Straight answers.

You're not wrong to ask.

The real question is what happens to the details.

Which sub came in low but cost you on the back end? Which crew quietly killed it last quarter? Where does that information live right now?

Spreadsheets keep it scattered. Most platforms get the bid out and the award done, then hand the rest back to email. And almost none of them keep a real record of how each sub actually performed.

KNTRCTR keeps the whole thing in one place. Bids, award, kickoff, and reviews of the company that did the work. Next time their name comes up, you're not starting from scratch.

And no, you're not changing the world to use it. Most teams are up and running same-day, and your subs will like how easy it is to share their numbers.

Hit the demo button below. Quickest way to see if this is for you.

It's actually the opposite.

Big projects get the attention. Kickoffs, debriefs, lessons learned. They need a system like KNTRCTR.

But so do the 2-day jobs. They cycle through fast. The sub did good work, or didn't. Got it done on time, or didn't. Then you're onto the next one and the details blur.

Run that pattern across a year and you've got a knowledge gap nobody's tracking. Even though those jobs are the bulk of what your business actually does.

KNTRCTR captures the small stuff in seconds, not meetings.

Hit the demo button on the banner below. We'll show you in 20.

It's the system of record for the subs you work with, and the way you get bid packages out to them.

Rex Build can draft the bid packages from the drawings and notes you already have. Send the invites when you are ready. A price that arrives by email can be read onto the form. Subs who bid on the form come back on the same lines, and you compare them in one view.

When you award, Kickoff is there to organize the crew for the site. Every interaction builds a track record on the company that earned it.

Bid invites go out in minutes, not hours. Award decisions get made on data, not memory. The next time you're picking subs, you've got real history to pull from.

Reading this FAQ is helpful, but you should step on to our job site with a demo (below). Easier to show you than tell you.

Yes. In Canada this work is often called tendering.

KNTRCTR runs the bid package after you have the work: structured bids, comparison, and award, whether you call it a tender, a bid, or an ITB.

Ontario and GTA crews use the same workflow as teams in the US. A bid package is the invitation to bid. Bid packages on one site or phase compile into a project.

How a bid package runs on KNTRCTR

Subcontractor management software helps construction teams organize the companies they work with, invite them to bid, compare responses, coordinate handoff, and keep a record of who did what on each bid package.

Traditionally, a lot of that work happens through phone calls, email threads, spreadsheets, saved PDFs, and memory. That can get subs on site, but it does not always leave your team with a clean record for the next decision.

KNTRCTR does it differently. It gives contractors an easy construction bid management software workflow for posting bid packages, inviting subs, comparing bids, awarding work, and running kickoff.

It also gives users tools to review subcontractors and see past history with each company, so future procurement decisions are based on performance, not just price or memory. That is why KNTRCTR also fits as construction procurement software for teams that want better subcontractor decisions over time.

No. KNTRCTR focuses on bid organization and subcontractor performance tracking—not estimating takeoffs, project scheduling, or cost control.

It works alongside your existing estimating tools and project management systems.

No. Most companies begin by inviting the subcontractors they already work with.

KNTRCTR strengthens existing relationships before expanding into new ones.

Yes. KNTRCTR supports mass CSV upload so you can bring your existing subcontractor contacts into your network workflow.

Imported contacts can be organized into subcontractor lists and supplier lists. A trade column in the file can build those lists, and you use them when you post a bid package.

If a company is not registered yet, it can still be tracked as pending until they join.

Your network and lists

No. Bid packages are private by default. You control who gets invited.

This platform is about structured relationships, not blasting work into the open web.

Once you are in the system, in addition to inviting your existing subs (optional), you have the option to post a bid package as "Public." This only means it is public within the system and other KNTRCTR users can see the bid package. It is not posted on the open web.

Private vs public bid packages

Lead contractors get a 30-day free trial, then a flat monthly subscription. No hidden fees, no commissions.

Subcontractors invited to bid can respond for free. No subscription required. If they subscribe, they get Rex AI on the draft, plus past work on their profile, Network visibility, and public bid packages.

