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Terms that get confused for each other
Some pairs of bidding terms look interchangeable on a proposal and are not. Each page below resolves one pair, and explains what the difference costs when it is missed.
- Allowance vs contingencyWhat is the difference between an allowance and a contingency?
- An allowance is money for scope you know about but cannot yet price — the doors will have hardware, and the selection is pending. A contingency is money for scope you cannot yet name at all: unforeseen conditions, coordination nobody anticipated, the accumulation of small surprises. An allowance points at something specific; a contingency points at nothing. Read more
- Alternate vs value engineeringWhat is the difference between an alternate and value engineering?
- An alternate is scope priced separately at the owner's request, decided at award — the documents ask for it, and the owner chooses whether to buy it. Value engineering is a proposed change to the design, usually offered to cut cost after the bids come in over budget. An alternate was planned for; value engineering is a response to a number nobody liked. Read more
- Bid leveling vs bid tabulationWhat is the difference between bid leveling and bid tabulation?
- Bid tabulation is the table; bid leveling is the work that makes the table mean something. A tab sets every bidder side by side so the numbers can be read together. Leveling is the analysis that adjusts those numbers onto one common scope first — adding what a bidder omitted, deducting what it included from another package — so the columns are actually comparable. Read more
- Exclusion vs qualificationWhat is the difference between an exclusion and a qualification on a bid?
- An exclusion says what a bidder is not doing. A qualification says under what conditions its price holds. "Painting not included" is an exclusion — a boundary on scope. "Price assumes continuous access to the site" is a qualification — the price is real only while that assumption is. Exclusions change what you get; qualifications change whether the number survives. Read more
- General conditions vs general requirementsWhat is the difference between general conditions and general requirements?
- General conditions are costs; general requirements are rules. General conditions are what it costs a contractor to run the job — supervision, the trailer, temporary utilities, cleanup. General requirements are the Division 01 specification sections stating the administrative obligations of the contract: submittals, meetings, closeout, testing. One is money, the other is what must be done. Read more
- NIC vs by othersWhat is the difference between NIC and "by others" on a bid?
- Both mark work a bidder is not pricing, but they say different things about who does it. "NIC" — not in contract — means the work is outside this bidder's scope and says nothing about who else will do it. "By others" asserts that some other party is handling it. NIC leaves a hole; "by others" points at someone, and that someone is frequently a party who never agreed to it. Read more
Looking for a single term rather than a pair? The construction bid glossary defines fifty of them.
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