The problem
Sample Industrial was running its entire bidding operation through a single shared spreadsheet — with versioning conflicts, no audit trail, and constant back-and-forth over email. New estimators took weeks to onboard because the “how we do this” lived in someone’s head.
What we built
A multi-user web app with role-based access for estimators, project managers, and admins. The bid lifecycle is modeled explicitly — from intake through submission and award — with clear ownership at every step. Documents attach to each bid, and email notifications fire when work changes hands.
We added a dashboard showing pipeline by stage, by estimator, and by project type. The admin view lets the operations lead see exactly where every active bid stands without asking around.
Results
Quote turnaround dropped from an average of 7 days to under 3. The estimating team reclaimed about 12 hours per week previously lost to coordination overhead. Most importantly, no active bids have fallen through the cracks since launch — every bid now has an owner and a state.