Any verified user can post a bid package. You can invite your existing subcontractors, open it to the public, or build private lists.

There's a lot of software in construction, and most of it is good at something. The question isn't which tool is best. It's which tool does the job you're trying to do.

KNTRCTR runs the subcontractor decision end to end. Who bids, what is really in those bids, who gets the award, and how they performed once they were on site.

Some tools live next to that lane. Some overlap with a piece of it. Bid platforms stop at award, estimating tools stop at your number, and project management platforms start after the work is already won.

Two things none of them do: read the bids the way Rex AI does, catching what is buried in the attachments before you make the call, and carry a locked record of how each sub actually performed back into your next decision.

Read all comparisons

The biggest network in the game moves your bids at scale. KNTRCTR reads what comes back with Rex AI and remembers who delivered.

BuildingConnected has reach. An invite goes out and it reaches people. But once the bids land, the cross-check is on you: every attachment, every exclusion, every condition, read one bid at a time and held in your head.

KNTRCTR picks up there. Rex AI scans the whole field, then reads every attachment and lines them up against each other, so the exclusion one sub buried and another did not jumps out. Then the review after the work is locked into the record, so next time that sub bids you already know how the last one went.

Read KNTRCTR vs BuildingConnected

SmartBid is strong on intake, prequal, and compliance. KNTRCTR gets the bids out, reads them with Rex AI, levels them, and keeps a record after award.

If your headache is wrangling ITBs and chasing certificates, SmartBid handles that well. Where it runs out of road is after the bids are in. The proposals land, and the reading and the leveling are on you.

KNTRCTR gets the bids out from saved subcontractor lists, brings them back in a structured form against your scope, levels them side by side without losing the original number, and keeps the performance record going after award.

Read KNTRCTR vs SmartBid

PlanHub is a marketplace for meeting new subs. KNTRCTR is for deciding on the ones you already run with.

There is real value in a room full of people you have not met yet, and that is what PlanHub is built for. But it is built for the introduction, not the long game.

KNTRCTR is about the crews you run with job after job. Find your subs wherever you find them. When it is time to decide who runs the work, and to remember how they did, that is the part KNTRCTR was built for.

Read KNTRCTR vs PlanHub

Dodge is project intelligence for finding work early. KNTRCTR is for deciding who builds it once you have got it.

Dodge points you at the work before it is even out to bid, and it has the database and the history to back that up. What it does not do is run your project once you are the one soliciting subs.

No structured bid form where your subs respond to your scope, no AI reading those bids for what is buried in them, and no record of how a sub performed after the work. Dodge is the front of the funnel. KNTRCTR is the decision on who you trust to build it.

Read KNTRCTR vs Dodge

No. HeavyBid is where you build your estimate. KNTRCTR is where you build your partner decisions.

Forty years as the standard in heavy civil estimating does not happen by accident. If your estimators know HeavyBid, keep them in it. This is not a switch.

HeavyBid quote management lives on the estimator side of the desk. Your subs are not logging in and bidding to you through it, they are emailing a number or sending a PDF. With KNTRCTR your subs bid to you in a structured form, and if you have an old-school sub who will not sign up, you enter their bid yourself. The number still flows into your estimate.

HeavyBid remembers what they quoted. KNTRCTR remembers how they showed up.

Read KNTRCTR + HeavyBid

No. B2W sharpens the number you send up. KNTRCTR sharpens the call on who is hitting the site.

A unified cost database that keeps a whole estimating team consistent is hard to build and harder to replace. If your estimators run B2W, keep them in it.

Sub and vendor quotes feed into that estimate, but they get there the old way, emailed in or PDF over, then worked into your pricing. KNTRCTR sits around the estimate, not on top of it: structured bids against your scope, Rex AI reading the attachments, leveling, award, kickoff, and the review record after.

Read KNTRCTR + B2W

Yes. Procore runs the job to the finish line. KNTRCTR lines up the right crews before it starts.

Procore does have a bid management module, and for a firm all-in on Procore that is a tidy path from award into execution. But plenty of teams run Procore for project management and never turn the bidding module on, or pay for it and barely touch it.

