Bid Tabulation: How to Build, Check and Document a Bid Tab

A bid tab that has to explain itself

A grants manager at a small nonprofit is closing out a sealed-bid construction procurement for a facility repair paid partly with federal award money. Four bids came in on opening day. Someone entered them into a spreadsheet that afternoon, and the lowest total was circled in yellow. Three weeks later, the pass-through entity asks a simple question: how did you get from the bids to this number, and was every bidder measured the same way?

The spreadsheet shows totals. It does not show whether the unit prices were multiplied correctly, whether one bidder's alternate was counted while another's was left out, or what rule governed a bid with a math error. Nobody wrote those decisions down, and the person who made them has moved on to the next project.

This article walks through how to build a bid tab, how to check it, and how to document it so the file can answer that question. You will leave with a repeatable structure for entering line items, treating alternates consistently, and recording how the evaluated price was reached.

What a bid tab is and where it fits

Bid tabulation is the step where bids received by the issuer are entered side by side and compared on price. It is a record of what each bidder offered and how the issuer arrived at the evaluated price for each. The comparison itself is arithmetic. The record around it is what carries weight later.

The bid tab belongs to the formal procurement methods in 2 CFR 200.320. Under 2 CFR 200.320(b)(1), sealed bids are publicly solicited, and a firm fixed-price contract is awarded to the responsible bidder whose conforming bid is lowest in price. The same section describes sealed bids as preferred for procuring construction services. Confirm the current text on eCFR, which is authoritative but unofficial; the official edition is the annual CFR on govinfo.gov.

Two ideas in that sentence matter for the tab. "Conforming" means the bid answered what the invitation asked, and "responsible" means the bidder can perform. Neither is a column of numbers, so the tab has to point to where those determinations are recorded. If you want the full treatment, see lowest responsive, responsible bidder in sealed bidding and responsive vs. responsible.

Proposals work differently. Under an RFP, price is one factor among others, and the points come from a formula. That is covered in RFP price scoring formulas. A sealed-bid tab ranks by price alone among conforming bids.

Building the tab: structure before data

Decide the layout before the first bid is opened. Rebuilding the structure for each solicitation is how formulas drift between procurements, so fix the columns and rows from the bid form itself.

Mirror the bid form

Each line item on the tab should match a line item on the issued bid form, in the same order and with the same numbering. If the form has base bid items 1 through 14, the tab has rows 1 through 14. Anyone checking the file should be able to lay the two side by side and see no difference.

Record these fields for each line:

• the item number and description from the bid form;
• the quantity stated by the issuer;
• the unit of measure;
• each bidder's unit price as written on the bid;
• each bidder's extended price as written on the bid;
• your recomputed extended price (quantity times unit price).

Keep the as-written figures and the recomputed figures in separate columns. Overwriting what the bidder wrote with what you calculated erases the evidence that a correction was needed.

Record the bid event itself

Above the table, record the solicitation title, the bid opening date and time, who opened the bids, and the addenda issued before opening. Note which addenda each bidder acknowledged, since a missing acknowledgment may bear on whether a bid conforms under your bid documents. The tab does not decide that question. It shows that the question was asked.

Enter exactly what was submitted

Enter the bids as received. If a unit price is blank, leave it blank and flag it. If a bidder wrote a figure in the wrong box, enter it where the bidder wrote it and add a note. The cleaning happens in a visible, later step, so the original submission stays reconstructible.

Checking the arithmetic

Once the entries are in, check every line and every total. This is the point where most tabs either gain or lose credibility.

Extended prices and totals

For each line, multiply the issuer's quantity by the bidder's unit price and compare to the extended price the bidder wrote. Then sum the extended prices and compare to the bidder's stated total. Differences can arise from simple multiplication slips, a changed quantity, or a total that was never updated after a late revision.

Who decides what happens to an error

Here the tab has to defer to the bid documents. The rule for a discrepancy is set by the issuer's own bid documents and by local policy, and different documents set different rules. Some documents say the unit price governs when it conflicts with the extended price. Others set a different order of precedence, or treat certain errors as grounds for rejecting the bid. We do not state a single rule here because none applies everywhere.

What you record is:

1. the discrepancy, line by line, with both figures;
2. the provision in the bid documents that governs it;
3. the corrected figure, if the documents call for a correction;
4. who made the correction and when.

If the bid documents are silent, say so in the file, and consult the awarding agency or pass-through entity and your counsel before choosing a rule. The point is that the rule exists before the discrepancy and is applied the same way to every bidder.

A worked example

This example uses round inputs to show the mechanics. Suppose the bid form has a line for 200 cubic yards of fill, and the documents state that unit price governs.

Bidder	Unit price as written	Extended as written	Recomputed (200 × unit)	Difference
A	$40.00	$8,000	$8,000	$0
B	$38.00	$7,800	$7,600	$200

Bidder B's extended price overstates its own unit price by $200. Under a unit-price-governs rule, the corrected line is $7,600, and the bidder's total drops by $200. The tab shows both figures, cites the rule, and records the correction. Under a different rule in a different set of documents, the result could differ, which is why the citation to the issuer's own documents belongs on the tab.

