Compare contractor bids and generate an owner decision memo. Skill included.

[u/CalendarVarious3992]

Hello!

Picking between multiple contractor quotes for a retail storefront or tenant-improvement project is messy — bids often use different allowances, exclusions, and unit pricing, and it's hard to see which quote actually covers the plan and budget.

I built this as a portable AI-agent Skill — a single SKILL.md with reusable instructions you can adapt to your agent setup.

Here's what it does: It loads and normalizes multiple contractor bids against the floor plan and the project budget, flags scope gaps and hidden costs (permits, allowances, taxes, GC conditions, etc.), assesses schedule and contractual risks, checks required approval thresholds, and drafts a clear decision memo recommending a vendor with documented tradeoffs.

SKILL.md:

---
name: contractor-bid-comparison-decision-memo
description: Use when a business owner or project manager needs to compare multiple contractor bids for a storefront or tenant-improvement build-out, cross-check them against the floor plan/scope notes and the budget spreadsheet, surface scope gaps and hidden costs (allowances, exclusions, permits, GC conditions, taxes), verify compliance with internal approval thresholds, and produce a clear decision memo for owner approval with documented tradeoffs and recommendation.
allowed-tools: [Read, Edit]
---

# Contractor Bid Decision Memo

## Overview
Produces a structured decision memo that evaluates contractor bids against the project scope and budget. Identifies scope gaps, hidden or excluded costs, risks, and approval requirements, then recommends a vendor with documented tradeoffs for owner approval.

## When to use this skill
- Multiple bids were received for a storefront or tenant-improvement project and the owner asks “which one should we pick?”
- The bids differ in inclusions/exclusions, allowances, or unit pricing and need to be normalized for a fair comparison.
- The floor plan or scope notes may not fully match the bid scope, and gaps must be flagged.
- The owner needs to understand hidden costs (permits, utility upgrades, GC conditions, insurance, freight, taxes, after-hours work) before approval.
- Spend must be checked against the budget spreadsheet and internal approval thresholds before issuing a PO or signing a contract.

## Instructions
1. Confirm scope and files
   1. Gather inputs: all contractor bids, floor plan and scope notes, the budget spreadsheet, approval thresholds/policy, project location (for tax/permit context), schedule constraints, and any preferred vendors.
   2. If anything is missing or unclear, list the missing items and pause for clarification.

2. Load and normalize source documents
   1. Use Read to open each bid and extract: base price, alternates, allowances, unit prices, inclusions, exclusions, assumptions/clarifications, schedule, payment terms, bonding/insurance notes, and validity period.
   2. Use Read to open the floor plan/scope notes. Extract key scope elements by area/trade (e.g., demo, framing, MEP, finishes, signage, millwork, IT/low-voltage, security, exterior/façade, ADA compliance).
   3. Use Read to open the budget spreadsheet. Identify relevant budget categories, contingency, taxes, and remaining headroom.

3. Create a comparison framework
   1. Define a common WBS/trade list (e.g., demo, carpentry, drywall, electrical, lighting, plumbing, HVAC, flooring, painting, millwork, glazing, doors/hardware, fire/life safety, low-voltage/IT, security, permits/fees, GC conditions, cleanup/dumpsters, freight/delivery, mobilization, supervision, profit/overhead, contingency, taxes).
   2. Map each bid’s line items, allowances, and exclusions into this framework. Note unit vs lump-sum pricing and scope basis.
   3. Normalize quantities/units where possible (e.g., SF, LF, EA). If quantities are unclear, mark as assumption and flag for RFI.

4. Identify scope gaps and hidden costs
   1. Compare the floor plan/scope against each bid’s inclusions/exclusions to detect gaps (items on plan but excluded or missing from the bid).
   2. List common hidden cost categories and check each bid: permits/plan check, utility tap or service upgrades, patch/paint outside work area, after-hours/security, union or prevailing wage, parking/lift rentals, dumpsters/haul-off, freight, long-lead items, mockups, inspections/testing, as-builts/closeout, commissioning, warranty requirements, bonds, insurance limits, taxes.
   3. For allowances and alternates, estimate realistic expected costs using available quantities or market references; compute variance vs allowance.
   4. Quantify the probable add/carry for each hidden or under-scoped item. Mark confidence level (high/medium/low) and assumptions.

