opens the link in their invitation, prices your lines and submits, with no account. Subs who want one can create a free subcontractor account to see every invitation from every GC in one place, keep their documents current, and be listed for GCs looking for their trade. Subs are never billed.

Do you send text messages to subs?

Only to a sub who has opted in. SMS is only sent after the sub opts in on their own bid link or in their free account; a GC can add a phone number but can never opt a sub in. Texts are reminders of a bid due date with the link, and replying STOP ends them. Reminders are part of the paid plans.

What are benchmarks, and is my data in them?

Only if your team turns sharing on; it is off by default. Benchmarks are opt-in and aggregated from at least 5 companies, and a range is only shown when there are enough points behind it. No company, project or bidder is ever named. Your own cost history is always private to your team, whether you share or not.

Does GeneralBid integrate with Procore?

Native Procore sync is not available yet. An awarded package exports as a schedule-of-values CSV that Procore, Autodesk Build and most ERPs can import (check your import template), every package exports as JSON, and signed webhooks can send bids, awards and change orders to your own systems or to Zapier and Make.

What does GeneralBid Pro cost?

399 dollars a month per estimator, for projects, sub invitations, proposals by email, the directory and the GeneralBid network, prequalification, reminders, clarifications, award records and change orders. 1,200 dollars a month covers several offices and unlimited estimators, with analytics.

Can I move a free sheet into a project later?

Yes. Save it with a share link, then create an account from the link under the result. The sheet comes with you and becomes a trade package.