Bid Tabulation Analysis: How to Read Public Bid Results for Competitive Intelligence

Bid tabulations are public records showing who bid on government projects and their submitted prices. For construction contractors, bid tabs are a goldmine of competitive intelligence—revealing market pricing, competitor patterns, and win/loss analysis data.

Intelligence Value

Public bid tabulations let you see exactly what competitors charged on similar projects. Analyzing this data systematically transforms random bid outcomes into actionable pricing intelligence.

What Is a Bid Tabulation?

A bid tabulation (or "bid tab") is the official record of all bids received for a public project. It lists each bidder's name and submitted price, usually ranked from lowest to highest. On public works, this information is available after bid opening.

Typical Bid Tab Contents

Bidder names – All contractors who submitted bids
Base bid amounts – Primary bid prices
Alternate prices – Add/deduct options if applicable
Engineer's estimate – Agency's pre-bid estimate (sometimes)
Responsiveness notes – Bid errors or non-responsive designations

Finding Bid Tabulations

Federal Sources

• SAM.gov contract data reports
• FPDS-NG (Federal Procurement Data)
• Agency-specific posting sites
• FOIA requests for detailed results

State/Local Sources

• Agency procurement portals
• Public meeting minutes
• Posted bid opening results
• Public records requests

Pro Tip

Attend public bid openings in person or virtually. You'll hear results immediately and can observe which competitors actively bid in your market.

How to Read Bid Results

Sample Bid Tabulation

Rank	Contractor	Base Bid	% vs Low
1	ABC Construction	$1,245,000	—
2	XYZ Builders	$1,312,500	+5.4%
3	Your Company	$1,356,000	+8.9%
4	Regional GC	$1,428,900	+14.8%

Engineer's Estimate: $1,380,000

Analysis Techniques

Basic Metrics

Spread %: Gap between low and high bids
Your Position: Rank and % above low
Bid Count: Level of competition
vs. Estimate: Market vs. engineer's view

Advanced Analysis

$/SF or $/Unit: Normalize for comparison
Trend lines: Pricing over time
Win rates: Your hit rate by project type
Competitor patterns: Who bids what

Building Competitive Intelligence

Track competitors by trade/geography – Know who you compete against most often
Identify pricing patterns – Some contractors always bid low, others more selectively
Understand market rates – What similar projects actually cost, not just estimates
Calibrate your estimating – Are you consistently high or low vs. market?
Improve bid/no-bid decisions – Skip projects with aggressive competitors

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Setting Up a Tracking System

Create a bid log spreadsheet

Track all bids submitted: project, date, your bid, result, all competitor bids.

Normalize data

Calculate $/SF, $/unit, or other metrics for apples-to-apples comparison.

Categorize by project type

Group by facility type, size range, and public sector (education, municipal, etc.).

Review quarterly

Analyze trends, win rates, and adjust estimating approach based on data.

FAQ

Are all public bid results available?

For most public agencies, yes. Results are public record after bid opening. Some agencies post automatically; others require a records request. Design-build and negotiated procurements may have limited disclosure.

How long should I track bid results?

At minimum, 1-2 years to identify patterns. Longer for market cycle analysis. Track results even for projects you didn't bid—they reveal market pricing and competitor activity.

What if my bids are always high?

Analyze where the gap is: labor productivity assumptions? Material pricing? Overhead allocation? Subcontractor costs? Use bid tab data to pinpoint which cost categories need recalibration.

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