Alternates, options and the evaluated price

Alternates are where two bidders with the same prices can end up with different totals, so they need a rule set before opening.

An alternate is a priced change to the base scope that the issuer may or may not select. An option is a priced item the issuer may exercise later. Treat them differently in the tab, and do not let either drift into the base total without a recorded reason.

Decide the evaluation basis in advance

The bid documents should state how the low bid is determined when alternates are present. Common approaches include comparing base bids only, comparing the base bid plus a stated set of alternates in a stated order, or comparing the base bid plus all alternates. Which one applies is a matter for your bid documents and local policy. The risk to avoid is choosing the basis after you see which bidder it favors. A basis chosen after opening invites the very challenge the tab is meant to answer.

Show the base and the evaluated price separately

Give each bidder three figures on the tab: the base bid, each alternate priced individually, and the evaluated price under the stated basis. When the basis includes alternates, write which ones and why. When the issuer ends up not selecting an alternate, the file should still show what it would have cost, because the ranking was determined against the stated basis.

Worked example

Suppose the documents state that the evaluated price is the base bid plus Alternate 1 only.

Bidder	Base bid	Alt 1	Alt 2	Evaluated price (base + Alt 1)
A	$410,000	$22,000	$15,000	$432,000
B	$398,000	$41,000	$9,000	$439,000
C	$415,000	$18,000	$12,000	$433,000

Bidder B has the lowest base bid but the highest evaluated price under this basis. A tab showing only base bids would rank B first. A tab showing the stated basis ranks A first. Whether A's bid is also conforming, and whether A is responsible, are separate determinations recorded elsewhere in the file.

Options deserve a cautious note. If the documents say options are not part of the evaluated price, keep them out of the evaluated column and list them for reference. Mixing them into the total without a stated basis is a frequent source of dispute.

Tie rules, rejected bids and what the tab should show

Two more elements finish the record.

Ties. Decide the tie rule before bids are opened and state it in the bid documents, or follow local policy if it supplies one. Record which rule was applied if a tie occurs. If none exists, consult the awarding agency or your counsel before deciding after the fact.

Rejected or nonconforming bids. Do not delete a rejected bid from the tab. Leave the row in place, mark it, and cite the reason and the provision relied on. A bid dropped silently looks like a bid that was lost.

The independent estimate. 2 CFR 200.324(a) requires a cost or price analysis for every procurement transaction, including contract modifications, in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, and as a starting point the recipient or subrecipient must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. The FAR simplified acquisition threshold, which 2 CFR 200.1 adopts, rose from $250,000 to $350,000 effective October 1, 2025 (FAR Case 2024-001, 90 FR 41872). Your organization may set a lower threshold but not a higher one (2 CFR 200.320(a)(2)(ii)), and state or local rules may set lower ones too. Confirm which threshold applies to your award with the awarding agency or pass-through entity. Prepare the estimate before opening, so it stands apart from the bids it will be compared with. Place the estimate next to the bids on the tab, or reference where it is kept, along with the date it was made. See the independent cost estimate under 2 CFR 200.324 and price analysis vs. cost analysis.

Documenting the tab so the file can reconstruct it

Under 2 CFR 200.318(i), records must be detailed enough to show the history of each procurement, including the rationale for the method, the contract type, the contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. The tab is where the price basis lives, so it should stand on its own.

A tab that supports that requirement usually includes:

• the as-submitted figures, untouched;
• the recomputed figures and each correction, with its governing provision;
• the evaluated price under the stated basis;
• the list of addenda and who acknowledged each;
• the independent estimate reference;
• the date, the person who prepared the tab, and the person who checked it.

Ask a second person to check it, using the bid forms rather than your spreadsheet as the source. Record the checker's name and date. Keep the tab for the retention period that applies: 2 CFR 200.334 generally calls for three years from the final financial report unless an exception applies, and local public-records rules may require longer. For a school district's E-Rate procurement, 47 CFR 54.516(a)(1) sets a different retention period, so check the rule that governs your funding.

Free templates and spreadsheets

A free bid tabulation template or an Excel bid tabulation sheet is a sound place to start, and many issuers use them well. The limits are structural rather than a flaw in any one file: formulas are rebuilt or edited for each solicitation, nothing prevents a cell from being overwritten, and nothing preserves which version of the rules applied on the day. If you use a spreadsheet, lock the formulas, keep the as-submitted columns separate, save a dated copy at each stage, and keep a short note explaining the rules used.

Putting the record together

Start with the bid form, mirror it on the tab, enter bids as received, check every line, apply the rules your bid documents set, and write down each step. The result is a tab that shows how the low bid was found, not only which bid it was.

RFPManagement records and computes. It does not give legal or procurement advice. The award decision stays with your organization.

The Bid Tabulation and Price Analysis Workbook is designed to compute extended prices, handle alternates under a stated basis, and record price analysis; see the workbook page for what it covers. It is available in the store now. To hear when the evaluation workspace and store workbooks open, join the waitlist. For plans, see pricing.