Run your project in KNTRCTR, let Rex AI read the field, level the bids, make the call. Then hand the awarded work into Procore to run to the finish line. You keep Procore for what it is best at.

Read KNTRCTR + Procore

Rex is KNTRCTR's AI bid intelligence assistant. It sits on the bid package: drafting it, filling bid expectations from a quote, and reading the field before award.

It is not a separate tool you have to bolt on. Invited bidding stays free. Rex for bidders is a subscription they can choose. Rex is for analysis only. People still decide.

Rex is on the bid package at more than one point, not in a separate window.

A prime or general contractor can start the day there, build the bid package, add a quote that arrived by email, read the field, and ask questions in chat on that bid package. Stage 1 is a scan of every bid. Stage 2 is a deeper read of one company, including supported attachments.

A bidder invited to the bid package can respond for free. Rex on their draft is a subscription they can choose. It checks the quote against the original request before they send. People still send, award, and sign.

See where Rex shows up

Rex Build drafts the bid packages from the documents you already have. Attach drawings, a budget, and notes, and Rex proposes a package for each trade or crew.

Those packages sit together on the project, with the map open, so you can see who is pricing what before anyone is invited. Nothing goes out until you review the draft and send the invitations yourself.

See Rex Build

Yes. Subcontractors often hold the number until the bid closes so it cannot be shopped. The PDF lands in the inbox as the package is closing, and retyping every line is how a bid gets left off the comparison.

Drop the quote on the package and paste the email beside it. Rex reads the price onto the same scope lines in seconds. You confirm the total before it is saved. That bid then sits on the form with the quotes that came in through the invitation, ready to compare.

See an emailed quote join the comparison

Bid expectations are the scope lines on the request: inclusions, exclusions, unit prices, and the other answers you want every bid to give in the same shape.

Rex stays on those lines. When a package is built, the expectations travel with the requests. When a quote arrives by email, or a bidder left the form blank, Rex can fill those same rows from the quote so the scope can be compared side by side.

The field read uses that structure. Stage 1 flags missing responses and pricing signals across the bids. Stage 2 reads one company against the expectations, including unit rates and provisional or conditional amounts when they are on the bid. Rex does not invent scope you did not ask for, and it will not name a winner.

See an emailed quote join the comparison

Rex does the first-pass analysis so your team can spend more time on judgment and less time on manual scanning.

It flags what needs attention, highlights risk/reward signals, and gives you a clearer shortlist for deeper review. Rex is for analysis only - all decisions are yours.

Stage 1 scans the full bid field and quickly surfaces outliers, missing responses, provisional/conditional amount signals, and early watch-list signals.

It is designed to answer: what needs attention first before your team dives into bidder-level detail.

Stage 2 analyzes one bidder in depth, including scope alignment, attachment evidence, commercial signal (including unit pricing and provisional amounts when present), and reliability context.

It is designed to answer: what is this bidder's risk/reward profile before award.

Rex Chat stays with the bid package for follow-up questions after Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Use it to pressure-test assumptions, ask specific bidder comparisons, and get focused next-step guidance without leaving that bid package.

Yes. In deep-dive workflows, Rex can analyze supported attachment content and include relevant findings in the bidder-level review.

This helps teams connect pricing and scope decisions to documented evidence, not memory.

Yes. When comparing prices, Rex uses the effective comparison price: the leveled total when leveling is on, otherwise the raw bid amount.

Rex also accounts for unit-priced bid expectations and provisional / additional amounts, including whether conditional items are included in the total.

That keeps Rex's commercial read aligned with what your team sees in bid review. Rex is for analysis only - all decisions are yours.

No. Rex is an assistant for structured analysis, not an autopilot that awards work.

Your team remains accountable for final decisions, trade-offs, and commercial judgment.

Yes. AI Checks are standing questions your company sets once, and Rex answers them on every bid package. Teams use them for the things they always want confirmed, such as how each bid compares to the internal budget, or whether a quote includes taxes.

