Most Bid Management Software is the Same, Why is PipelineSuite Different?

BY Brittney Neely

Cover image

Bid Management software is one of the most valuable tools a general contractor can utilize. It can store your subcontractor data, send bid requests and notices, keep track of bid responses, store bid files, and usually much more, but how do you determine which software is the best bid management software for your company if they all do basically the same thing? Here are several key features that prove important when deciding on your bidding software:

1) Does it save you time? 2) Is it customizable? 3) Is it easy to use? 4) Does it keep you organized and make your job easier? 5) Is it easy for your subs to use? 6) Do they listen to their customers? 7) Does it brand your company?

Time is valuable and contacting your software company just to adjust or change a contact in YOUR bid management system isn’t efficient nor does it save you time. Going into each subs profile/record every time you need to change their phone number, address, email, etc. takes even more of your time. PipelineSuite allows you to add, edit, and delete any contact in your system, even the subs you’ve downloaded from our system. You can add, edit, and delete any divisions or trades in your system, giving you full control over the data that is in your system which is one of our more valuable tools. PipelineSuite is also the only software company that has inline editing that allows you to edit your subs data right on the bidders list, then easily resend an invite and/or notice with the click of a button. It’s a customer favorite.

With all the different modules that PipelineSuite has to offer, you can really customize the system to fit your company’s specific needs. Any of our add on features can be added/removed monthly. PipelineSuite also lets you decide what is most important to track within your company using custom fields. You can create as many custom fields as your company needs; there is also a custom reporting feature that allows you to create reports from these fields.

PipelineSuite keeps it simple yet concise, making it incredibly user-friendly and easy to use. Much like apple compared to android or Mac compared to PC, just because it’s clean and straight to the point, does not mean it’s not powerful. It definitely is.

Being organized and prepared when bidding a project saves you time, money and makes your job a whole lot easier. The importance of organization is undermined significantly in this field and it doesn’t have to be. It doesn’t have to be time consuming either. Pipeline allows you one (1) Update Your Info Form that allows the subs to update their own info, assign themselves to trades and groups, and help collect missing data or update current data in your system. You can have up to three (3) upload fields on the form that allows subs to upload their Certificate of Insurance, OSHA logs, Workers Comp Insurance, etc, which then stores in the subs record. Having everything in one place is resourceful and proficient.

Most subcontractors do not like having to sign up or register just to view plans or specs from a GC so Pipeline doesn’t require them to. Because we make it so simple for the sub to get in, get what they need and get out, subs are much more likely to look at your plans and confirm whether they will bid or not. We understand that this is one of the most important roles of your bid management software and if it isn’t at least doing this for you, it isn’t fulfilling its primary function.

Since our customers are the primary users of the software, understanding functions and features we can develop to make your lives and jobs easier is of upmost importance to us. We have a forum within the software that allows you to suggest a feature to be added. We develop the features with the most votes first. Since we are continuously adding new features and updates, we have an Update Tab that shows you all of the features that were added and updated.

Lastly, one of the most important goals of Pipeline is to help our customers brand their own company. PipelineSuite isn’t the one trying to get a bid from the sub, you are and that’s why we allow you to send from your own email address. If the sub knows the invite is coming from you, and it isn’t just being blasted out to hundreds of subs in a random database, the likelihood for them bidding, not just responding, increases dramatically. Just ask our customers, or better yet, we have a 14-Day Free Trial. Find out for yourself why PipelineSuite is the best bid management software on the market.