Review an invitation before committing effort
An invitation to bid is a request to evaluate work, not proof the scope fits your trade, workload, or risk boundaries. Set a review point before estimating begins and revisit when material information changes.
- Confirm trade and geography fit. Identify full requested scope, location, exclusions, and partner dependencies.
- Record evidence. Note who issued the invitation, current documents and known addenda, and relationship history. Distinguish direct confirmation from forwarded information.
- List prequalification unknowns. Confirm the GC office’s requirements and your current status. Do not assume another office’s approval carries over.
- Check date and capacity. Record due date, estimated hours, assigned estimator, review time, and other commitments. Decide what would move if you accept.
- Assess scope clarity. Flag missing plans, specifications, quantities, phasing, alternates, schedule constraints, or scope boundaries. Ask questions before the response deadline.
- Surface contract and payment questions. Identify terms needing review, including schedule obligations, change process, payment timing, retainage, insurance, and risk transfer. Seek qualified legal review where needed.
- Choose and assign a decision. Record pursue, decline, or hold pending information; name the owner, decision-changing condition, and review date.
The AGC Business Development Forum currently describes go/no-go decisions and pursuit management among contractor BD topics. This confirms only the topics listed on its public page, not a particular rule or outcome. Its page links a public LinkedIn community and says some education requires login; private access and endorsement are not verified. Source: AGC Business Development Forum. This workflow is editorial recommendation.
A fictional mechanical subcontractor receives a hospital-renovation invitation due in nine business days. Its estimator estimates 34 hours, while the team calendar shows 22 uncommitted hours. Phasing details are unclear. The owner records “hold—request phasing clarification and review capacity reassignment by Wednesday.” The decision remains conditional on new facts.
Use honest decision language
“Pursue” means the team accepts the workload and can identify what is known. “Hold—need X by date” means a specific missing answer could change the call. “Decline” means fit, timing, capacity, or requirements do not work. These are operating labels, not a numeric score or prediction.
This process does not determine profitability, legal acceptability, probability of award, or the right number of bids. Estimating hours are planning inputs, not universal benchmarks. It does not replace estimating, contract review, safety review, or company approval. Markup & Profit’s public owner page describes a private group discussing sales, contracts, and estimating; that does not verify private posts, access, permission, endorsement, or eligibility. Source.