How it works

One rule set, three vantage points.

The owner writes the rules once. The prime operates inside those rules on the owner's behalf, in the owner's workspace, and may tighten them but not loosen them. The contractor responds to whatever the rules produce, without needing to know how they were written.

Every action any party takes leaves a record the other two can rely on. That record, rather than the bid itself, is what makes the process defensible after the fact.

The backbone

Six steps, and what each one enforces.

01
Configure rules
Location hierarchy, roles, workflow phases, approval thresholds by value and segregation of duties. Done once.
What it enforcesNothing created later can bypass it. A bid above a threshold cannot be awarded without the approval that threshold requires.
02
Connect vendors
Invite existing contractors. Each completes its own capability, compliance and reference data.
What it enforcesOne network shared across all sites rather than a separate list per field office. Eligibility is checked against the profile.
03
Templates and bids
Reusable scopes carrying required documents, the structured response fields, and the evaluation criteria with their weights.
What it enforcesThe template is where comparability is decided. Loose fields at this stage cannot be repaired downstream.
04
Respond and Q&A
Track who has viewed, declined or submitted. Answer questions in a shared portal and issue addenda as the scope clarifies.
What it enforcesEvery bidder sees every question and answer at the same time. No bidder prices a superseded drawing without a record showing they were told.
05
Evaluate and shortlist
Responses are scored against the criteria set earlier and grouped. The evaluator reviews the reasoning and adjusts what is wrong.
What it enforcesThe same criteria apply to every response, and the correct approver for the value is required rather than suggested.
06
Review and improve
A structured debrief on schedule, cost, quality, safety and collaboration once the work is complete.
What it enforcesThe review is a workflow step rather than an optional courtesy, so performance data accumulates rather than depending on goodwill.

All four parties

The same workflow, end to end.

Owner, prime and contractor, and the platform between them. Scroll it sideways, or read the description below it.

Every item traces to doc 10, doc 04, or doc 12 section 15.

For owners

You define the policy and the platform executes it. Ten stages, from configuring the workspace to the review that feeds the next bid.

O1
Configure the governed workspace
Build the location hierarchy, define roles and permissions, then configure the workflow itself: phases, entry and exit criteria, approval thresholds by value, segregation of duties and notifications.
What the platform enforcesNothing created later can bypass this configuration. A user without the publish permission cannot publish a bid, and a bid above a threshold cannot be awarded without the approval the threshold requires.
O2
Define what primes may do
Per prime and per programme: which workflows they may run, their spend and award limits, which locations they cover, what evidence they return, whether sub-contractor pricing is disclosed, and the marketplace policy for sub-bids.
What the platform enforcesA prime cannot initiate work outside its assigned scope and cannot award above its limit. Anything above the limit routes back to the owner for decision rather than failing silently.
O3
Build the vendor network
Invite existing contractors by email and classify each as a service contractor or a prime. They complete their own capability, compliance and reference data.
What the platform enforcesOne network shared across all sites rather than a separate list per field office. Eligibility for a category of work is checked against the profile rather than assumed.
O4
Build project templates
Per recurring scope: description and deliverables, required documents, required skills and certifications, the structured response fields, and the evaluation criteria with their weights.
What the platform enforcesThe template is where comparability is decided. Responses arrive in the structure defined here, and loose fields at this stage cannot be repaired downstream.
O5
Create and publish a bid
Instantiate a template, assign locations and dates, set eligibility, select invited contractors, decide whether a summary is visible to the wider network, attach documents and publish.
What the platform enforcesPublishing notifies every invited contractor. Marketplace visibility, if enabled, exposes only the summary and not the full package.
O6
Run the open period
Track status across the invited list, answer questions in the shared Q&A portal, and issue addenda as the scope clarifies.
What the platform enforcesEvery bidder sees every question and answer at the same time. Document changes are versioned and affected contractors are notified. No bidder prices a superseded drawing without a record showing they were told.
O7
Evaluate and shortlist
On close, responses are scored against the criteria and weights set at O4 and grouped into likely reject, borderline and strong. The evaluator reviews the reasoning and adjusts what is wrong.
What the platform enforcesThe same criteria are applied to every response. Both the original assessment and any human adjustment are recorded, along with the reason.
O8
Select and approve
Compare shortlisted bids side by side on price, schedule, risk, past performance and qualitative factors, then route the recommended award through the approvers the workflow requires at that value.
What the platform enforcesThe correct approver for the value is required, not merely suggested. An approver may send the decision back to shortlist review, and the loop continues until an approver confirms.
O9
Award and close out
Notify the successful contractor and create the award record. Notify unsuccessful bidders with a structured account of where their response fell short against the stated criteria.
OutcomeA closed bid, an awarded contractor, and unsuccessful bidders who understand why. In the first release BidWorks stops at the award record and does not hold the resulting contract.
O10
Post-project review
A structured debrief covering schedule, cost, quality, safety and collaboration, producing an internal performance record and, at the owner's discretion, a reference the contractor can carry elsewhere.
What the platform enforcesThe review is a workflow step rather than an optional courtesy, so performance data accumulates rather than depending on goodwill.

For prime contractors

The prime is unusual because it plays both roles. Its stages alternate between bidding for work and running bids for others, and both happen inside the owner's workspace.

