Level bids to a common scope

Gather every returned bid with the covering letter, the priced schedule and the qualifications each firm attached, so nothing that conditions a price is left in an inbox.

Neden: The qualifications are where the real differences hide. A bid read without its conditions is a number without a meaning, and half the leveling work is just finding them.

Set each bid against the common scope and flag what is missing, what is extra and where a firm has priced something different from what was asked.

Neden: A gap you spot now is a negotiation; a gap you miss becomes a variation the day after award. Mapping to a single scope is what turns apples and oranges back into apples.

Price the gaps and the qualifications into each bid as adjustments, so every offer is restated as what it would cost to deliver the full common scope.

Neden: Adjusting rather than disqualifying keeps a strong contractor in the race even if their bid was scrappy. It is the fairest and the sharpest way to find the true lowest cost.

Compare the levelled bids against each other and the budget, then write the recommendation on the offer that is genuinely lowest for the full scope, not just cheapest on paper.

Neden: A recommendation built on levelled numbers survives challenge. It shows the client you compared like for like and awarded on value rather than on whoever forgot the most.