The bid leveling system built by NYC owner's reps — now available as an AI-powered kit for homeowners, renovators, and PMs at every scale.
| Trade | Bidder A | Bidder B | Bidder C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demolition | $42,000 | $38,500 | Excl. |
| Framing | $185,000 | $192,000 | $178,000 |
| MEP Rough | $310,000 | Allowance | $295,000 |
| Finishes | $220,000 | $198,000 | $215,000 |
| GC Markup | 12% | 15% | 10% |
No two bids are structured the same way. What looks cheapest rarely is — once you know what's missing.
Every contractor scopes the job differently. One includes demo. Another assumes owner-supplied fixtures. A third excludes permits entirely. The numbers aren't comparable until you normalize the scope.
The gaps are buried in exclusion lists most owners never read. Miss one and you're facing a $20,000 change order three weeks into the job — for something the low bidder never planned to do.
Overhead, profit, contingency, bond, insurance — each contractor bundles these differently. A contractor $30K cheaper on trade costs might be $15K more once markups are normalized.
Professional bid leveling on a $2M project takes an experienced PM a full day. Most homeowners don't have that expertise — so they pick the low number and hope for the best.
LevelSet AI gives you the same structured approach NYC owner's reps use on multi-million dollar projects — in an afternoon, with the AI you already have.
| Bidder | Raw Bid | Adjustment | Leveled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bidder A | $934,000 | +$0 | $934,000 |
| Bidder B | $862,000 | +$56K scope | $918,000 ★ |
| Bidder C | $901,000 | +$40K excl. | $941,000 |
Whether you're renovating a kitchen or managing a ground-up development, the bid leveling problem is the same. So is the solution.
You've done the hard work of getting bids. Now you need to understand what you're actually paying for — and which contractor is the right choice.
Speed up your bid leveling workflow. Produce owner-grade memos. Run a tighter, more defensible procurement process — on every project.
Everything you need to run a professional bid leveling process — from first bid intake to signed LOI.
A structured Excel workbook built to handle 2–7 bidders across any project type. Trades, markups, exclusions, and GMP terms — all in one place.
A professional Word template for the owner-facing deliverable. Present your recommendation in the format lenders, equity partners, and sophisticated owners expect.
14 sequential prompts that walk you through the entire process — from bid intake to award recommendation. Works in Claude, ChatGPT, and Copilot.
Send contractors one plain Excel form with the same fixed lines for everyone. No portal, no login, nothing for your bidders to adopt. When the forms come back, LevelSet reads them directly.
The Build Intelligence RFP Generator drafts your RFP for ground-up residential, commercial TI or a home renovation. It pre-fills the property facts from public records and attaches the Standard Bid Form.
Contractors price the same lines. General conditions, insurance, contingency, fee and bond each go on their own line, and every exclusion is tied to the line it affects.
LevelSet AI reads every form, flags scope gaps and bidder-added allowances, and checks each trade against peers AND $/SF benchmarks built from real projects. Then it drafts your award memo.
The LevelSet workflow mirrors the process professional owner's reps follow on every project — now guided step-by-step by AI.
Enter each contractor's bid. AI organizes the data and flags anything unusual against NYC market norms.
3 promptsNormalize every line item to the same baseline. Missing items get priced in. Allowances get flagged.
4 promptsCombine leveled cost, qualitative factors, and risk profile into a clear, defensible recommendation.
3 promptsGenerate the transmittal email and prep for the owner review meeting with built-in Q&A coaching.
2 promptsDraft the LOI to the awarded contractor and document lessons learned for the next bid package.
2 promptsThe Full Kit includes an installable Claude skill — one click and LevelSet AI becomes a permanent tool in your Claude workspace.
Stage 1 — Bid Setup. Share the project address, scope, and paste or upload each bid. I'll flag gaps before we touch any numbers.$83–85K — not $74K. Want me to draft the clarification RFI to send them before you decide?Distilled from real bid leveling exercises across ground-up residential, commercial TI, luxury condo, and renovation projects in New York City.
The AI product studio behind LevelSet — built by a New York City owner's representative and construction PM team with hands-on experience running ground-up residential and commercial TI projects for private owners, developers, and equity partners.
The community making construction and real estate accessible to everyone — from first-time renovators to seasoned developers.
The free sample shows you the system. The Full Kit gives you everything to run it on any project.
Get the first three prompts + a bid scope checklist. Enough to run a quick completeness check on your bids today.
Everything to run a professional bid leveling process — from first bid intake to signed LOI.
One-time purchase. Instant download. No subscription. · Running a firm or development team? Ask about team licensing →