Tender vs. Client vs. Internal Exports
Pick the right export options for each audience: subcontractors pricing your quantities, clients reviewing your bid, or internal review.
Tender vs. Client vs. Internal
You use the same Excel export for all three audiences, but the options you tick are different. Get this wrong and you either give your margin away or hand a subcontractor your answers.
Going out to tender — to subcontractors
You want each sub to price blind so you can compare like-for-like quotes.
| Option | Setting |
|---|---|
| Rates and totals | Off |
| Component breakdowns | Off |
| Notes column | Off (unless the notes are sub-facing) |
| Group by section | On |
Why: the spreadsheet contains your scope and quantities only. Each subcontractor fills in their rates and sends it back. You compare apples to apples.
Sending to a client
You want a clean, professional pricing schedule with no internal noise.
| Option | Setting |
|---|---|
| Rates and totals | On |
| Component breakdowns | Off |
| Notes column | Off |
| Group by section | On |
Why: the client wants the structure and the bottom line. They don’t need to know your slab rate is 60% concrete + 25% rebar + 15% labour — that’s your business.
Internal review
You want full transparency — yourself, your team, your QS — on how every rate was built.
| Option | Setting |
|---|---|
| Rates and totals | On |
| Component breakdowns | On |
| Notes column | On |
| Group by section | On |
Why: when something looks wrong, the breakdown sheet tells you whether it’s a bad rate, a wrong quantity, or a stale supplier price.
Quick decision guide
Who am I sending this to?
- A subcontractor pricing my work → tender pack, rates off.
- A client deciding whether to award me the job → client pack, rates on, breakdowns off.
- My team, my QS, future-me → internal pack, everything on.