How to post your project for free as a General Contractor in 4 easy steps and get more bids.
To post a Project on PlanHub you will need to register your free account as a General Contractor.
Posting your projects on PlanHub to our large network of local Subcontractors and Suppliers and your personal network of Subcontractors and Suppliers is always FREE.
If you don't have an account, create one! It's 100% free!
How to post your project:
Navigate to the "Projects" tab in your PlanHub account and click the "Post a Project" button to the right.
Public vs. Private
The first question you are asked is if you want to post this project on a Public or Private Planroom. Your access to Private posting is impacted by your Subscription level.
Public: Make this project visible to the highest number of Subcontractors on PlanHub and those you have added to your Network (How to Upload your Subcontractor and Supplier Network)
Private: Makes this project visible and accessible to ONLY the Subcontractors and Suppliers you explicitly invite. This is a closed Planroom that YOU control.
For the highest number of ITBs and potential bidders you will need to post as Public and invite your network of contacts.
Step 1: Basic information:
This step is focused on the basic information regarding this project. Fill in all required and applicable fields.
Throughout all 4 steps, you may have fields with a red asterisk/star, fields marked with an asterisk (small red star) are required in order to send out invites.
Tips:
- The more information you can provide the Subcontractors about the project, the higher the likelihood of receiving more bids per trade and the bids being well informed.
- If you do not have an Address yet, you can list TBD (to be determined) in the address field.
- Make sure you are listing the time of day and your time zone when bids are due.
Step 2: Project Details:
This step is focused on the project-specific details and information regarding this project. Fill in all required and applicable fields.
*Tip* Many of the options available in this step result from the Construction Type you selected in the previous step.
You can add as much text as needed in the Project Description, this field has no character limit and is a great place to outline the scope of work.
Trades Needed: To select the trades you need and invite the aligning local subcontractors, click on the Trades Needed box,
Trades Needed Box: Select all trades you wish to receive bids on, then click Apply.
Use the Search box to quickly search up trades
In the popup you can use the Quick Selection options to quickly select the most commonly needed trades for New Construction projects with Sitework or Interior Fit-out projects.
- If you use Quick Selection, please review the trades and uncheck trades you do not need or check off trades you do need.
Step 3: Project Files
All projects must have attached files, this is a required step.
Upload all plans, specs, general project information, Addendums, project manuals, Bid Forms, and any other information that will help the bidders prepare a bid for your project posting.
Drag and drop or select from your files by clicking Browse
- It is best practice to provide plans/blueprints documents/files in PDF format as most takeoff software accepts this format.
- There is no limit to the number of documents you can attach to a project, however, the maximum file size per document is 300 MB per document/file.
- You can click on the tabs at the top to select the file types you want to upload. They will be automatically classified based on your selection.
- If your documents/files do not have an identifying name, rename your documents/files before uploading so that you can keep track of which is which.
- When adding plans/drawings, you can further classify them by selecting the drawing type after they have been uploaded.
Step 4: Invite & Finish
This selection contained to areas: Finish project setup and Who Received ITBs
Your level of access in Who Received ITBs is impacted by your subscription plan.
Finish project setup:
Prequalification Form: You can request that all bidding subcontractors also provide their prequalification form and customize what you need from this form. Check or uncheck this box based on your requirements.
All registered Subcontractors (regardless of plan) have access to filling out the prequalification form for your company account.
Click Apply once you have customized this form.
Special Instructions: Please include any additional needed instructions here. Disclaimer: Special Instructions are included in ITB emails, which can become publicly accessible.
Select your team members who can receive bids: Here you can select team members who should be blind copied (BCC) on all emails sent to you regarding bids submitted in PlanHub on this project. Click into the box and check off any team members you wish to receive these emails.
Bid Due Date: You can use this option to schedule an automated reminder email to be sent out reminding bidders that the due date is coming up. Click on the drop-down box and select how many days prior to the due date you want this reminder sent out.
Who Received ITBs:
In this section you can select who you wish to be invited to bid (ITBs) your project.
For the highest number of ITBs and potential bidders you will need to post as Public, checking off "PlanHub members with matching trades and region" (inviting all registered Subcontracors and Suppliers who align with the project trades and location) and invite your network of contacts by checking off "My In-Network members (Sends only to those with matching trades and regions)".
You can add your own list of in-network contacts to ensure they get free access to this project (How to Upload your Subcontractor and Supplier Network)
If you have the Premier or Pro plan, you have access to build and send ITBs to a list of contacts. Using this function will override matching trades and region requirements, use the Saved List(s) dropdown to check off one of your saved lists.
Use the "Manage my lists" button to create a New list, edit, or delete a list.
Once you have made your selections on the Invite & Finish step, click the "Invite and Finish" button in the bottom right corner. To save but not send invites click "Save" in the bottom right corner.
If the "Invite and Finish" is greyed out or not clickable please check that you have filled in all required fields in each step
Posted, now let's track!
You will be brought back to the Projects list page,
Your project will be reviewed for any errors and then ITBs will be sent. Please allow for about 1 hour for the ITBs list to display in your Project's Activity & Status Tracking tab. General Contractor | How To View Activity On Your Projects.