Basic Service
The Bid Express Basic Service allows you to view and download complete and detailed bid information from all agencies using the Bid Express service. A search function allows you to quickly find information, and an optional email notification service alerts you when agencies post project information. The Bid Express service also provides a complete schedule of items for each contract and the eligible bidders and plan holders lists (where available).
When you subscribe to the Basic Service, you gain free access to the AASHTOWare Project Bids™ Bid component, which allows you to prepare your bids electronically. With the AASHTOWare Project Bids™ Bid component, you enter only unit prices because the quantities come across automatically and the computation is done for you. The AASHTOWare Project Bids™ Bid component has built-in error checking functions that make your bids virtually error-free.
With Basic Service, you can save your bid to a CD or other media, or print it for submission. Internet Bid submission is available as an additional service.
Basic Service subscribers also gain free access to the Bid Express Small Business Network®, a business center that facilitates the interaction between prime contractors and subcontractors, especially DBEs and other underutilized businesses. Prime contractors can request sub-quotes through the system and track responses from subcontractors. This can be a tool to show Good Faith in agencies with minority-related goals. Subcontractors can provide solicited and unsolicited quotes to plan holders in an effort to expand their business reach. Use of the Bid Express Small Business Network® is included in the Basic Service.
Internet Bidding Service
The convenience and security you are looking for is here - Internet Bidding from the Bid Express service.
When your bid is prepared using the AASHTOWare Project Bids™ Bid component (which you can downlowd for free), you can use the Bid Express Internet Bidding service to submit it over the internet. This convenient service means that you no longer need to travel to submit bids - no more time away from the office, miles of travel or expensive hotel stays just to deliver bids. Stay home and let the internet safely and securely deliver the bid for you.
When you use Internet Bidding Service, your bid is encrypted, signed by your unique Digital ID, and held in a lockbox until the bid opening by the agency. Your Digital ID, available through the Bid Express service, is an electronic tool that allows contractors to digitally sign bids submitted via the Bid Express service and your unique identifier. You can withdraw or replace your bid up until the last minute - making it easy to accommodate last minute price changes.
The Bid Express Internet Bidding service also has additional error-checking features to help you submit complete and accurate bids. Redundant power sources, file back-ups and duplicate hardware set-ups help to ensure that your bid is secure. The Bid Express service uses the latest digital signature and encryption technology. The system is built, maintained, and constantly monitored to ensure the reliability you would expect for this critical service.
The service also conducts online verification of bid bonds through surety agencies. With this feature, you no longer have to worry about getting a paper bid bond. Instead, you can obtain a bid bond verification code from your surety agency. When preparing your bid in the AASHTOWare Project Bids™ Bid component, enter the code with your bid submission and you're done. The code is embedded in the bid and backed by a participating surety bond processing agency. This feature means less paper and less hassle in meeting the bid bond requirement.
Analysis Suite Service
This service includes Bid Tab Analysis and Bid Express Advantage.
Bid Tab Analysis
When preparing bids, do you often find yourself having difficulty determining what to charge for an item? There are many variables that can affect an item's cost and there is often little time to do research. The Bid Tab Analysis service allows you to view past bid prices and use this information as a guide to help you in pricing.
With the service, you can view historical low, average and high prices for items in a variety of formats, including by proposal, by item and by contractor. With this service, you can perform many different analyses quickly. You can easily access bid tab data from most agencies using the Bid Express service. View a demo movie of the Bid Tab Analysis service to learn more.
Bid Express Advantage
It's a fact - projects are won or lost on just a few items. Wouldn't it be great to compare your bid to your key competitors on select items? Or even by geographical area? Welcome to the Bid Express Advantage - a service that lets you set and change data parameters on historical bid data to get the answers you are looking for.
The Bid Express Advantage lets you perform a statistical competitive analysis of your bid against other bidders for a specified letting and down to the item level. You can set and manipulate data parameters such as quantity ranges, locations and dates. The service allows you to perform specific historical analyses in areas such as historical performance vs. another bidder or bidders by work item, geographical area, etc. While the concept is complex, the service is very easy to use with colorful graphical displays that are interactive and easy to navigate. View a demo of the Bid Express Advantage here.
The Bid Express Advantage is not available at this time for the following agencies: ADOT, CALTRANS, CTDOT, NDDOT, NSTIR.
Online Plan Sheets Service
Are you tired of buying lots of plans that you end up not using? Is storing and shipping plans eating into your profits? Get your plans online!
By subscribing to Online Plan Sheets service from the Bid Express service, you gain access to plan sheets from any computer. They can be viewed online, downloaded to your computer, printed in your office to an office printer, or ordered and shipped to you (for an additional fee). With this service, you can:
- Download all of the sheets in a set, or download a smaller selection
- Stop driving to pick up plans! View plan sheets for a job from any computer with an Internet connection
- Pay one monthly fee for viewing all plan sheets and printing them in your office
- Access plan sheets from all agencies using the Bid Express Online Plan Sheets service for one monthly fee
- Order custom sets of printed plans and have them delivered to your door (via our printing partners for an additional fee)
You can subscribe to this service on a monthly basis and cancel at any time. View a demo movie of the Online Plan Sheets service to learn more. Contact the Bid Express service to see if this convenient service is available in the agencies of interest to you.
Save time, stop wasting plan sheets and save a tree. Subscribe to the Online Plan Sheets service today.
Bid Express Small Business Network®
The Bid Express Small Business Network® is an area on the Bid Express service website that facilitates the interaction between prime contractors and subcontractors. It allows them to exchange sub-quotes and communicate about projects. The network is especially helpful in bringing prime contractors and disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) contractors together to meet specific agency requirements. The Bid Express Small Business Network® is a part of the Bid Express Basic Service level and therefore available to all Bid Express service subscribers at no additional cost.
With the Bid Express Small Business Network®, prime contractors can:
- Post an unlimited number of sub-quote requests for subcontractors to view
- Send an alert email about a posted sub-quote, and receive alerts when sub-quotes receive a response
- View all outstanding sub-quote requests at a glance
- Easily locate pre-qualified and certified small and disadvantaged businesses and advertise to them more efficiently and cost effectively
- Take a step to demonstrate DBE Subcontractor Outreach efforts in reaching disadvantaged businesses by producing a good faith form from the system
With the Bid Express Small Business Network®, DBEs can:
- View and respond to sub-quote requests that prime contractors have posted for projects they are bidding
- Use a keyword search function to find bidding opportunities in seconds
- Provide and track solicited and unsolicited quotes to plan holders through the system in an effort to expand your business reach
- Look up plan holders and eligible bidders for each proposal so the DBE can send quotes directly to those who need them
- View important notices and publications from your state agency targeted to small and disadvantaged businesses
- Associate work types with their accounts, and receive e-mail notifications when sub-quote requests with those work types are posted to the Bid Express Small Business Network®.
View a demo movie of the Bid Express Small Business Network® to learn more.
Information sheets about the Bid Express Small Business Network® are available for both prime contractors and subcontractors. There is no special access or login for the Bid Express Small Business Network®. Subscriber can begin using this service by clicking on the Small Business Network tab on the Bid Express service page for each agency.
Note: Not all services are available for all state agencies. Please check with Bid Express customer support or the agency(ies) with which you do business for a list of available services. View fee schedule.
Services
- Basic service
- Internet Bidding service
- Analysis Suite service
- Online Plan Sheets service
- Bid Express Small Business Network®