Bid Proposal Template for Contractors

A bid proposal template gives contractors a consistent way to turn plans, a site visit and a cost estimate into a firm offer the owner can accept. The best bid proposals are not the longest; they are the ones that make the scope, price, exclusions and schedule impossible to misread. Below you will find the sections every bid should include, a filled-in sample with the pricing math shown, and the mistakes that cost contractors jobs or margin.

What a bid proposal is (and is not)

A bid proposal is a written offer to complete a defined scope for a defined price. It is usually prepared from drawings, specifications or a bill of quantities, and it is often one of several bids the owner compares. That makes it different from an early budget figure. Our article on quote vs estimate explains why an estimate can move while a bid or quote is generally expected to hold.

For small residential jobs, a detailed quotation may be enough; see our construction quotation format. Bid proposals become important when you are competing on a tender, responding to a general contractor as a subcontractor, or pricing work from formal documents.

Sections in a contractor bid proposal template

1. Header: your business name, licence number where required, address, phone, email and logo; bid number and date.
2. Client and project: owner or general contractor name, project name, site address and the documents your bid is based on (drawing numbers, revision letters, specification sections, addenda received).
3. Scope of work: a plain-language description of what you will do, organised by trade or phase.
4. Pricing: lump sum, unit prices or a schedule of values. Show tax treatment.
5. Alternates and options: priced add or deduct items the owner can choose.
6. Exclusions and assumptions: what is not included and what you have assumed.
7. Schedule: start date, duration, key milestones and lead times for long-lead materials.
8. Payment terms: deposit, progress payments, retainage and due dates.
9. Insurance, licensing and bonding: what you carry and what you can provide.
10. Validity period: how long the price holds.
11. Acceptance block: signature, name, title and date for both parties.

Bid proposal sample: commercial office refurbishment

Bid no.	BID-2026-019
Date	12 November 2026
Contractor	Ridgeway Interiors LLC, Licence no. on file, 410 Market St
Client	Elmfield Property Group
Project	Suite 300 refurbishment, 1,800 sq ft
Based on	Drawings A-101 to A-104 Rev C, Specification sections 09 21 16 and 09 91 23, Addendum 1

Scope of work

• Demolish two existing partitions and remove debris from site.
• Build 140 linear feet of new metal stud and drywall partitions to 9 ft, finished level 4.
• Supply and install 6 solid-core doors with frames and lever hardware.
• Prime and paint all new and existing walls, two coats.
• Supply and install 1,800 sq ft of carpet tile, including floor preparation.

Pricing (schedule of values)

Item	Basis	Amount
Demolition and disposal	Lump sum	2,400.00
Partitions	140 lf x 68.00	9,520.00
Doors, frames, hardware	6 x 1,150.00	6,900.00
Painting	4,600 sq ft wall area x 1.85	8,510.00
Carpet tile	1,800 sq ft x 5.40	9,720.00
General conditions (supervision, protection, cleanup)	Lump sum	3,200.00
Total bid (sales tax on materials included)		40,250.00

Alternates

• Alternate 1, add: glass sidelight at conference room door, 1,350.00.
• Alternate 2, deduct: owner supplies carpet tile, labour only, minus 5,940.00.

Exclusions and assumptions

• Excludes electrical, data, HVAC and fire alarm work.
• Excludes permits and plan review fees (can be added at cost).
• Excludes testing or removal of asbestos or other hazardous materials.
• Assumes normal working hours, Monday to Friday, with clear access to the suite.

Schedule and payment

Start within 10 working days of signed acceptance; duration 4 weeks. Payment: 10% on signing, monthly progress billing against the schedule of values, 5% retainage released at substantial completion, invoices due Net 30. Bid valid for 45 days.

