How to Build Construction Bid Templates in ClickUp

ClickUp gives construction teams a central workspace to organize bid templates, compare vendor quotes, and standardize estimating workflows so every proposal is accurate and on time.

This step-by-step guide shows you how to recreate the structure, fields, and views from the construction bid templates described in the original ClickUp construction bid templates article, and adapt them to your own projects.

Step 1: Plan Your ClickUp Bid Workflow

Before you build anything, map how bids move through your process. This will inform how you design Lists, custom fields, and views in ClickUp.

Clarify these points:

Who requests bids and who approves them
Which stages a bid passes through (draft, review, sent, won, lost)
What data each bid must include (labor, materials, markup, contingency, dates)
Which reports or dashboards stakeholders need

Document your ideal flow on paper or a whiteboard first. Then you can translate it directly into ClickUp Folders, Lists, and tasks.

Step 2: Create a Construction Bids Space in ClickUp

Next, create a dedicated area for all estimating work so your team always knows where bids live.

Create a new Space and name it something like Construction Bids.
Within that Space, add Folders for different lines of work, for example:
- Commercial
- Residential
- Public projects
- Service and maintenance
Inside each Folder, create Lists such as:
- Active Bids
- Won Projects
- Lost or Archived Bids

This mirrors the structured approach shown in the official construction templates and keeps every ClickUp bid easy to find later.

Step 3: Add Custom Fields to Your ClickUp Bid List

Construction bids depend on consistent numbers. Custom fields in ClickUp let you capture the same data for every bid, so you can sort, filter, and report across projects.

Within your Active Bids List, add custom fields such as:

Client Name (Text)
Project Type (Dropdown: Commercial, Residential, Public, Other)
Location (Text)
Bid Due Date (Date)
Estimated Labor Cost (Currency)
Estimated Material Cost (Currency)
Overhead (Currency or Percentage)
Markup (Percentage)
Contingency (Percentage or Currency)
Total Bid Value (Formula or Currency)
Bid Status (Dropdown: Draft, In Review, Sent, Negotiating, Won, Lost)

Use formula fields in ClickUp to auto-calculate totals. For example:

Subtotal = Labor + Materials + Overhead
Total Bid Value = Subtotal + (Subtotal × Markup) + Contingency

These fields align with the detailed estimating structure described in the construction bid templates, helping you avoid manual errors.

Step 4: Build a ClickUp Task Template for New Bids

To speed up estimating, create a standardized task template in ClickUp that includes all sections you need for a complete bid.

Open your Active Bids List.
Create a new task called Bid Template – Do Not Edit.
Inside the task, add the following:
- Description structure with headings like:
  - Scope of Work
  - Assumptions
  - Exclusions
  - Alternates
  - Payment Terms
  - Schedule and Milestones
- Subtasks for key estimating activities, for example:
  - Review plans and specifications
  - Perform quantity takeoff
  - Request subcontractor quotes
  - Review vendor proposals
  - Finalize internal pricing
  - Prepare client-facing proposal
  - Internal review and approval
- Checklist items to confirm all details are included, such as licenses, bonding, and insurance.
Attach any standard documents your team reuses, like terms and conditions or cover letter templates.
Save this task as a reusable template in ClickUp so estimators can spin up new bids in seconds.

Step 5: Set Up ClickUp Views for Bids

Different team members need to see bids in different ways. Use multiple views in ClickUp to match how estimators, project managers, and leaders consume information.

ClickUp List View for Data-Heavy Estimating

List view is ideal when you want to compare numbers across many bids at once.

Show all financial custom fields (labor, materials, overhead, markup, total).
Sort by Bid Due Date to prioritize urgent work.
Filter by Bid Status to focus on active opportunities.

ClickUp Board View for Stage-Based Tracking

Board view lets you drag bids through stages, just like a pipeline.

Group tasks by Bid Status (Draft, In Review, Sent, etc.).
Use colors or tags for project types or regions.
Quickly see bottlenecks, such as too many bids stuck in review.

ClickUp Calendar and Gantt Views for Deadlines

Calendar and Gantt views help you avoid missed due dates and overlapping workloads.

Use Calendar to display each bid by its Bid Due Date.
Use Gantt to show estimating durations, internal review windows, and client deadlines.
Assign tasks and subtasks so team capacity is always visible.

Step 6: Track Construction Bid Costs and Profit in ClickUp

Once your structure is in place, use ClickUp to keep margins on target across all bids.

Follow these actions:

Make financial fields required so no bid can be sent without complete data.
Use formula fields for gross margin, markup, and variance between initial and final pricing.
Flag high-risk bids with custom tags (for example, Fast Track or Complex MEP).
Update fields when vendor quotes change so totals always reflect current numbers.

This mirrors the cost-tracking focus in the pre-built construction templates and helps your estimating team standardize pricing across every opportunity.

Step 7: Compare Vendor and Subcontractor Quotes in ClickUp

You can treat each vendor or subcontractor quote as either a task or a subtask linked to the main bid.

ClickUp Structure for Vendor Quotes

One simple pattern is:

Create a parent task for the overall bid.
Add a subtask for each trade or scope (concrete, framing, electrical, mechanical, etc.).
Within each scope subtask, use custom fields for multiple vendor prices or create additional nested subtasks for each vendor.

Use comments and attachments in ClickUp to store proposals, drawings, and clarifications from vendors so nothing gets lost in email threads.

Evaluating Quotes with ClickUp Fields

For each vendor or subcontractor, track data such as:

Quoted price
Lead time
Inclusions and exclusions
Past performance rating
Compliance requirements (bonding, insurance, safety)

Then, use filters and sorting to evaluate which combination of vendors provides the best overall value for the project.

Step 8: Use ClickUp Automation for Bid Management

Automations in ClickUp reduce manual follow-up and keep your team on schedule.

Examples of helpful automations include:

When Bid Status changes to In Review, assign the task to a manager.
When the Bid Due Date is 3 days away, post a reminder comment and notify the owner.
When Bid Status changes to Won, move the task automatically to the Won Projects List.
When Bid Status changes to Lost, add a checklist to record reasons for loss.

These automations echo the time-saving benefits highlighted in the official construction templates while adapting them to your own process.

Step 9: Analyze Bid Performance with ClickUp Dashboards

Dashboards in ClickUp help leadership understand which bids are most profitable and where the team should focus.

Create widgets such as:

Number of active bids by project type
Total potential revenue from open bids
Win rate by client, region, or project category
Average time from bid creation to submission
Margin breakdown for won bids

Use these insights to refine your estimating assumptions and pricing strategies over time.

Step 10: Next Steps and Additional Resources

Once your construction bid system is running smoothly in ClickUp, you can expand it with related processes like change order tracking, RFIs, or project closeout checklists.

If you need help optimizing your ClickUp setup, automation, or reporting for construction workflows, you can work with a dedicated consulting team such as Consultevo, which specializes in streamlining operations and project management tools.

To see how the original construction bid templates are structured, review the official guide at ClickUp construction bid templates and adapt the ideas to your own environment, roles, and project mix.

By combining thoughtful process design with the flexible features in ClickUp, your estimating team can build consistent, reliable bids that reduce risk and improve win rates across every construction project.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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