$211,000 on the cover. $277,000 in true cost.
A bid showing $211,000 can carry $277,000 in true cost once you add back the 14 line items listed as "by others" and account for a higher retainage rate. Most estimators catch this eventually. By then, you've already signed.
Manually comparing bids in spreadsheets
Hours spent copying line items into Excel, re-formatting columns, and manually aligning scope descriptions across vendors that each use different terminology and structures. By end of day, nothing is truly comparable.
Exclusions buried in the fine print
A vendor's low headline number hides twelve exclusions across three pages of terms. By the time you catch them, the subcontract is signed and the change orders start rolling in.
Unit price inconsistencies across vendors
One vendor quotes per linear foot, another per meter. One includes mobilization, another breaks it out. Comparing apples to apples becomes a full-day exercise with a dozen footnotes.