---
title: "Getting Started with PlanHub: Complete Your Setup & Submit Your First Bid"
description: Learn how to complete your PlanHub account setup, qualify projects, review plans and specifications, submit your first bid, and track bidding opportunities.
---
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# Getting Started with PlanHub: Complete Your Setup & Submit Your First Bid
## Your account is set up, so now it's time to put PlanHub to work. This guide covers four things: completing your pre-qualification and reviewing your badges, evaluating projects, submitting your first bid, and tracking your pipeline. By the end, you'll know how to evaluate projects and take the next steps toward winning more work.
**Want hands-on help?** Book a free one-on-one onboarding meeting with our Customer Success team. They'll help you set up your account, learn to navigate PlanHub efficiently, and answer your questions.
**[Schedule Your Free Onboarding Session](https://meetings.hubspot.com/bjohnson50/csm-customer-service-rr)**
---
### Complete your prequalification
Pre-qualification introduces your company's qualifications before a general contractor ever reaches out. It helps GCs decide whether you're a good fit for their project, and it can cut down the information you need to provide when they evaluate you. Think of your public profile as your digital storefront. Your pre-qualification tells the story behind your experience and capabilities.
**Step 1:** Go to your [**Company Profile**](https://subcontractor.planhub.com/settings/company/profile) and open the [**Prequalification Form**](https://subcontractor.planhub.com/settings/company/prequalification-form) tab.
**Step 2:** Click **Edit Prequalification Form**.
**Step 3:** Work through each section, including licensing, project history, safety, insurance and bonding, financials, and risk. Keep your answers accurate and up to date. Missing something? Note what you need to gather and come back to finish it.
**Step 4:** Click **Save**. If a field is flagged as invalid, such as a phone number, correct it and save again.
**Step 5:** \*Optional\*
Under **Privacy Settings**, turn on the toggle to share your pre-qualification with PlanHub general contractors.
**Step 6:** To keep a copy, click **Download Prequalification PDF**.
Learn more in this article: [How To Complete Your Prequalification Form](https://knowledgebase.planhub.com/knowledge/how-to-complete-your-prequalification-form?hsLang=en)
---
### Badges
**Step 1:** Open the [**Company Profile**](https://subcontractor.planhub.com/settings/company) tab and scroll to **Badges**. Hover over or click each badge to see how you earned it. For example, one badge is for completing your pre-qualification and another is for submitting two or more bids in a month. Aim to earn them all.
Learn more in this article:
Learn more in this article: [How To Manage Your Public Profile](https://knowledgebase.planhub.com/knowledge/subcontractor-2.0-company-profile?hsLang=en)
---
### Evaluate a project
Before you invest time in a full bid, ask yourself:
- Is this project within your service area?
- Does the scope of work match the services you provide?
- Do you have the time, resources, and qualifications to complete the work?
- Can you realistically deliver a competitive bid before the deadline?
The goal isn't to bid on every project. It's to find the right opportunities for your business.
**Step 1:** Click [**Project Finder**](https://subcontractor.planhub.com/leads/list?type=planhub)in the left menu and apply your saved filters.
**Step 2:** Click a project line item to preview it in the right panel, or click the project name to open the full posting.
**Step 3:** On the **Overview** tab, read **About This Project**. This information comes from the general contractor.
**Step 4:** Click the **bell icon** in the upper right to see any updates or changes since the project was posted.
**Step 5:** Open the shared **Notes** panel, click **Create Note**, type your notes, and click **Create**. Shared notes save your whole team time when they review the project later.
**Step 6:** Review the location, scope of work, bid due date, and the general contractors on the project. Each GC can have its own instructions and bid due date, so factor that into your planning.
**Step 7:** Click the **bookmark icon** to save the project to your **Bid Board**.
Learn more in this article: [Subcontractor | Project Page](https://knowledgebase.planhub.com/knowledge/subcontractor-project-page?hsLang=en)
---
### Review the project documents
**Step 1:** Click the **Files** tab. Files vary by project and can include construction drawings, specifications, addenda, and other supporting documents. If a GC sends you documents directly, click **Upload** to add them.
