About using phases and bid items together

There are significant differences and some similarities to understand when using phases and bid items in jobs. For example, both phases and bid items can be used in the 9-5 Takeoffs window to develop an estimate for a job. However, phases affect all aspects of a job while bid items only affect job estimates.

Phases, for example, affect and follow through the entire job, including:

• Schedules
• Budgets
• All document control
• Purchase orders
• Subcontracts
• Change orders
• Proposals
• Project management reports and analysis
• Job costs
• Change orders
• Payables
• Billing

Phases organize jobs and can represent different sections of a job, such as different buildings or lots. You can also use phases to distinguish different types of work, such as change orders or site work. Because phases flow through the entire job, they do not restrict which billing methods you can use.

Bid items, by contrast, only affect estimates and some billing items and do not follow through the entire job. You use bid items to segment an estimate into smaller units and/or to satisfy external requirements for bidding and billing a job. Bid items affect these items: Units in Daily Field Reports, Proposals based on Bid Items and Unitary Proposals, and Unitary Billing.

In an estimate, phases and bid items can work together like a spreadsheet. You can enter data in a takeoff grid for a specific combination of bid item and phase through the Bid Items and Job Phases windows accessible on the Takeoff Details tab on 9-5 Takeoffs.