Switching from spreadsheets
Most flooring contractors run their bid desk out of a spreadsheet and an inbox, and for a while that works. It stops working at the point where the spreadsheet can only tell you what you typed into it — and nobody has time to type everything into it.
IntelBid isn't a better spreadsheet. It's the part your spreadsheet was never going to do: reading the invitations, watching what goes quiet, and drafting what comes next.
Where the line actually falls
| Capability | Spreadsheet | IntelBid |
|---|---|---|
Track bids, values, and due dates A spreadsheet is genuinely fine at this part. | ||
Custom columns and one-off notes Nothing beats a sheet for improvising a field. | ||
Log bid invites automatically from email Every row is typed by hand, or it never gets typed. | ||
Notice when a submitted bid goes quiet Aging is invisible until someone re-reads the whole sheet. | ||
Draft the follow-up email for you Follow-through depends on remembering. | ||
Build a branded proposal PDF Usually a separate Word or Excel template, re-keyed by hand. | ~ | |
Per-client pricing on one bid Doable, but it's where duplicate-tab drift starts. | ~ | |
Read replies and update the outcome Outcomes get recorded when someone remembers to. | ||
Answer "what's our win rate with them?" A pivot table away, if the data was entered consistently. | ~ | |
Carry the won job into scheduling and billing Typically a second spreadsheet, disconnected from the first. | ||
Shared history when someone leaves Context lives in one person's inbox and their file. |
~ means a spreadsheet can do it, but usually through a second file, a manual template, or a pivot table that depends on everything having been entered consistently.
Bring your history with you
Your win rate, your pricing history, and your client relationships are all sitting in that old file. They're the reason the switch feels risky. Import them and they become the thing the software reasons about.
Export what you already have
A CSV or Excel file from your spreadsheet, Airtable, or current CRM. Bids, companies, and contacts can each come over — as one file or three.
Map columns once, with help
IntelBid reads your headers and proposes a mapping. You correct anything it got wrong in plain language, then approve it.
Import without creating duplicates
Rows are matched against what's already in your pipeline by project, address, and client — so re-importing a corrected file doesn't give you two of every job.
When a spreadsheet is still the right answer
If you bid a handful of jobs a year, or you're the only person who ever touches the pipeline and you like it that way, a spreadsheet is cheaper and faster than any software. IntelBid earns its keep when invitations arrive faster than you can log them, when follow-ups start slipping, or when more than one person needs the same picture of what's open.
More comparisons
- How to choose bid management software as a subcontractorThe categories get conflated constantly. Here's the difference between bid boards, takeoff tools, GC bid solicitation platforms, and a sub's own bid pipeline — and which you actually need.
- Using IntelBid alongside PlanHub and BuildingConnectedBid boards find you work. A bid pipeline tracks what you did with it. Here's why subcontractors usually need both, and how the handoff works.
Every account starts with a sample project — try the flow before importing anything.