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Manage bid openings

For Bid Express agencies

In this article:

Open bids utility

You can start the Open Bids utility the day of the letting. When the letting time passes, the Bid Opener will automatically start downloading submitted bids.

Note: If you attempt to launch the bid opener when someone else has already started the process, you will receive an error message stating that continuing to open bids will end the other user’s process. Click OK to continue launching the bid opener or click Cancel to return to the Lettings page.

  1. Select the letting from the Lettings page. If you’re in the contractor view, click Manage this Letting.
  2. Click Open Bids from the list of letting options at the top of the page.
  3. Click Launch Open Bids.
  4. If needed, click Run in the Application Run window to download the Bid Opener.
  5. Enter your agency key password in the Password field.
  6. Click Open Bids. The Bid Opener utility uploads the bids to the Bid Express service. The window shows each bid as its processed.
  7. Click the last link in the Bid Opener window after the bids have been uploaded to return to the Lettings (or Proposal) page.

The Bid Express service shows the list of downloads and reports and makes the apparent bids links available.

Note: Bids are retained on Bidx.com for 90 days after the letting deadline.

Apparent bids downloads and reports

After bids have been loaded or manually entered, the Bid Express service generates several files and reports using the information in the bids. These files and reports are created when the Bid Express system uses the Bid Opener utility to download electronic bids. Bids entered manually are not included in these files or reports.

Apparent Bids Entry

You can enter or edit apparent bids at either the letting or proposal level. You can only enter apparent bids after the deadline has passed.

  1. Open the letting or proposal as an administrator.
  2. Click Apparent Bids: Enter to open the Apparent Bids Entry page.
  3. If you are entering apparent bids at the letting level, make sure the proposal displayed in the Select Proposal list is correct.  If not, select the correct proposal from the drop-down list or use the navigation arrows above the Apparent Bid Entry table to select the correct proposal.
  4. Click add new bid.
  5. For each bid, enter the bidder ID or the company name in the Bidder ID field if it is not already populated. When you start typing, the Bid Express® service displays a list of bidder IDs or company names that contain the characters entered. Depending on your agency settings, this list may be limited to vendors, plan holders, or eligible bidders. Also depending on your settings, you may be able to press the down arrow key on your keyboard twice to bring up a list of all eligible bidders.
  6. Select the Non-Responsive check box if the bid is non-responsive. Enter the reason marking the bid this way in the Remarks comment field. This field may have a different label, depending on your agency settings.
  7. Enter any DBE information, if applicable.
  8. Enter the bid amount in the Bid Amount field. This field must be populated in order to publish the bid entry.
  9. If you are using custom fields for the apparent bid entry, enter the information in those fields.
  10. Click add new bid if you have more bids to enter. When you are finished, click save to save the bids, or click publish to publish the bids.
  11. Click ok. The Bid Express service saves or publishes the bids and returns you to the letting or proposal.
  12. Use the navigation arrows next to the proposal name to move to the next bid.  If you are entering bids from the Lettings level, you can also select the proposal from the drop-down menu.

Note: If you publish the apparent bids and then you or another member of your agency launch the Open Bids utility again, you may see a warning message.

 

Publishing Apparent Bids

You can publish the apparent bids any time after the Open Bids utility has run. You can also save the apparent bids for a proposal without publishing them.

Bids are marked as public when the bids are opened.

 

Post All Bids for a Letting

To publish all bids received for the entire letting:

  1. Access the letting as an administrator.
  2. Click Enter for the apparent bids at the top of the page.
  3. Click publish letting.
  4. Click ok in the confirmation window.

Post Apparent by Proposal

  1. Access the letting or proposal page as an administrator.
  2. Click Enter for the apparent bids at the top of the page.
  3. Click edit bids if you don't see the publish button.
  4. Click publish to post the apparent bids for the current proposal, or click save to save the bids. Click ok in the confirmation window.
  5. Use the arrow keys next to the letting title to move to the next proposal or select the proposal from the drop-down list.

Delete Apparent Bids

To delete an apparent bid:

  1. Open the letting or proposal as an administrator.
  2. Click Apparent Bids: Enter from the list of commands to enter bids for each proposal in the letting. Select a specific proposal from the drop-down list on the left to enter bids for that proposal only.
  3. Click edit bids.
  4. Click the X next to the bid for the entry you wish to delete. If the bid has data in either the DBE or Bid field, the Bid Express® service asks you to confirm the delete.
  5. Click ok. The Bid Express service deletes the unwanted bid.
  6. When you are finished, click Publish. The bid will be removed from the list of apparent bids.

The system generates bid download files, which appear in the Bid Downloads section. These files are to be used with Project software.

biddownload.txt Displays the information as formatted and set up in the load.cfg file.
xtabdat.dat Contains the bid tabulations and contains bid data such as letting ID, bidder IDs, line numbers, and bid prices. The output of bid data is used by Project software.
xdbedat.dat Contains DBE data from the bids submitted for the proposals in the letting. Only for lettings.
bidbonds.csv Contains bid bond information for each bidder. It is usually opened using the bondcheck.exe utility that comes with the AASHTOWare Project Bids software and is used to verify bid bonds by the agency. Only for lettings.
loadfile.txt Contains the proposal information used to create the .ebsx file. Only for proposals
bidattachments.
zip  		Contains all the attachments uploaded by the contractors.

The system also generates several reports, which appear in the Bid Reports section. Most reports can also be downloaded as a PDF file.

If your Bid Download reports use the XPS file format, you may need to install the Info Tech XPS Viewer utility or another XPS viewing utility. You can also change your reports to use the PDF file format.

Bid Download Report by Bid Amount Contains the bid information for each bid amount as set up in the load.cfg file.
Bid Download Report by Bidder ID
 		Contains the bid information for each bidder ID as set up in the load.cfg file.
Bid Summary Report Displays a summary of the bids for a letting grouped by proposals. The bid summary is a brief report by call order of the bids received showing who bid and their bid amount.
Detailed Report
 		Displays a summary of the bids for a letting grouped by vendor. It includes a list of vendors that submitted bids for the letting and each vendor’s information.
Vendor Call Order Report Displays the vendors and the proposals on which they bid, displayed by bidder ID and the call orders bid. Only for lettings.
Bid Error Report
 		Displays any bids errors submitted for the call order after the bids have been opened. If there are no errors with any of the bids, the report will state that as well. Only for proposals.

Once the bids have been uploaded using the Bid Express Bid Opener utility, you can manage the apparent bids.