# how to write bids/ contracts?



## tilesetter (Oct 16, 2008)

hi, im going out on my own and starting my own company. Ive never been involved with the bid end of things and need to know how to write a bid profesionally. anything is helpful


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## tommymcollins (Oct 14, 2008)

start with quick books, then live and learn , i use lawyers 
good luck , anit all fun and games


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## SLSTech (Sep 13, 2008)

tilesetter said:


> hi, im going out on my own and starting my own company. Ive never been involved with the bid end of things and need to know how to write a bid profesionally. anything is helpful


Here you go
http://www.markupandprofit.com/index.html

Read the blog, the book & run a search on this site - there is a lot of good info here, especially on How much should I charge... running a business, etc... 
Sarcasm & smart A55 answers provided free of charge & quite liberally on some of these posts - but there is a lot of good info in some of them. 

Best of luck


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## Floordude (Aug 30, 2007)

Small business classes!!!! If you have never run a business before, your in for a big awakening!!! There is more to it then you think.


I'll say it again!!! Small business classes!!!


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## caustin (Oct 22, 2008)

-Make sure your contact info is on any documents you give out; can't tell you how many quotes & invoices I get from subs with no identification on them (and they wonder why they don't get paid).
-Be clear about what you will and won't do. If you don't state that you won't do a particular task, the client will expect you to do it and will be disappointed (or you will be out of pocket). i.e. grout/tile sealing, many people seem to expect it, make it clear if you don't.
-Don't start any work or change orders with verbal only
-Get a lawyer; learn about lien law, plus they will write you some General Conditions for your contracts
-Get a CPA/accountant; I just saved our company $2,100 by keeping better records than previous office manager (unless you really like to do your own taxes)
-Get whatever license you need to have (you can put this on your documents)
-Get insurance (general liability, builder's risk, employee bond (if you're going to have employees)) (you can put something about this on your documents)
-Get business cards, and have someone design a nice little logo that matches the one on your estimates and invoices
-Make sure your voicemail message sounds professional, NOT something like "hey, you've reached joe's voicemail, i'm too busy partying right now but leave a message and i'll call you back when i'm over my hangover" and don't put background music on it, that's just tacky.
-If you don't have a real office, get some sort of address that's not a pobox; some of those mailing centers will give you a street address where your box number shows up as a unit number (do you really want an irate client to be able to track you down at home on a friday night?)
-Always call your clients back within a few hours of getting their message
-Don't lie to your clients; do what you say you will
-I'm sure there's more


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## Bud Cline (Feb 12, 2006)

Must not be in any hurry!!!:no:


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## progressive-pa. (Oct 22, 2008)

i keep it simple. its only as diffacult as you make it. ive run a profitable business for going on 6 years and im not so smart (spellingLOL!) i spend alot of time on my paper work. i purchased a $10 program called print shop and i do all my estimate forms, flyers cards and brochures from that. its very detailed and doesnt leave anything to guess. in my estimate form i put a copy of my insurance cover page in there and a cover sheet on company letter head that says a little about the company like how dedicated we are and so on. plus a brochure thats easly made and just explains the process that you use during the job. the estimate form also goes in a book report cover as well so it stands out from the others that give a quote on the back of a business card.. as far as how i bid? with tile i go by the square foot plus material and on other things i go by time plus materials. wich is a daily rate plus materials. i put ALL the numbers together for a per room or complete job price. i never brake it down for them to see what my labor is. my estimate forms are detailed and have simple check boxes for every thing that will ever be involved in tiling. makes for little writing.. its sounds like cheating, but when i did my first tile job i used home depot as a referance for square foot pricing just to get my feet wet. also get a contractors discount at a tile store and charge customer shelf price. you can make good money just on the materials if you haggle your price with the distributer. i make 20% on my tile.. dont let your customer shop for you. send them to your distributer and let them no your sending a customer so they get treated well. and never let them pick up the tile!! it doesnt matter how good you are. comunicating and being a people person will get you the job before your experiance will. dont b.s!! it will come back at you. do whatever they ask but let them know YOUR the professional. if you sound like you were born on a tile floor, and eat and sleep tile, and your daddy spanked you with tile, then they will take any advice that you give them. but dont over talk them. the customer knows what they want, so let them tell you and have plenty of time to talk.. if you can convey your nollege and profesionalism, you just may have the job before you give them a price. its all in the presentation. be clean and neat. even though you are the tile guy, they dont want you walking thru the house covered in grout. remember. you need to be a sales men before you make any money. pm me.. i have gobs of info on networking and marketing that "may" help. i can also help you with paper work and so on.. i make a really good living. if you do it right and are dedicated, so can you.


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## rsss396375 (Aug 11, 2008)

Go to ABC forms and download forms that are relative to your bid process. They have them just for tile and stone with all the verbage. Find a good "EA" Enrolled Agent in your area, not a CPA. You do not need a CPA and an EA can do your books, payroll and your yearly taxes, both Fed, and State.


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