A bid proposal template is a fixed order of sections that turns your price into a document a general contractor can check in minutes. For a subcontractor, the order runs from scope and base bid through exclusions, alternates and validity to a signature. Below are twelve parts with sample wording, a filled-in electrical scope letter and the ten checks a bid leveler runs on it. Everything is built as tables you can copy into a word processor or spreadsheet, and there is no file to download. Bid, quote and proposal compared sorts out which document is which.
Bid proposal template: the twelve parts in reading order
This bid proposal format follows the way a leveler reads: top to bottom, with the drawings open beside the page. The right-hand column is what the general contractor needs from each part.
Part | What goes in it | What the general contractor needs from it |
|---|---|---|
1. Header | Project name and address, your firm, one named contact with phone and email, date and time sent, page numbers | Someone to call, and proof you beat the cutoff |
2. Scope by trade | Trade, drawing sheets with issue dates, specification sections, labor, material and equipment | A scope that matches the package it is leveling you against |
3. Base bid | One lump sum for the base scope, in figures and words, with sales tax stated as in or out | The number it carries into its own bid |
4. Inclusions | Counted items the price covers | Which doubtful items are in |
5. Exclusions | Items the price leaves out, by name | Which gaps it must price itself |
6. Clarifications | Assumptions the price rests on | Which assumptions clash with the documents |
7. Alternates | A price for each alternate, or "no change" | Proof that you read every alternate |
8. Unit prices | Add or deduct price per unit of stated work | A way to price changes later |
9. Validity | A calendar date through which the price holds | A price that outlasts the owner's award date |
10. Addenda | Every addendum priced, by number and date | Proof that you priced the current set |
11. Insurance, bond, prequalification | Certificate on request, bond if required, license and prequalification status | A sub it can qualify without a second round of paperwork |
12. Signature | Name, title and date of a person who can commit the firm | A person who stands behind the number |
If the general contractor sends its own bid proposal form, use it for the price lines. Attach this wording as a letter that refers to the form, and check that the form lets you attach one.
Part 10 depends on an addenda log, and the forms pack is the other piece of bid-week paperwork. If your week is too full for them, Takeoff Services LLC sells outsourced takeoffs and bid desk work, and what an outsourced bid desk covers shows which tasks move off your desk. You keep the price and the signature.
Bidding as the prime to a private owner? The same twelve parts apply. Add the five below, and let the contract form carry anything it already covers.
Added part | What goes in it |
|---|---|
Schedule | Start and completion in calendar days from notice to proceed, with long-lead items named |
Payment terms | A pointer to the contract form's payment clause, not a rewrite of it |
Changes | Changes priced and agreed in writing before the work starts |
Qualifications | License, insurance and references, on a cover page when the invitation asks |
Acceptance | Signature lines for the owner and for you |
Scope line: say what the number covers
A scope line can read two ways, and then the leveler has to guess which one you meant. Name the trade, the sheets with their issue dates, the specification sections and the basis of the price: labor only, or labor, material and equipment. Then tie every inclusion to something you counted. A proposal is only as firm as the quantities behind its price, so check that every inclusion line traces to a counted item before it goes out.
Reads two ways | Reads one way |
|---|---|
Electrical per plans and specs. | Electrical work on sheets E1.0 to E4.1, issued [date], and specified in Division 26. Labor, material and equipment. Addenda 1 to 3. |
Includes all lighting. | Includes 118 fixtures on schedule L-1, types A to C, furnished and installed. |
Those counts come from the takeoff. The next table shows the tie-out for the invented office used later in this guide, two floors of 7,200 SF each. The counts are invented, so do not use them as a guide to what a job like this holds. Keep counts and prices side by side on the estimate sheet behind a proposal. To trace a count back to its sheet, see a scope line from a measured takeoff.
Item | Floor 1 | Floor 2 | Printed in the letter |
|---|---|---|---|
Duplex receptacles | 52 | 44 | 96 |
Switches | 18 | 16 | 34 |
Fixtures, type A | 40 | 24 | 64 |
Fixtures, type B | 22 | 16 | 38 |
Fixtures, type C | 8 | 8 | 16 |
Fixtures, all types | 70 | 48 | 118 |
Panelboards | 1 | 1 | 2 |
If a count in the letter differs from the takeoff, one of them is wrong. Fix it before the proposal leaves your office.
Division numbers follow the MasterFormat division list: 26 is Electrical, 27 is Communications and 28 is Electronic Safety and Security. That list dates from 2020, so use the numbers in the project manual if they differ.
Inclusions, exclusions and clarifications with sample wording
Three lists do three jobs. Inclusions confirm what the price covers. Exclusions name what it leaves out. Clarifications state the conditions the price rests on. Write each as a short list of items, not a paragraph, and build it for this job. A list pasted from your last proposal carries items that may not apply. Treat every line in the table as wording to adapt.
