Respond to Estimate Requests

The Linarc platform notifies the subcontractors and vendors invited by the general contractor to submit their work cost estimates for a change order. The subcontractors can analyze their part of the work in the change order, generate an estimate, and submit it to the GC as their bid. 

When a change order requires input from vendors or external stakeholders outside of Linarc, the SC can easily generate a PDF version of the CO and share it using the platform's integrated email functionality. Once the responses are received, the SC can seamlessly incorporate the feedback into the change order and finalize the estimate for submission to the GC.  

• The GC reviews the bids from different subcontractors for a change order and accepts the qualifying ones after some revisions, if required. 
• Once accepted and approved, the GC awards the job to the respective contractor. 

This page explains how a project manager of an SC company accepts an invitation and submits their estimate for a change order.

You get a notification once an estimate request is made.

Roles and Permissions:
Only users assigned with roles having 'Manage' permission or 'Accept' permission for Change order Invite(Bids) in the change order module can respond to a bid request.

View the change order work cost estimate request

• Click the notification to open the change order

Alternatively, you can open the change order from the 'CO Invites' screen. To do so:

• Open the management console of the project
• Click the app launcherand select 'Finance.'
• Click 'Change Order' on the top
• Click 'CO Invites' on the left

Search and filter options:
Use the 'Search' box located at the top left to find RFI using any value from the table as search criteria.
The options at the top right allow you to filter the entries, create nested groups of entries, and manage personalized and customized views of the table.
Use the links below to learn more about these:
Filter Options in List Views
Group and Organize Items in a List View
Manage Custom List Views

The 'Invitation Table' screen shows the list of change orders pending your response:

• Click the change order title to view and assess its details.

• Click 'Submit Estimates' to activate the 'My Estimates' tab.

Submit your Estimates

• Click the 'My Estimates' tab

You can submit your estimate in two ways:

• Create your estimate
• Upload your estimate

Tip: If the change order estimate requires contribution from a stakeholder or vendor not included in the Linarc's project directory, you can email the PDF version of the CO to that external party to get their inputs. Once the response is received, you can incorporate it into the CO and proceed with your action. See to Email a Change Order to External Stakeholders learn more.

Create your estimate

•  Click 'Create' in the estimate pane and start adding the estimate line items one by one. 

• Ensure that each line item contains one task entry with a distinct cost code. 
• Mandatory fields are highlighted with red borders.
• Enter the values for the tasks under the following column headers. 
  • Task Code - The cost code of the line item, typically the standard code for the task or deliverable as per your company's cost code list. Make sure each line item has a unique cost code, as duplicate entries are not permitted.
  • Click inside the cell and select the code from the 'Company Task Codes' pop-up. The pop-up allows you to search for the codes using a partial cost code or the task name as the search criteria. 
• Double-click inside a cell to enter the following values. Enter the monetary values in US dollars.
  • Name - The label of the task or deliverable
  • Qty - The amount of work done by the task 
  • Unit - The unit by which the amount of work done is measured 
  • Hrs - The total labor effort needed to complete the task, measured in manhours
  • Labor - The manual labor cost estimated for the job
  • Equip - The estimate of cost incurred by the use of equipment and machinery for the work
  • Sub - Expenses related to external subcontracts, if any. 
  • Mat - Cost incurred by the materials used for the work 
  • Other - Miscellaneous expenses like transportation, material handling, fees paid to various vendors, agencies, and more.  
  • Oh - Overhead and operation costs that the company bears, relevant to the task
  • Profit - The profit expected from the work
  • Total - Auto-calculated from the values in the row
• Click '+Add Row' to add more line items
• Click 'Save' to save your draft

You can edit the values before submission. Click here to know more.

Upload your estimate

• Click the 'My Estimate' tab
• Click 'Download' at the bottom right to obtain a blank Excel file containing the required field headers. 

Requirements of the estimate file

The Excel file should contain an exhaustive list of tasks for the completion of the change work. 

• Each line in the file should contain one task entry.
• Enter the values for the tasks under the following column headers. Enter the monetary values in US dollars. 
  • Task Code -  The cost code of the line item. Typically, this is the standard code for the task or deliverable as per your company's cost code list. Ensure that the codes entered here are included in your company's task code list. 
  • Task Name - The label of the task or deliverable
  • Quantity - The amount of work done by the task
  • Unit - Units by which the amount of work done is measured
  • Estimate Time - The period required for completion of the task in days
  • Estimate Labor - The manual labor cost estimated for the job
  • Estimate Equipment - The estimate of cost incurred by the use of equipment and machinery for the work
  • Estimate Subcontractor - Expenses related to subcontracts, if any.
  • Estimate Material - Cost incurred by the materials used for the work
  • Estimate Others - Miscellaneous expenses like transportation, material handling, fees paid to various vendors, agencies, and more. 
  • Overhead - Operation costs that the company bears
  • Profit - The profit expected from the work
• Save the Excel file with an appropriate name.
• Upload or drag and drop the file into the box in the upper pane of the 'My Estimates' screen.

Your entries are validated and added to the draft list if there are no errors in them.

Tip:
The entries with errors, for example, the task codes, are shown in red. You can directly double-click on the item and edit it.

• Click 'Save'
• Review your draft estimate
  • Use the toggle switch at the top right to switch between the detailed view and the summary view.
  • Click 'Reupload' and repeat the process if you want to present a revised estimate.

• Click 'Save' to save your estimate draft. You will be able to add details and edit the estimate until submission.   

Estimate Details:

The estimate details text box opens as soon as you save your estimate file. You can enter the details and descriptions for your estimate and add supporting documents and photos.

• Click the text box and start typing your description.
• Use the options at the top to apply formatting, insert emojis, etc,. to your description.
• Click on the top right to add attachments like photos, images, and/or other document files to your description.
• Click 'Linked Items' to link other project documents like plan sheets, RFIs, submittals, change orders, schedule items, budgets, etc. The linked plan sheets with/without markups get added as image attachments to your description.  
• Add your comments at any time to share with the other participants collaborating on the change order work

• Click 'Submit' once you have finalized the estimate, to present the same to the general contractor

Your estimate is forwarded to the general contractor. You will be notified once the GC processes you estimate and accepts or requests revision for it.

Tip: 
You can chat with the participants of the change order at any stage. Click the button on the top right to start a chat session. See Chat and collaborate on a CO for more guidance.