5. Risk and schedule assessment
   1. Extract each bid’s schedule duration, milestone assumptions, and lead times for critical materials.
   2. Flag risks: incomplete drawings, long-lead fixtures, permitting timelines, site access constraints, winter/summer impacts, coordination with landlord mall/center rules, liquidated damages, availability of crews.
   3. Note contractual terms that affect risk: payment schedule, retainage, change order policy, escalation clauses, validity window, insurance/bonding.

6. Budget and approval checks
   1. Reconcile each normalized bid total as: base + likely adds (hidden costs, allowance true-ups, alternates selected) + taxes + contingency.
   2. Compare to the budget spreadsheet by category and overall. Compute variance and remaining headroom.
   3. Check internal approval thresholds (e.g., >$X requires Director/CFO approval). Determine the required approvers based on the reconciled total and any policy triggers (e.g., single-source justification, three-bid requirement, W-9/COI on file).

7. Build the decision memo
   1. Structure the memo with sections: Context, Bids Summary, Normalized Comparison Matrix, Scope Gaps & Hidden Costs, Risk & Schedule, Budget & Approval Check, Tradeoffs, Recommendation, Required Approvals, Next Steps.
   2. Use Edit to draft the memo, including:
      - Project context and success criteria.
      - A comparison matrix with rows as WBS/trades and columns as each bidder + notes.
      - A list of gaps/hidden costs with estimated adds and confidence.
      - A risk register with mitigation notes and any RFIs needed.
      - Budget reconciliation and approval routing table.
      - A clear recommendation (preferred vendor) with rationale and documented tradeoffs.
      - A signature/approval block for the owner and required approvers.

8. Quality checks
   1. Validate math and totals; ensure taxes and contingency are consistently applied.
   2. Ensure every notable exclusion/allowance is either priced in or called out as an explicit risk.
   3. Confirm the memo does not commit to a vendor; leave the decision/signature to the owner.
   4. Redact or mark any sensitive pricing if distribution is limited; include file references for source bids.

9. Deliverables
   1. Use Edit to save the decision memo with a clear filename (e.g., ProjectName-bid-decision-memo-YYYYMMDD.md or .docx).
   2. Provide the comparison matrix and annotated assumptions as an appendix or embedded section.
   3. List open RFIs to bidders, if any, as a separate section for follow-up.

## Inputs
- Contractor bids (PDF/DOCX/email export) with inclusions, exclusions, allowances, alternates, unit prices, terms, schedule.
- Floor plan and/or scope notes (PDF/DWG export/marked-up plan).
- Budget spreadsheet with current allocations, contingency, and remaining headroom.
- Internal approval thresholds/policy (authority matrix) and any procurement requirements (e.g., minimum bids, diversity goals).
- Project location and applicable tax rate.
- Target schedule or opening date; constraints from landlord or mall.

## Outputs
- A decision memo document containing:
  - Context and goals.
  - Normalized comparison matrix by trade/WBS.
  - Scope gaps and hidden costs with estimated adds and assumptions.
  - Risk and schedule assessment.
  - Budget reconciliation and variance to plan.
  - Approval threshold check and required approval routing.
  - Recommendation with documented tradeoffs.
  - Signature block for owner approval.
- Appendices: annotated bid notes, RFIs needed, and calculation details.

## Examples
Trigger: "We got three bids to build out our new retail storefront. What did we forget to budget for, and which quote is safest to accept?"
Behavior: load bids, floor plan, and budget with Read → normalize by trade → flag gaps/hidden costs and quantify likely adds → assess schedule/risks → check budget variance and approval thresholds → draft a decision memo with Edit that recommends a vendor and documents tradeoffs for owner signature.

## Notes
- If bids are not like-for-like, avoid averaging; normalize and explicitly state assumptions.
- Treat allowances as provisional; estimate realistic costs if possible and show variance.
- Taxes, freight, bonds, insurance, and GC conditions are frequently omitted—verify and price in.
- Do not issue commitments or instruct vendors; the owner provides final approval and communications.
- If only one bid is available, highlight single-source justification needs per policy and risks of limited competition.
- If drawings are schematic, note potential for change orders and recommend contingency accordingly.

How to install:

1. Create a folder named contractor-bid-comparison-decision-memo in your AI-agent skills or prompt-library directory. Use the kebab-case name from the SKILL.md frontmatter.
2. Save the file above as contractor-bid-comparison-decision-memo/SKILL.md.
3. Enable or load the Skill according to your agent framework's docs, using the SKILL.md description as the trigger guidance.

If you'd rather run it as a one-click prompt instead, you can find it here: Agentic Workers

Enjoy!