How the estimator-in-the-loop works

BidNotes is built around one rule: the estimator owns the result. The AI drafts. A person decides.

1. BidNotes drafts

After a package is processed, BidNotes produces a set of draft notes. Each one is tagged as scope, cost or compliance, and each one cites the document and page it came from. Drafts start in a Needs review state.

Drafts are a starting point. They can be wrong, incomplete or worded in a way that doesn’t fit how your team talks about a job. That is expected.

2. The estimator reviews

For each note, the estimator opens the cited page and checks it against the source. From there, they can:

• Approve it as written.
• Edit it, then approve. Fix the wording, add context, correct a number.
• Set it aside if it doesn’t matter for this bid or isn’t accurate.

The estimator can also add notes BidNotes didn’t draft. Experience still catches things a document review doesn’t.

3. Only approved notes leave the tool

When you export to Word, only approved notes are included. Draft and set-aside notes stay behind.

That means the document your team carries into the estimate, the proposal or the handoff to project management has been read and signed off by a person who knows the work.

Why it works this way

Bid documents carry real money and real risk. A tool that guesses and ships its guesses would put both on your company. Keeping the estimator in the loop means:

• You stay accountable for the bid, with a record of what was reviewed.
• Mistakes get caught at review, not after award.
• The tool earns trust over time, because every note can be checked against its source in a click.

BidNotes saves the hours spent searching through a package. It does not replace the judgment of the person reading it.