On Contracting Bridge you choose how you see bids when you post a project. Open bidding (the default) shows you each bid the moment it arrives, and you can award whenever you're ready. Sealed bidding keeps every bid hidden until the due date, then opens them all at once. Either way, trades never see each other's numbers.
How open bidding works
- You post the project with a bid due date.
- Trades review the files, ask questions in messages, and send a bid with their price, pricing basis, earliest start date and notes.
- Each bid appears under Compare bids as soon as it's sent, lowest first.
- When the right bid comes in, award it. Bidding closes, the other bidders see "Not selected," and the winning trade can message you to schedule.
Trades see on the bid form that you can award before the due date, so nobody's surprised.
How sealed bidding works
Choose Sealed until the due date when you post. While bidding is open you see how many bids came in, but not the amounts. At the end of the due date, or as soon as you close bidding, every bid opens together. Trades see a "Sealed bidding" tag on the project.
Which one to use
| Use open bidding when | Use sealed bidding when |
|---|---|
| The job is time-sensitive and you need a crew this week | You want every bidder compared at the same moment |
| You know roughly what the work should cost | The scope is large or complex and numbers will vary |
| You're filling overflow work with a few trusted trades | Your client or your company requires a formal bid process |
| Small repair and service jobs | Commercial packages and bigger new-home trade packages |
Keeping trades bidding on your projects
Pricing a job takes real time. Trades notice which contractors respect that, and they bid harder for them. A few habits help:
- Give a real due date. Even with open bidding, a date tells trades how long they have.
- Don't shop numbers. Contracting Bridge never shows one trade's bid to another. Don't read a number to another bidder to get them to beat it.
- Answer questions for everyone. If a question changes the scope, update the project so every bidder sees it.
- Award promptly and close the loop. When you award, the others see "Not selected" right away, so nobody keeps holding a crew for you.
Tips for trades
- Check whether the project is open or sealed. On open projects, a solid bid sent early can win before the due date.
- Put your inclusions and exclusions in the notes. It's how you beat a lower number that leaves things out.
- Give a real start date. Contractors weigh it heavily on time-sensitive jobs.
- Made a mistake? Withdraw and re-bid while bidding is open.