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Construction estimate handoff checklist

A won bid is not a field plan. Check the nine controls below, then run the review. The result tells you whether the handoff is ready, conditional, or still on hold.

Private by design. This page has no project fields. Checkbox state stays in this tab, and measurement records only that the checklist or review was used—never which items you checked.

Nine release controls

0 of 9 confirmed

1. Frozen bid basisThe submitted estimate, proposal, bid form, addenda, and source set are preserved as one controlled package. 2. Scope mapEvery priced package has an inclusion, boundary, interface, and responsible party. 3. Exclusions and qualificationsThe receiving team can see what is not carried, what is by others, and what condition would change the price. 4. Leveled quotesVendor and subcontractor quotes retain their scope, dates, alternates, freight, tax, lead time, and unresolved exceptions. 5. Open itemsEvery allowance, RFI, alternate, pending selection, and verbal decision has a written basis and trigger. 6. Quantity and production basisOperations can trace the quantities, labor approach, equipment, production assumptions, and cost codes behind the number. 7. Schedule and logistics basisAccess, work hours, phasing, delivery, storage, crane, permits, inspections, and milestone assumptions are visible. 8. Named next actionsEvery unresolved item has one owner, one due date, and a written consequence if it stays open. 9. Receiving reviewThe estimator and receiving lead reviewed the package together, challenged the soft spots, and accepted the next actions.

What this controls

The handoff transfers the basis of the price, not just the total. Operations should be able to reproduce the submitted amount, see where the risk sits, and act without guessing what estimating meant.

What it does not replace

This is an internal workflow check. It does not replace the contract, project specifications, safety planning, legal review, accounting controls, or requirements specific to the owner and jurisdiction.

The receiving test

Give the package to the person who owns delivery. If that person cannot name the scope boundary, current open items, and next three actions without calling the estimator back, the handoff is not done.

Plain answers

Estimate handoff questions

When should the handoff happen?

After the award basis is known and before purchasing, detailing, scheduling, or field commitments outrun the estimate. If an early release is required, label exactly what is released and what remains conditional.

Who should attend?

The estimator and the person accepting operational ownership are the minimum. Add purchasing, accounting, detailing, field leadership, or safety when the package gives them a real next action.

What is the most important record?

The controlled bid basis. It ties the final number to the plans, addenda, proposal, quotes, inclusions, exclusions, and assumptions that produced it.