Bid leveling & scope-gap analysis
Three quotes for the same package are almost never for the same scope. Bid leveling puts them on one common basis so the cheapest number is actually the cheapest job — inclusions, exclusions, qualifications and quantity assumptions compared line by line. From $600, with independent change-order and claim quantity checks at $150/hr, three-hour minimum.
Who bid leveling
is for
Two situations, same discipline. In both, the problem isn't arithmetic — it's that the quotes on your desk are describing different amounts of work in the same units.
Levelling your own supplier and sub-sub quotes
You've got three material quotes and two installation quotes for one package, and each one carries its own set of exclusions. Levelling them tells you which number is genuinely lowest once the gaps are filled — and which supplier just handed you a cheap price by leaving something out that you'll carry anyway.
Levelling sub bids before you award
The spread between three sub bids is usually scope, not price. Levelling turns the spread into a list of specific differences — what each bidder included, excluded and qualified — so the award conversation is about the same building rather than three interpretations of it.
What the leveling
matrix shows
You get one Excel workbook with the bidders as columns and the scope as rows, so any line can be read across. Nothing is summarized away — if a bidder is silent on something, the cell says so, because silence is the finding.
Scope broken into comparable line items
The package is decomposed into the items a bid can actually differ on — materials, assemblies, accessories, preparation, access, and the interfaces with adjacent trades. Rows come from the drawings and the specification, not from any one bidder's proposal, so nobody's format sets the agenda.
One column per bidder, read across
Each bidder's position on each row: included, excluded, qualified, or not mentioned. "Not mentioned" is its own state and it's the one that costs money, because it's the item everyone assumes somebody else has.
A gap list, with the source named
Every item nobody priced, every item priced by more than one bidder, and every place a bidder's qualification quietly shifts risk to you — each with the drawing sheet or spec section it comes from, so it can be resolved in a phone call instead of a dispute.
Quantity assumptions compared, not just prices
Where bidders state quantities, they're compared against each other and against the drawings. Two bidders pricing the same unit rate against quantities that differ by fifteen percent is a finding, and it's invisible if you only read the bottom line.
An adjusted comparison, with the maths visible
Each bidder gets an adjusted total that adds the value of what they left out, using your own numbers or a stated allowance. Every adjustment is a visible line you can argue with — the point is a defensible comparison, not a verdict handed down.
A one-page summary you can take to a meeting
The ranking, the material differences behind it, and the open questions worth an RFI before award. Short enough to be read in a scope meeting, with the full matrix behind it when someone disagrees.
Change-order & claim
quantity checks
An independent remeasure of disputed quantities, charged hourly at $150 with a three-hour minimum. It's the same measurement discipline as a takeoff, pointed at a number somebody is already arguing about.
- Independent remeasure of the disputed scopeMeasured from the drawings and the change documents, without reference to either side's figure until ours is finished.
- Before-and-after comparisonOriginal scope quantities against revised scope quantities, so the delta is a measured difference rather than an assertion.
- Basis of measurement stated in writingIncluding the deduction rules used, which is usually where two honest parties end up with different numbers.
- A written summary you can attachShort, factual and traceable to sheets and details, suitable for attaching to a claim or a change-order response.
- Hourly, with the hours reported$150/hr, three-hour minimum, and you're told what the hours went on.
This is a quantity opinion, not a legal or contractual one. It says what the drawings measure to — not who is entitled to what under the contract.
Bid leveling FAQs
How much does bid leveling cost?
What do you need from me?
Do you recommend a winner?
How fast is it?
Can you level a package you also did the takeoff for?
Is bid leveling included in a retainer?
Will you sign a confidentiality agreement?
Send the quotes.
Fixed price in 4 hours.
Send the bids, the drawings and any addenda through the quote form or to info@sharpbid.ca. A fixed price and a delivery date come back within 4 business hours.