You write the check in plain language and Rex works out where the answer lives. If it needs a document, Rex says it is waiting on a deep dive rather than guessing.

Answers keep pace with the review. Every check is answered again after each deep dive, so if a document changes the answer, Rex updates it and marks it as changed rather than leaving a stale read on the page. Evidence from your first deep dive still counts when Rex re-answers after your fifth.

Rex reports the answers in their own section, one answer per check, so you can see exactly what each one turned up rather than hunting for it in a wall of text. Company administrators control the list, since these shape the analysis the whole team reads.

No, and that is deliberate. Rex writes its analysis first, then answers your checks against it. A check produces its own answer and cannot quietly reshape the findings your team relies on.

The same limits apply to a check as to everything else Rex does: it will not name a winner, leave out evidence it found, coach negotiation tactics, or identify the company behind another firm's review. If a check asks for one of those, Rex answers whatever part it legitimately can and says plainly what it will not do.

Rex is for analysis only - all decisions are yours.

All bidders are notified by email about the decision. The awarded company knows they won, and everyone else knows the decision is made.

The bid package stays in one workspace on KNTRCTR: scope and attachments, bids, and messages.

After award, Kickoff is a dedicated space for start-of-work handoff.

The bid package moves through clear stages (for example awarded, in progress, completed).

When the work wraps, peer reviews and performance history stay tied to that bid package and that company, so your next award isn't based on memory alone.

No more relying on scattered updates when you award the next sewer, grading, or utilities contract.

After a bid package is awarded, Kickoff is a shared space for the lead contractor and the awarded sub to get aligned before and during start of work.

Both sides can share important documents, work through a mutual checklist, and leave notes—so insurance, contracts, site contacts, safety items, and handoff details sit in one place on the bid package instead of scattered across inboxes and folders.

It sits next to Messages on the same bid package. Kickoff is the structured handoff and files. Messages is the ongoing conversation.

Kickoff after award

Yes. You can add your own company teammates to a bid package at any point: while bids are open, right after award, or when you are deep into kickoff. Bring the right people in when you need them.

Multiple teammates can sit on the same bid package. Each person you add sees that bid package on their own dashboard. Everyone uses their own login. No shared passwords.

That is people from your own company. Who you invite to bid is a different block: invite lists, email invites, and whether the bid package stays private. In the dash that invite block is labeled Crew Control, so the names are easy to mix. It is not your own crew.

Estimating and procurement can hand off cleanly, or you can line up teammates before award and expand the team after, so Kickoff starts with everyone who needs to be in the room.

Yes. KNTRCTR lets you group related bid packages into a project so a site, phase, or contract does not turn into a pile of disconnected requests.

For example, you might post separate bid packages for excavation, trucking, utilities, and concrete, then group them under the same project on your dashboard. Rex Build can draft those packages from the drawings, budget, and notes before you invite anyone. That gives your team a cleaner view of who priced what, who was awarded, and who was on site.

It also keeps the history documented for the future. If you ever need to look back at a site, you can return to that project and see the bid packages tied to the work instead of opening every package one by one.

Projects and the dashboard

Yes. You invite suppliers the same way you invite subcontractors, and you choose who gets the request. Invited suppliers can bid for free.

Rex Build can draft a supplier package from the drawings, budget, and notes. It lands in its own section, next to the sub packages. Nothing sends until you do.

Their quote comes back on the same lines as everyone else. A price that arrives by email can be read onto the form, so a last-minute supplier quote still makes the comparison.

The next time that supplier shows up, the record from the last bid package sits beside the number, and Rex can read it with the bid.

Your network and lists

Qualifications and requirements sit on the bid request, so the companies you invite can see what is required before they price.

Attachments sit on the same invitation. Drawings and the rest of the package are on the page, so partners are not hunting a separate email for the details they need to bid.

Set the scope on the request

On a quote Bid Expectation, the poster can turn on Create Quantity and set the quantity needed, plus an optional unit of measure. That can be tons or hours on a heavy civil request, or square feet and linear feet on a building package.

Bidders then enter a unit rate. KNTRCTR multiplies rate × quantity to calculate the line total, so everyone prices against the same quantity.