Type | Rule | Sample wording to adapt |
|---|---|---|
Inclusion | Name the item, the count and the sheet | "Includes 118 lighting fixtures on schedule L-1, furnished and installed." |
Exclusion | Name the item. Say who has it, if you know | "Excludes temporary power and temporary lighting." |
Exclusion | Name what belongs to other divisions | "Excludes Division 27 and Division 28 work, by others." |
Exclusion with a price | Offer a figure instead of a bare no | "Excludes engineered shop drawings. Add [amount] if they are required." |
Clarification | State the assumption and what happens if it fails | "Price assumes normal working hours and one mobilization. Added mobilizations will be priced on request." |
Clarification | Say what you priced against | "Price is based on addenda 1 to 3. Later addenda will be priced on request." |
Clarification | Say what makes it a contract | "This proposal becomes a subcontract only when both parties sign a written subcontract." |
Exclusions fail in a few common ways.
Blanket exclusions. A line such as "Excludes anything not shown" gives the leveler nothing to price. The leveler often adds a plug, a placeholder price for the scope you left open, and your adjusted number rises.
Exclusions the specification contradicts. If the documents require the item and you exclude it, expect the leveler to price it into your number or to call you.
Contract terms in the clarifications. Payment, retainage and warranty belong to the subcontract unless the invitation asks for them.
Your proposal does not outrank the subcontract. If the subcontract ties you to the contract documents, an item they require may still be yours despite an exclusion. Read the order-of-precedence clause before you sign.
Alternates, unit prices and allowances
Price every alternate in the invitation. If one does not touch your trade, write "no change", so the leveler can see you read it. State whether each alternate adds or deducts. An alternate price is the change to the base bid, not a new total.
A unit price is the amount to add or deduct for one unit of stated work. Say what the unit includes and how many units the price covers. The letter below shows both. If the documents carry an allowance, carry exactly the amount they state and show it on its own line, so the leveler can see you did not change it. Include it in the base bid unless the owner's form gives allowances a separate line. Sample wording: "The base bid includes the lighting control allowance stated in the documents, shown on its own line."
Bid validity, addenda and the signature block
Give validity as a calendar date, not "30 days". A number of days leaves the start date open. Then compare the date with your supplier quotes, because your price should not outlive the quotes under it unless you price the gap. The table uses an invented job. Bid day is Thursday 11 March 2027, and the owner states a 60-day award window. The general contractor needs 14 days after award to issue subcontracts. Your lighting supplier quote was issued on 1 March and holds 30 days.
Event | Date | Days after bid day |
|---|---|---|
Supplier quote lapses | Wed 31 Mar 2027 | 20 |
Owner's award window ends | Mon 10 May 2027 | 60 |
General contractor issues the subcontract | Mon 24 May 2027 | 74 |
If your validity runs to the award date, your price outlives the supplier quote by 40 days (60 minus 20). If it runs to the subcontract date, by 54 days (74 minus 20). To close the gap, ask the supplier to extend in writing, price the risk into the base bid, or add a sentence that passes on documented supplier increases after the lapse date. Ask the general contractor first whether it will accept that sentence.
Sample wording: "This proposal is valid for acceptance through [date]. After that date the price is subject to revision." Then say what counts as acceptance, such as the general contractor's written notice of award or a letter of intent inside the window, with the subcontract to follow.
A validity date can also matter if a bid is disputed. In some states a court can hold a sub to its price when a general contractor reasonably relied on it in its own bid. California's Supreme Court affirmed a judgment of that kind, on a promissory estoppel theory, in C & K Engineering Contractors v. Amber Steel in 1978. The appeal itself turned on whether the sub could demand a jury. A 2025 law firm review shows that other states differ. It advises subs to state a revocation period instead of leaving a bid open-ended.
Addenda belong in the proposal by number and date: "Price includes addenda 1 to 3, received through [date]." If another arrives after you send, tell the general contractor in writing whether it changes your price. For the signature, use the name and title of a person who can commit the firm, and date the page. Ask whether the general contractor accepts an electronic signature.
A filled-in trade scope letter
The job is invented: a two-story office of 14,400 SF and an electrical subcontractor writing to a general contractor. Square brackets mark what you replace, and every price is a placeholder. Counts like these come from a device-by-device takeoff; see how device and fixture counts are made.