P1
Accept the owner's rules
For each owner: review the workflows and delegated authority set at O2, accept them on the record, and map internal people to the prime roles the owner defined.
What the platform enforcesAcceptance is recorded and dated. A prime working for four owners holds four separate sets of rules, and the platform keeps them apart rather than blending them.
P2
Bid as a contractor
Where the prime is competing for the owner's own work it follows the responding contractor path, with no special treatment.
OutcomeOne place to manage all owner-facing opportunities, whether the prime is bidding or delivering.
P3
Initiate sub-bids under the owner's rules
Create projects and sub-bids from the owner's templates, inside the owner's phases and documentation requirements. The prime may add its own requirements on top.
What the platform enforcesSub-bids run in the owner's workspace. Owner-set requirements are locked: the prime may add but cannot remove, edit or weaken them. Every requirement carries a marker showing who set it, and that marker persists into evaluation and audit output.
P4
Run the sub-bid
Select eligible subs by trade, region and prequalification, publish, manage coverage, and answer questions in the shared portal.
What the platform enforcesA marketplace approval is checked against the owner's policy first. Blocked cannot be overridden. Prime may approve leaves the decision with the prime. Owner approval required routes the request to the owner.
P5
Evaluate subs and recommend
Score sub responses against the criteria, produce the side-by-side comparison, and package the recommendation for the owner where the value exceeds the prime's award limit.
What the platform enforcesThe owner can see the full sub-bid detail, not only the prime's summary. Sub-contractor pricing is included or withheld according to the option the owner set at O2. Where pricing is withheld the owner still sees who was invited, who responded, who declined and why, and how each response scored.
P6
Owner decision loop
Within its limit the prime awards directly. Above it, the owner approves, queries or prefers a different sub, and the prime responds.
What the platform enforcesThe record shows who was invited, who responded, who declined and why, and the basis for the selection, regardless of who made the final call.
P7
Deliver and prove compliance
Produce evidence from the platform record when audited, challenged or asked to justify a selection.
OutcomeCompliance demonstrated from the record rather than reconstructed from email and spreadsheets. For many primes this is the main reason to be on the platform at all.
P8
Contribute to review
Provide performance input on subs into the post-project review.
OutcomeSub-contractor performance history that both the prime and the owner can use on the next project.

For contractors

One profile, every invitation in one place, and a private check against the stated requirements before the deadline.

C1
Build one profile
Entity and contacts, work categories and specialties, regions, crews and capacity, certifications, insurance and bonding, safety statistics, equipment and references. Higher tiers add case studies and richer capability statements.
What the platform enforcesOne profile, reused with every owner and prime on the platform, rather than re-entered per client.
C2
See the work
Invited contractors see invitations from clients they already work with. Higher tiers also see summaries of network-visible bids matching their trades and regions, and can request to be added.
What the platform enforcesWhether that request can be granted depends on the owner's marketplace policy and, for sub-bids, the prime's approval within that policy.
C3
Declare intent
Accept and indicate intent to bid, or decline with a structured reason: cannot respond at this time, do not meet the minimum requirements, or resources not available.
What the platform enforcesDeclining requires the structured reason rather than silence.
C4
Prepare the response
Complete the structured fields the owner defined: pricing breakdown, schedule, methodology, team, risks and assumptions, compliance checklists and the narrative. Attach documents, ask questions in the shared portal and read everyone else's.
What the platform enforcesThe response is submitted online in the defined structure rather than as an attached document in the contractor's own format.
C5
Check before submitting
Run the pre-submit review. It maps each requirement to the answer given, scores coverage, flags gaps and weak areas, and offers help sharpening the narrative. Act on it or ignore it, then submit.
What the platform enforcesThe pre-submit review is private to the contractor. It is never visible to the owner or the prime, and no score from it is stored where either can reach it.
C6
Outcome
Receive the award, or the notification that the bid was not selected, with a report showing where the response fell short against the criteria that were stated up front.
OutcomeContractors learn why they lost, which is rare in the current process.
C7
Build a record
After awarded work is complete, take part in the post-project review and receive the resulting reference.
OutcomeA track record tied to real performance, portable across every owner and prime on the platform.

Where the value sits

Four places where one party has to trust another.

Four places carry most of the platform's value, because each is where a party has to trust something produced by another party.

The Q&A portal
Every bidder sees the same answer at the same time. It removes the private clarification that quietly advantages one bidder.
The document and addendum trail
Nobody prices a superseded drawing, and there is a record of who was told what and when.
The evaluation record
The same criteria applied to everyone, with the reasoning kept, which is what makes a decision defensible to an approver, an auditor, a joint venture partner, or a losing bidder.
The performance record
Outcomes influence who gets invited next time, which closes the loop between how a contractor performs and what it is offered.

AI with control

Agents assist. People decide.

AI agents provide recommendations and automation. These safeguards decide what they are allowed to do with them.

These controls exist so that the AI improves decision quality and speed without compromising governance or accountability.

Human in the loop

All awards, rejections and critical configuration changes require human approval. Agents cannot unilaterally select winners or change policy.

Traceability

All AI actions, suggestions and scores are logged. Evaluators can see why an agent scored a bid a certain way.

Configurable use

Owners can choose which agents to enable, and different sensitivity levels can be applied across categories or spend thresholds.

One rule set, three vantage points.

Six steps, and what each one enforces.

Configure rules

Connect vendors

Templates and bids

Respond and Q&A

Evaluate and shortlist

Review and improve

The same workflow, end to end.

Owner, contractor, and the platform between them

Owner

Contractor

BidWorks

What comes out

For owners

Configure the governed workspace

Define what primes may do

Build the vendor network

Build project templates

Create and publish a bid

Run the open period

Evaluate and shortlist

Select and approve

Award and close out

Post-project review

For prime contractors

Accept the owner's rules

Bid as a contractor

Initiate sub-bids under the owner's rules

Run the sub-bid

Evaluate subs and recommend

Owner decision loop

Deliver and prove compliance

Contribute to review

For contractors

Build one profile

See the work

Declare intent

Prepare the response

Check before submitting

Outcome

Build a record

Four places where one party has to trust another.

The Q&A portal

The document and addendum trail

The evaluation record

The performance record

Agents assist. People decide.

Human in the loop

Traceability

Configurable use