Leave Create Quantity off if you want a simple lump-sum quote line. Unit pricing is optional and can be edited later on the bid package.

If the poster later changes the quantity, existing bids keep the quantity they were submitted against. Adjustments for the new quantity belong in bid leveling.

Set the scope on the request

Provisional / additional amounts are costs a bidder adds that were not listed in the poster's Bid Expectations—for example allowances, contingencies, or extras.

Each item can include a label, amount, multiplier, optional description, and a Conditional flag when the cost may not apply.

They appear separately from the poster's Bid Expectations in bid details and side-by-side comparison, so the pricing structure stays clear.

When a bidder marks a provisional amount as Conditional, they are saying that cost may not apply.

Conditional amounts stay visible to the poster, but they are not included in the bidder's submitted total by default.

During bid leveling, the poster can include or exclude each conditional item in that bid's leveled total to compare best-case and worst-case scenarios before award.

By default, the Total Bid Amount is auto-calculated from quote Bid Expectation responses (lump sum or unit rate × quantity), plus non-conditional provisional / additional amounts.

Bidders can optionally override that calculated total with a manual final amount—useful for simple bids or when their own worksheet drives the headline number.

If the poster did not set quote expectations, manual total entry is available by default so bidders can still submit a straightforward price.

Yes. KNTRCTR includes bid leveling so you can normalize subcontractor bids line by line before award.

Bid leveling keeps the original bidder response visible while you enter separate leveled values for comparison.

You can level quote expectations (including unit rate and quantity on unit-priced lines), level provisional / additional amounts (amount, multiplier, and include/exclude), add bid adjustments as increases or decreases, and add leveled notes under Pricing, Scope, and Timeline.

The leveled amount is calculated from the original bid amount, plus or minus expectation-leveling differences, plus or minus provisional leveling differences, plus or minus bid adjustments.

Bid leveling is poster-side only and locks once the bid package is awarded.

Compare and level bids

The poster can mark individual bid expectations as Must Answer. Those require a direct answer or Exclude from bid with a reason before submit.

Optional expectations can be left blank. Bidders can still exclude them with a reason (up to 200 characters) if they are out of scope.

If a bidder skips an optional row, Rex AI may fill it from attachments when the poster runs a deep dive. Answering in-app where possible still gives the most accurate comparison.

If a Must Answer response or a required exclusion reason is missing, KNTRCTR blocks submission until it is fixed.

You can invite existing subcontractors directly, invite from saved lists, or use mass CSV upload to bring in your current contacts first. You can also email a partner who is not on KNTRCTR yet.

When you submit the invitation, you can send it to a saved list in one click. Everyone on that list gets the request. Later updates and messages go to those same companies.

Bid packages stay private unless you choose public inside KNTRCTR. Public still means signed-in KNTRCTR users, not the open web.

On the bid package, that invite block is labeled Crew Control. It is who you invite to bid, not the people on your own team.

Once your network is organized, posting a bid package and inviting your known subcontractors takes only a few clicks.

Your network and lists

Yes. Invited subs get an email every time you adjust the scope, upload a new attachment, or add a new requirement. They get it when you save. A message you send from the bid package goes to each invited company.

They can tell you if they are in: planning to bid, cannot bid, or need more information. Invited subs who have not shared a status also get a weekly reminder until they do.

Bid package updates and reminders

Yes. A next-day haul and work that bids next spring use the same bid package page.

Haulage that starts the next day, such as spoil off a municipal watermain, is a bid package. So is paving next spring, with requirements and attachments. The map sits on the details either way.

You still choose who is invited. The bid package stays private unless you make it public inside KNTRCTR.

Short-term work and long packages

Yes. Your company’s management team on that bid package can download an archive from the page for filing or offline reference.

Open the bid package from your dashboard. Near the bottom of the page, next to Delete bid package, use Export Excel or Export PDF.

Export Excel downloads a single `.xlsx` spreadsheet with worksheet tabs that match the bid package page—Details, Discussion, Viewers, Bids, Kickoff, and Performance—so you can open it in Excel or Google Sheets and flip through each section.