Part | Wording to adapt |
|---|---|
Header | To: [general contractor], estimating. From: [firm], [estimator], [phone], [email]. Project: [name and address]. Sent Tue 9 Mar 2027, 3:40 pm, ahead of your cutoff of Wed 10 Mar, 12:00 noon. |
Scope | Electrical work on sheets E1.0 to E4.1, issued for bid [date], and specified in Division 26. Labor, material and equipment. Addenda 1 to 3. |
Base bid | [Amount in figures and words], lump sum. Sales tax [included or excluded]. |
Inclusions | 96 duplex receptacles, 34 switches and 118 fixtures on schedule L-1, types A to C. Two panelboards, one per floor, with the feeders and branch circuits shown on sheets [sheet numbers]. |
Exclusions | Temporary power and lighting. Cutting, patching and painting. Division 27 and Division 28 work, by others. Utility company charges. Fixtures not on schedule L-1. |
Clarifications | Price assumes normal working hours, one mobilization and permanent power at the building by [date]. Fixture substitutions will be re-priced. Panelboard lead time is [weeks] from approved submittals. Subcontract to be agreed in writing. |
Alternates | 1, occupancy sensors: add [amount]. 2, painted ceiling: no change. 3, [alternate]: deduct [amount]. |
Unit prices | Duplex receptacle, switch, fixture type A: add or deduct [amount] each, for changes of up to 10 units. |
Validity | Valid for acceptance through Mon 10 May 2027. Acceptance means written notice of award, with the subcontract to follow. Supplier quotes lapse Wed 31 Mar 2027. Documented supplier increases after that date pass through at cost. |
Addenda | Price includes addenda 1 to 3, received through Tue 9 Mar 2027. |
Insurance and bond | Certificate of insurance on request. Bond not included. A required bond is priced on request. |
Signature | [Name], [title], authorized to commit [firm]. Date: [date]. |
This letter is simplified. It covers one trade at a lump sum, with one escalation sentence and no schedule. On a unit price job a price schedule replaces the lump sum. A real letter runs longer, and the general contractor's subcontract can override any line.
Check the proposal the way a bid leveler will
A leveler lays three or more proposals side by side and asks whether they cover the same scope. Run these ten lines on your own proposal before you send it. They are the short version of how a leveler reads a quote.
The scope line names the same trade, sheets and specification sections as the general contractor's package.
Every addendum number matches the general contractor's addenda log.
Every alternate has a price or "no change".
Each exclusion maps to a specification section, and you know which ones the documents require.
Each count in the inclusions matches your takeoff.
The clarifications do not rewrite payment, schedule or warranty terms.
Validity runs to or past the owner's award date, or a sentence says what happens after your supplier quotes lapse.
The base bid is one figure, in figures and words, and equals the estimate you priced.
Insurance, bond and prequalification items are attached or promised.
The page is signed and dated, it reached a named person before the cutoff, and you have a reply that confirms it.
Public bids: the owner's form comes first
A proposal letter like this one is how a sub quotes a general contractor, on public jobs too. The owner's form controls the offer that goes to the owner: the prime bid, and a trade bid where the owner takes trade bids directly.
The federal rule is a useful model. FAR 14.301 says a bid has to match the invitation in every material way, and a bidder's own form or letter counts only if it accepts every term. FAR 14.404-2 calls for rejecting a bid that adds conditions modifying the invitation or limiting the bidder's liability to the government. So on a bid you submit to the owner, put exclusions and clarifications on the form only where it invites them, and ask the contact named in the invitation before you add any. State and local invitations and statutes differ, so read yours.
The owner also sets how long an offer stays open. On federal construction forms, FAR 36.701 has the contracting officer insert the number of calendar days, and state and local invitations set their own periods. Federal acquisition rules are revised from time to time, so open each link and check the current text before you rely on a section. For filling in the form itself, including the addenda lines, use the owner's bid form checklist.
A general contractor bidding a public job often cannot qualify its own bid with your exclusions, so it may have to price those items itself. That is one reason levelers read your exclusions closely. Use this bid proposal template for proposals to general contractors, public project or not, and for private owners. When you bid to a public owner yourself, adapt the wording to the form in front of you. For the whole bid week around it, see running the whole bid week.
Frequently asked questions
What should a bid proposal include?
A bid proposal should include the project and contact details, the scope by trade with sheets and addenda, the base bid, inclusions, exclusions, clarifications, alternates, unit prices, a validity date, any insurance or bond items and a signature. Each part lets a general contractor compare your proposal with the others on the same scope.
Who should sign a bid proposal?
Someone who can commit the firm: an owner, an officer or a person authorized in writing for this bid. Put the name, title and date on the page, so the general contractor knows who stands behind the number. Ask whether it accepts an electronic signature. On a bid to the owner, sign the owner's form, not only your letter.
What is the difference between a bid proposal form and a proposal letter?
A bid proposal form is a fixed sheet, usually supplied by the general contractor or owner, with set lines for the price, addenda and signature. A proposal letter is your own document that carries the same price with scope, exclusions and validity. Fill the form for the price. Attach the letter only if the form or the invitation allows it.
Should a bid proposal list exclusions?
In a proposal to a general contractor, yes, even on a public project, when each exclusion names an item and matches the documents. On a bid you submit to the owner, the form may allow none, so read the instructions first. A blanket exclusion helps nobody, because the leveler has nothing to price and will add a plug.
How long should a bid stay valid?
Long enough to cover the owner's award window, so ask the general contractor how long that is. Your supplier quotes may lapse sooner, so extend them in writing, price the gap or add a pass-through sentence the general contractor accepts. State the result as a calendar date in part 9 of the bid proposal template. A public invitation may set the number of days itself, so follow it.
