MeltPlan introduces Melt Bid, an AI bid leveling application built for general contractors managing subcontractor buyout. Bid leveling is the process of normalizing subcontractor proposals to a common scope so they can be compared fairly, revealing which bid is genuinely lowest once exclusions and missing scope are counted. Designed for both new construction and renovation projects, Melt Bid reads incoming proposals, extracts scope and pricing, and produces a leveled side-by-side comparison inside the contractor’s own bid tabulation template. Proposals can arrive in any format, including proposal letters, completed bid forms, emailed pricing, technical specifications and handwritten price pages scanned to PDF, with no standardized submission required from subcontractors.
Learn more about Melt Bid – AI based Bid leveling
The leveled output presents one row per scope item and one column per bidder, with additional columns where the contractor’s template calls for them. Each item is marked as included, excluded or unaddressed. Where a bidder has said nothing about a scope item, Melt Bid flags the omission rather than leaving the cell blank, prompting an estimator decision on whether to apply an estimated value or issue a written clarification request to the bidder.
Estimating teams can supply their own scope baseline, the master list of items a complete bid should include for that trade, and have every proposal checked against it. Teams without a baseline can have one derived from the proposal set. The distinction matters in practice: comparing proposals only against each other shows where bidders differ, but can miss an item that every bidder excluded.
Melt Bid also extracts exclusions and qualifications from proposal prose, identifies scope no bidder has carried, and flags line items that may belong to an adjacent trade package, with CSI division reasoning attached. Every value in the output links back to the source proposal it was drawn from, and items the system is less certain about are marked for closer human review rather than presented as settled.
The application operates as a Microsoft Excel add-in and as a web application kept in sync, so estimators work inside their existing workbook while preconstruction leadership reviews tabulations in the browser. Contractors upload their bid tabulation template once, and subsequent packages level into it.
“Bid leveling is one of the last parts of preconstruction still done entirely by hand,” said Tanmaya Kala, Co-Founder and COO at MeltPlan. “Melt Bid handles the extraction and the scope normalization, and the estimator keeps the judgment on risk, schedule and award. That division of work is what makes it usable under a deadline.”
One ENR Top 10 general contractor using the application reports approximately 150 hours saved per project on bid tally entry, with review running under 30 minutes per trade package.
Common questions
How is Melt Bid different from other bid leveling tools?
Bid management platforms handle the step before this one, sending invitations and tracking responses, and their leveling generally leaves scope normalization to the estimator. Newer point tools automate leveling but are mostly standalone web apps that level into their own structure. Melt Bid works inside the contractor’s existing template and carries through to buyout.
What does Melt Bid automate, and what stays with the estimator?
It automates the information work: reading proposals, extracting scope and exclusions, and building the comparison matrix. The judgment work stays human. Deciding what a scope difference means, what a gap is worth, how much risk a qualification carries and which bidder to recommend all remain with the estimator.
Does it work with any subcontractor proposal format?
Yes. Proposal letters, completed bid forms, emailed pricing, technical specifications and scanned handwritten price pages are all read. Scan quality affects extraction on handwritten and photocopied documents, and those items are flagged for review rather than assumed correct.
Do estimators have to change their Excel template?
No. The firm uploads the bid tabulation template it already uses, and future packages level into that structure. The template usually encodes years of institutional judgment about how a contractor compares bids, which is why replacing it tends to be the point where new tools fail.
What is the difference between a scope gap and an exclusion?
An exclusion is work a bidder states it is not carrying. It is disclosed, so the estimator can price it. A scope gap is work no bidder carried, often because it fell between two trade packages and nobody thought to include it. Exclusions are a reading problem. Gaps are a reasoning problem, and they are usually the more expensive of the two.
How is the AI output verified?
Every value traces back to the proposal and the passage it came from, so the estimator confirms a figure by opening its source rather than re-reading the full bid set. Reported review time runs under 30 minutes per trade package.
Does Melt Bid work with bid distribution software?
Yes. Melt Bid integrates with Autodesk BuildingConnected, so invitations to bid can go out from within the workflow. Its focus stays on what follows: normalizing scope, flagging what nobody carried, and drafting post-bid clarification requests for items a bidder did not price.
What is a plug number?
An estimator’s judgment of what a missing scope item would have cost had the bidder included it, added to bring an incomplete bid up to full scope for comparison. Plug numbers should be recorded as estimates, never as confirmed prices.
Melt Bid is suited to commercial projects carrying multiple trade packages, including healthcare, retail, hospitality, education and mixed-use construction and renovation work. Owners and developers reviewing a general contractor’s buyout can request the leveled comparison as backup for an award recommendation.
Learn more about Melt Bid – AI based Bid leveling
About MeltPlan MeltPlan is an AI-native preconstruction platform that helps contractors, developers and designers simplify preconstruction work including code compliance, takeoff, estimating, subcontractor buyout and scheduling. Founded in 2025 and headquartered in Berkeley, California, MeltPlan is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners.