**Step 2:** Open a set of construction drawings by clicking on the file name.
Use the Search and Filter tool to limit the files you are viewing
Page through and zoom in to find the details for your trade. GCs usually post every document for all trades, so focus on what defines your scope. A flooring contractor, for example, would look at floor plans and finish schedules.
Pay attention to the toolbar at the top of the file preview; use it to control your zoom, add notation, comments, insert, sign, and download
**Step 3:** To find pages faster, expand the search and filter bar. Enter a drawing title, table title, or the product you plan to install. You can type in anything you would like, but here are some example search terms:
| Trade | Try searching |
| --- | --- |
| Flooring and finishes | Finish Floor plan Paint LVT Wall sections |
| Concrete | Foundation Paving plan Concrete Rebar |
| Electrical | Power Lighting or lumenier plan Electrical Conduit Data CAT 5 |
| Site work | Grading Site Plan Landscape plan |
**Step 4:** Review the specifications when they're available. They often cover materials, installation requirements, and workmanship that the drawings don't fully explain. **Check any addenda or revisions too, since they can change your scope or pricing.**
Finding a project under one of your trades doesn't mean every part of that trade is in scope. **Always confirm the work in the actual documents.**
Learn more in this article: [File Viewer and Keyword Search](https://knowledgebase.planhub.com/knowledge/what-question-is-your-article-answeringfile-viewer-and-keyword-search-how-to-search-locate-and-search-plans-and-documents?hsLang=en)
---
### Submit your bid
Submitting through PlanHub instead of emailing your bid has real advantages:
- Your proposal is emailed to the GC, with your company copied for your records.
- Your bid is attached directly to the GC's project in PlanHub, so it's easy for them to find and review.
- When several GCs are bidding the same project, you can send your proposal to all of them at once.
- When a GC engages with your bid, you see that activity through bid tracking.
**Step 1:** In the project footer, click **Intend to Bid**. This tells the general contractor you're engaged and helps you stand out. Not a fit? Click **Not Interested**.
**Step 2:** Click **Submit Bid**.
**Step 3:** In the **Bid Trade** field, type your trade and select it from the dropdown, for example **Vinyl and VCT Flooring**.
**Step 4:** Enter your **Base Bid Amount** and add a short message about your proposal.
**Step 5:** Click **Browse** to attach your proposal. Each bid holds up to three documents.
**Step 6:** Open **Send to** and select the general contractors who should receive your bid. GCs that aren't accepting bids for your trade are greyed out.
**Step 7:** To let general contractors who join the project later see your bid, turn on the share toggle.
**Step 8:** Review the trade, amount, message, and attachment, then click **Submit**.
Learn more in this article: [Marking Bid Interest in PlanHub](https://knowledgebase.planhub.com/knowledge/how-to-mark-a-project-as-bidding-or-not-bidding?hsLang=en) and [How To Place A Bid](https://knowledgebase.planhub.com/knowledge/-subcontractors-how-to-place-a-bid?hsLang=en)
---
### Track your bids
Submitting your proposal isn't the end of the process. Your **Bid Board** gives your team one place to organize opportunities, track bidding activity, and manage follow-ups. Keep your bidding activity up to date so your team stays organized and makes the most of every opportunity.
Learn more in these articles: [Bid Board](https://knowledgebase.planhub.com/knowledge/bid-board?hsLang=en) and [How to use the Bid Tracker | Review and Update the Bid Status](https://knowledgebase.planhub.com/knowledge/how-to-use-the-bid-tracker-review-and-update-the-bid-status?hsLang=en)
---
### Quick check
Before you move on, confirm that you:
- Reviewed your company information and started or finished your pre-qualification form
- Understand company badges and are working toward earning them all
- Know how the project details page works and where to find plans and specifications
- Know how to indicate your intent to bid and submit a proposal
- Know where to track opportunities and share notes with your team on saved projects
You've gone from setting up your account to finding, evaluating, and bidding on projects in PlanHub. You don't have to figure it all out alone. Use the link provided to book your one-on-one onboarding meeting, and explore the knowledge base for more step-by-step resources.
Happy bidding!
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