Bring in a bid package
Upload drawings, specs, addenda and more. Footing keeps the package together, so you can get to what matters.
Traceable preconstruction intelligence
From a whole bid package to one proposal you can stand behind.
Footing helps contractors bring in bid documents, review what matters, build estimates, and prepare clear proposals with the supporting work kept visible.
Built for contractors. Evidence stays visible.
Review what matters
Review key information with supporting sources visible, while unreadable or unassessed material stays in view.
Build or import an estimate
Import the estimate you already use, build manually, or ask Footing to prepare a starting draft. Keep the basis visible.
Prepare a proposal you can stand behind
Turn your estimate into a clear proposal with scope, price and sources connected.
Illustrative workflow in private early access. These steps show the intended experience; availability is confirmed individually during early access.
A clearer path from plans to proposals.
Footing keeps documents, decisions, estimates and proposals connected from the first file to the customer-ready record.
See how it worksIllustrative product view
Estimates / New estimate
Start with the work you have.
Give the project a name and add its documents. The next step lets you choose how to build the number.
1Your project
2Starting point
3Your scope
4Your estimate
Your project
Name the bid before adding files. Every file this bid accepts stays with it.
New projectExisting bid
Project name
e.g. Willow Creek Library HVAC
One continuous path
Your files. Your scope. Your estimate.
✓All documents in one place✓Source-backed review✓A clear, source-linked proposal
Estimates / New estimate
Start with the work you have.
1 · Your project2 · Starting point
Your project
Name the bid before adding files. Every file this bid accepts stays with it.
e.g. Willow Creek Library HVAC
Traceable by designRecorded findings and price inputs stay linked to their source.
For one contractor or a whole teamCarry the bid yourself or share the work.
Evidence before assumptionsSee what Footing found and what it could not establish.
Evidence contractors can trustSee the source behind recorded findings, quantities, and prices.
How Footing holds the work together
One bid. One visible chain from package to proposal.
Each step below is illustrative: it shows what the promise means in the product. No live analysis or approval is performed on this page, and availability is confirmed individually during early access.
01 · Package
Keep the whole bid package together.
Bring in drawings, specifications, addenda and the invitation as they arrive. Every file the package accepts stays with the bid, including the ones Footing could not read.
Drawings, specs and addendaAccepted files stay availableUnreadable files stay visible
Central Plant Utility UpgradeBid package · illustrative
- Drawing setDrawings · kept
- Project manualSpecifications · kept
- Addendum 03Supersedes earlier pages · kept
- Invitation to BidDeadline and submission · kept
- Existing conditions scanCould not read · kept
02 · Understand
Review what matters without hiding what remains unknown.
Footing can suggest a reading order, name the source behind a finding, and keep unreadable or unassessed material visible. A lower-ranked file never disappears because the system could not establish its importance.
Start hereAlso reviewNot assessed or uncertainAll accepted documents remain available
Start here
Direct starting points for the selected scope.
Invitation to BidDeadline, buyer and submission method
OpenDivision 23 specificationsSelected trade requirements
OpenExisting conditions scanCould not read
ReviewAlso review
Requirements that may affect price or coordination.
Addendum 03Superseding requirements
OpenGeneral conditionsAfter-hours work and phasing
OpenInsurance limitsNot established
Verify03 · Estimate
Build the estimate without losing the basis behind each decision.
Import the estimate you already use, build manually, or ask Footing for a starting draft. Quantities, company rates, supplier quotes, assumptions and prior versions stay distinguishable rather than collapsing into one unexplained total. A generated starting point is never presented as approved.
ImportBuild manuallyStarting draftSource and price basis stay separate
Estimate v4 · illustrative · bid prices$368,110
Chilled-water piping5,900 LFSheet M-201Company rate · bid price$247,210
Controls integration1 LSSpec 23 09 00Supplier quote · bid price$92,500
Testing & balancing1 LSSpec 23 05 93Past work · bid price$28,400
Company rate · bid price · $41.90 / LFFooting draft · needs reviewSelected · $41.90 / LF
04 · Review
One version. One amount. One named decision.
When a bid needs review, the reviewer sees the exact estimate version and amount before deciding. Returning it for changes requires a reason, so the next revision starts from the record.
Exact estimate versionNamed review when neededReason required to return
Review request · illustrativeEstimate v4
- Bid
- Central Plant Utility Upgrade
- Prepared by
- Dana · Lead Estimator
- Assigned reviewer
- Sam · Reviewer
- Version
- Estimate v4
- Amount
- $368,110
Approved by Sam · decision recorded
05 · Proposal
Turn the reviewed estimate into a proposal you can stand behind.
The reviewed scope and price go into the customer-facing proposal. The estimate version and review decision stay connected in Footing, not printed on the customer's document, and Footing preserves the exact document the customer saw rather than silently rewriting it after the fact.
Customer-ready proposalSame amount as the reviewSent document preserved
Sample contractor
Central Plant Utility Upgrade
Project understanding
Occupied-building coordination, chilled-water piping, controls integration, and testing and balancing. Shutdown phasing to be confirmed.
Commercial amount
$368,110
Scope & commercial schedule
Included work
- Chilled-water piping, 5,900 LF
- Controls integration
- Testing and balancing
Schedule
Shutdown phasing to be confirmed with the owner before work begins.
Illustrative sample data.
Stage 1 of 5: Package
Opportunity fit
Advice with reasons. Never a mystery score.
Footing can organize the facts that support pursuing, the conditions that deserve review, and what it could not establish. The contractor still decides.
Opportunity review · illustrativeEvidence, not a verdict
Supports pursuing
- Selected trade scope appears in the package
- Deadline and buyer are confirmed
- Relevant work appears in company records
Needs review
- After-hours work may affect labor planning
- Occupied-site phasing needs confirmation
- Coordination extends beyond self-perform scope
Not established
- Bonding threshold was not found
- Current crew capacity is not known
- Some pages were outside this review
Evidence used
- Invitation · page 2
- Drawing M-201 · chilled-water piping plan
- Project manual · section 23 21 13, hydronic piping
- General conditions · after-hours work and phasing
- Company record · past work: occupied-campus plant retrofit
One contractor or a whole team
Use the same connected record whether you work solo or share the bid.
Footing does not require a team. When several people are involved, it keeps the handoffs and responsibilities attached to the same bid.
Carry the bid yourself.
Bring in the package, review the work, build the estimate, prepare the proposal and record the outcome without creating unnecessary process.
Package reviewEstimateProposalOutcome
Share responsibilities without losing the record.
Route estimating, approval and coordination when the work calls for it. Assignment moves the work; it does not silently make a decision.
Lead EstimatorReviewerApproverBid Coordinator
Field Notes
The thinking behind the number.
Essays on contractor judgment, source-backed estimates, and why AI should make decisions easier to understand rather than harder to challenge.
An Estimate Is More Than a Number. It Is a Business Decision.
Two contractors can reach different defensible prices because the number reflects the business behind the bid. The harder part is preserving why it changed, who approved it, and the exact document that was sent to the customer.
Read Field NoteAI Should Guide Contractors, Not Replace Their Judgment
Why polished AI output is not enough, and why contractors need context, guidance, and control.
Read Field NoteContractors Don't Need Black-Box AI. They Need Bidding Intelligence.
A polished estimate isn't intelligence. The why matters as much as the number — and a contractor deserves to see it.
Read Field NotePrivate early access
Bring one real bid. See how Footing fits the way you already work.
Start with the files and estimate tools you already use. Footing keeps the package, decisions, numbers and customer record connected while your judgment stays in control.
Request private access
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