Commercial Construction Bid Checklist: What to Send Bidders and What to Get Back

Most problems with commercial construction bids start before the first bid arrives. If the request is vague, every contractor fills the gaps with their own assumptions, and you end up with three prices for three different jobs. This checklist covers the whole process in three parts: what to send bidders, what every bid you get back should contain, and what to confirm before you sign. It works for a $15,000 suite refresh and a $1 million restaurant buildout alike — the bigger the job, the more each line matters.

Part 1: What to send every bidder

Think of this as your bid package. Everyone who bids gets exactly the same set, on the same day, with the same due date.

• Project basics. Street address and suite number, square footage, what the space will be used for, and whether the building is occupied. Note the landlord or property manager if there is one.
• Drawings and specifications. If you have construction documents, list every sheet with its revision date so you can confirm later that all bidders priced the same set. If you don’t have drawings yet, write a one- or two-page scope sheet: what gets demolished, what gets built, the finish level, and which systems change (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fire sprinklers, low-voltage).
• Finish selections or allowances. Where finishes aren’t chosen yet, set one allowance per item — for example, a flooring allowance per square foot or a lighting fixture allowance — and ask every bidder to carry the same number.
• Owner-furnished items. Say what you are buying yourself (kitchen equipment, furniture, IT and AV, signage) and what the contractor should install. Unclear equipment responsibility is one of the most common reasons bids don’t line up.
• Schedule. Target start date, required completion or opening date, and any fixed milestones such as a rent commencement date.
• Site rules. Allowed work hours, after-hours requirements for noisy work, freight elevator and loading dock access, parking, and protection of common areas.
• Landlord requirements. Insurance minimums, additional-insured wording, approved or required subcontractors, and the approval process for drawings. If your lease has a work letter, share the relevant pages.
• Permits and approvals. State who pulls the building permit (normally the contractor) and whether accessibility registration with TDLR applies — in Texas it does when the project’s total estimated cost is $50,000 or more.
• Budget range. Sharing a range is optional, but it helps contractors propose the right finish level and flag scope that won’t fit. A planning estimate gives you a reasonable starting range.
• Bid format and due date. Ask for a line-item breakdown by trade, with allowances, exclusions, alternates and schedule listed separately. Give a firm due date and a single contact for questions.
• Site visit. Offer a walkthrough window. Contractors who see the space price existing conditions instead of guessing at them.
• Questions and answers. Say that every answer that affects scope will be sent to all bidders in writing. This keeps one contractor from pricing your answer while the others price their own assumption.

Part 2: What every bid should include

When bids come back, check each one against this list before you look at the totals. A missing item isn’t necessarily a bad sign — it’s a question to ask the bidder.

• Base price with a breakdown. The total, split by trade or by major category, so you can see where the money goes.
• The scope they priced. The drawing set and revision date, or the version of your scope sheet.
• Allowances. Each allowance and its amount. If a bidder changed your number, ask why.
• Exclusions. Work the bidder won’t do. Common ones are permit fees, fire alarm and sprinkler changes, low-voltage cabling, utility company charges and after-hours premiums.
• Qualifications. Assumptions the price depends on, such as “existing HVAC is in working order.” A wrong assumption becomes a change order.
• Alternates. Any add or deduct options you asked for, priced separately from the base bid.
• Schedule. Proposed start date, duration, long-lead items (rooftop units, electrical gear, storefront glass, kitchen hoods) and whether the schedule assumes normal or after-hours work.
• General conditions and fee. Supervision, temporary facilities, cleanup and the contractor’s overhead and profit — shown separately or clearly included.
• Change-order terms. The markup on changes and hourly rates for time-and-material work.
• Payment terms. Any deposit, the billing cycle and retainage.
• Licensed subcontractors. Names and license numbers for the regulated trades: electrical and HVAC (TDLR), plumbing (Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners), and fire sprinklers, fire alarms and kitchen hood suppression (State Fire Marshal’s Office).
• Insurance. A certificate of insurance, or a commitment to provide one, with the limits your lease requires.
• Warranty. The contractor’s warranty on workmanship, when it starts, and which manufacturer warranties pass through to you.
• How long the price is good for. A bid validity period, and whether any material prices are only held for a short time.

Once every bid has these items, follow our line-by-line guide to comparing contractor bids to adjust for exclusions and allowances and find the real low bid.

Part 3: What to confirm before you sign

• Licenses, looked up yourself. Check the state license numbers on the agency websites rather than accepting a copy. Texas doesn’t license general contractors at the state level, so for the GC, confirm the business entity with the Texas Secretary of State and any city registration. Our guide on finding licensed contractors in Texas lists who licenses what.
• Insurance certificate. Names your business as additional insured, with limits and dates that cover the project.
• References. Two or three recent commercial projects of a similar type and size. Ask whether the job finished on time and how changes were handled.
• The contract. A written contract that attaches the drawings or scope, the bid, the schedule and the payment terms. Many owners use standard industry forms; whatever you use, have it reviewed.
• Schedule of values. The breakdown the contractor will bill against each month. It should line up with the bid.
• Lien waivers. Agree up front that each payment application comes with lien waivers from the contractor and major subcontractors.
• Who pulls the permit. The contractor doing the work should pull it. A request that you pull it yourself is a red flag.
• Your own contingency. Set money aside for unknowns, separate from any contingency inside the contractor’s price.

A one-page checklist

Common questions

How many bids should I get? Three is the usual target for commercial work. Fewer makes it hard to tell whether a price is reasonable; many more takes a lot of your time and can discourage good contractors from bidding. See how to get multiple contractor bids.

How long should I give contractors to bid? Enough time to visit the site and get prices from their subcontractors. Small, simple jobs can turn around quickly; buildouts with several trades take longer. Ask bidders up front whether your due date is workable.

Do I need drawings to get bids? Not always. Single-trade work and simple refreshes can be priced from a clear scope sheet and a site visit. Buildouts that move walls or change building systems usually need drawings for the permit anyway, and bids based on drawings are far easier to compare.

Should I tell contractors my budget? It’s your call. A range helps contractors suggest where to save and tell you early if the scope doesn’t fit. It rarely raises prices when several contractors are bidding the same scope.

How BidBridge Texas helps

When you post a project on BidBridge Texas, the form walks you through the basics on this list — type of work, location, budget range, timing and a description of the scope — and up to three verified commercial contractors can bid. Each bid comes in a structured format with the total, a labor and material split, start and completion dates and scope notes, so you can line them up side by side. Your contact details stay private until you choose to connect. Need a contractor for a specific trade? Browse trades and project types or commercial general contractors.