BuildGets BID compared
Updated · BuildGets Team
There are four ways to get a PDF bid schedule into an estimate: retype it, run it through a generic PDF to Excel converter, use takeoff software, or use a bid form converter like BuildGets BID. They differ in what they read, how much you have to fix afterwards and whether anything checks that every item arrived.
| Retyping | Generic PDF to Excel | Takeoff software | BuildGets BID | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it reads | You read the PDF | Any table in a PDF | Drawings | Bid forms and bid schedules |
| Output | Your spreadsheet | Raw table, one sheet per page or table | Measured quantities | One clean bid schedule, HeavyBid column order |
| Checks every item | Only if you re-read it | No | Not applicable | Yes, two independent reads compared by item number |
| Finds missing items | No | No | Not applicable | Reports gaps in the item numbering |
| Units | As typed | As extracted, often mixed with text | From the drawing scale | Kept as the owner wrote them |
| Copy-protected PDFs | Yes, by hand | Often blocked | Not applicable | Read in your browser |
Retyping
Free and always available, and the reason estimators lose evenings before bid day. The risk is not typos you notice, it is the line you skip without noticing.
Generic PDF to Excel converters
Tools that export PDF tables to Excel work well on simple tables. Bid forms are rarely simple: items continue across pages, headers repeat, descriptions wrap onto two lines and addenda mix text with the table. You still clean the sheet by hand, and nothing tells you whether an item was lost.
Takeoff software
Takeoff tools such as Togal.AI or Beam AI measure quantities from drawings. They are built for jobs where you calculate the quantities yourself. On a unit-price bid form the owner has already given you the quantities, so a takeoff tool solves a different problem.
BuildGets BID
Built for one job: turning the owner's PDF bid schedule into an Excel file your estimating software can import. Two independent reads extract the items and are compared by item number, so each line comes back verified, flagged with both values, or marked as found by one read only. Gaps in the numbering are reported before you bid.
When not to use BuildGets BID
If your estimating software downloads the bid items electronically, as HeavyBid does for many state DOT lettings, use that. If the project is lump sum with no bid schedule, there is nothing to convert. And if you need quantities from drawings, you need takeoff, not a bid form converter.
Questions
Is BuildGets BID a takeoff tool?
No. It reads the quantities the owner already wrote on the bid form. Takeoff tools measure quantities from drawings, which is a different job.
Why not use a generic PDF to Excel converter?
Generic converters copy tables but do not know what a bid item is: rows split across pages, merged cells and repeated headers end up in the sheet, and nothing checks that every item arrived.
When should I not use BuildGets BID?
When your estimating software already downloads the bid items electronically, as with many state DOT lettings, or when the job is lump sum with no bid schedule.