The Performance worksheet includes that bid package’s completed peer reviews and manual bidder reviews.

Export PDF downloads a printable PDF with the same sections laid out for paper or a shared drive.

Attachment files themselves are listed in the export (names and links); the download is the bid package record, not a zip of every uploaded file.

No. Invited and existing subcontractors can bid for free. They can create a free account and respond to your bid packages at no cost.

If they subscribe, they get Rex AI on the draft, can share past work and qualifications, get discovered on the Network, and bid on public bid packages. Subscription is optional for bidders.

Lead contractors subscribe to post bid packages and build their network; bidders can participate for free when invited.

You'll receive email notifications and in-app alerts when a company you follow posts a request, or when you're directly invited to bid.

Yes. Each bid package has its own Discussion tab. Conversations with individual bidders are stored on that bid package, so you can come back next week or in six months and see what was discussed.

You can also message from the Messaging Command Center. Either way, the thread stays tied to the bid package—not a side inbox.

Discussion stays on the bid package

Yes. Once you've registered your account, you can turn on Multi-Factor Authentication from your settings.

Click your company icon in the top-right corner of the app to open Settings, then select Security & MFA to set up an additional verification method.

This adds an extra layer of protection on top of your password whenever you sign in.

Yes. Your bid packages, performance records, and internal reviews are controlled by your company.

You decide what is visible and what remains internal.

Yes. Peer reviews are part of each bid package’s exportable record, so you can keep a copy outside KNTRCTR.

Open the bid package from your dashboard. Near the bottom of the page, use Export Excel or Export PDF (available to your company’s management team on that bid package).

In the download, open the Performance section. It includes completed peer reviews for that bid package—who reviewed whom, overall rating, written comments, and review status—plus any manual bidder reviews tied to that bid package.

Export one bid package at a time when you want an offline archive of how you rated the companies you worked with. Your company still controls what stays internal vs. what contributes to a subcontractor’s public score on KNTRCTR.

Email does not track who viewed your request. Email does not standardize bid expectations. Email does not preserve performance history.

Messages and Kickoff keep conversation and handoff on the bid package—so fewer lost attachments and fewer "which thread was that?" moments.

KNTRCTR turns scattered communication into a structured and searchable record.

After a bid package is completed, both parties are asked to leave a review.

The next time that company bids, the score sits beside their number. Rex can read that record with the bid. The lowest price is not the only thing on the page.

As the lead contractor, you choose whether your review stays internal to your company or rolls into that subcontractor's public score on KNTRCTR. Making it public does not publish your full written review for everyone to read; it feeds into their average so other companies hiring or working with that company can see how they are rated overall.

Subcontractors who subscribe can open that shared written feedback, and they get Rex AI on the draft so they can check the next bid before they send.

Full walkthrough: https://www.kntrctr.com/reviews. For primes: https://www.kntrctr.com/reviews/for-prime-contractors. For subcontractors: https://www.kntrctr.com/reviews/for-subcontractors.

Yes. When you complete a peer review, you'll see a Share this review with [company] checkbox.

If that box is on, your written review can be shown to the reviewee once review visibility rules are met.

If that box is off, the reviewee does not see your written review.

Review editing is locked once both parties submit their reviews, or when 90 days have passed from the review request date.

After lock, you can still contact KNTRCTR support to request a temporary unlock for corrections.

If a company shares a review with a free-bidder account, KNTRCTR sends an in-app and email notification that feedback was shared.

The free bidder is prompted to subscribe to view the shared feedback. That same subscription includes Rex AI on the draft.

If you've previously cancelled your subscription and want to reactivate it (and didn't delete your account), you can find a "Reactivate Subscription" link in the footer of our main landing page. Simply click the link, enter your email address, and you'll be redirected to complete the reactivation process. You'll get a fresh 30-day free trial when you return!

Note: If you previously deleted your account entirely, you'll need to register again and start from scratch with a new account.

Absolutely. Email us at admin@kntrctr.com or call/text 705-706-7014. We want to hear from you.