How the pricing was built

The unit rates above did not come from guesswork. Take the partition line. Suppose a crew of two installs 35 linear feet per day, so 140 feet takes 4 days or 64 labour hours. At a loaded labour cost of 48.00 per hour, labour is 3,072.00. Materials (studs, track, board, screws, tape, compound) for 140 feet come to 3,150.00 with 10% waste. Direct cost is 6,222.00. Adding 15% overhead (933.30) gives 7,155.30, then a 25% markup on that cost (1,788.83) gives 8,944.13. Rounded to a clean unit rate, 64.00 per foot would cover it; Ridgeway used 68.00 to allow for the 9 ft height and corner details.

If you want a deeper walk-through of building rates from labour and materials, read our guides on job costing for contractors and calculating an overhead rate.

Bid bonds, performance bonds and public work

Public and large private projects often require bid security, usually a bid bond, with the bid. After award, larger contracts may need performance and payment bonds. On US federal construction, the FAR requires performance and payment bonds for construction contracts exceeding $150,000, with some exceptions, as set out in FAR 28.102-1. States and other countries set their own thresholds for public work. Always read the instructions to bidders, because a missing bond or unsigned form can disqualify an otherwise winning bid. This is general information, not legal advice.

Step-by-step: preparing a bid

1. Read every document. Drawings, specifications, addenda and the instructions to bidders. Record revision letters on your bid.
2. Visit the site. Check access, parking, existing conditions and anything the drawings do not show.
3. Take off quantities. Measure from drawings, or price against a bill of quantities if one is provided.
4. Get subcontractor and supplier quotes in writing, with their own exclusions.
5. Build direct costs, then add overhead, contingency and profit.
6. Write the scope and exclusions in plain language.
7. Check for completeness. Compare your total against similar past jobs per square foot or per unit.
8. Submit on time in the requested format and keep proof of submission.

Lump sum, unit price or cost-plus?

The pricing method changes how your bid proposal template should look. Pick the one the bid documents ask for, or the one that matches how well the scope is defined.

Method	How the bid shows price	Who carries quantity risk	Best for
Lump sum (stipulated sum)	One total, usually supported by a schedule of values	Contractor	Fully designed work
Unit price	Rate per unit with estimated quantities; paid on actual quantities	Owner	Earthworks, paving, repetitive items
Cost-plus	Actual cost plus a fixed fee or percentage, often with a cap	Owner (mostly)	Fast-track or uncertain scope
Time and materials	Hourly labour rates plus materials at cost plus markup	Owner	Repairs and small undefined jobs

For a unit-price bid, the total is only an estimate. If you bid 400 cubic yards of excavation at 18.00 (7,200.00) and the actual quantity is 460, you bill 460 x 18.00 = 8,280.00. Make that mechanism explicit in the proposal, and for cost-plus bids, define exactly which costs are reimbursable and how the fee is calculated.

Writing the cover letter

Many owners read the cover letter first. Keep it to one page: thank them for the invitation, state the bid amount and validity, confirm that you have received all addenda, and highlight two or three things that set you apart, such as a similar completed project, a crew available on the required start date or an alternate that saves money. Attach the detailed bid behind it, and sign it with a name and title of someone authorised to commit the company.

Common bid proposal mistakes

• Pricing from old drawings. Always state which revision your bid is based on.
• Missing exclusions. If permits, patching or hazardous materials are not mentioned, the client may assume they are included.
• Forgetting general conditions. Supervision, protection, skips and cleanup are real costs.
• No mechanism for changes. State that extra work will be priced by written change order; see our guide to billing scope creep with a change order.
• Unclear retainage and payment terms. These shape your cash flow for months.
• No validity period. Material prices move; protect yourself.

After you win the bid

Turn the schedule of values into your billing plan. Each month, invoice the percentage complete on each line, less retainage. Our guides to progress billing and the broader construction invoice guide show how to present those invoices so they are approved quickly.

You can prepare the bid summary or the first deposit invoice in our free invoice generator. Enter your line items, retainage notes and payment terms, then download the finished PDF; you do not need to sign up or install anything.