Electrical bid template with a sample proposal
An electrical bid template is a proposal form that states your base bid, the scope you are pricing by specification section, what you include and exclude, alternates, unit prices and the terms of the offer. The free files below include an editable Word proposal, the same proposal as a PDF, a one-page contractor bid sheet and a filled-in sample, with no signup. The exclusions and clarifications protect your margin more than any other part of the page.
Download the free electrical bid template
Four files, black and gray, no logo to remove. Use the Word file when you type proposals, the PDF when a bid form asks for an attachment you fill in by hand, and the bid sheet when the GC only wants a number, alternates and a short list of qualifications.
What goes in an electrical bid proposal
A proposal is the written offer behind your number. When a GC levels bids, they read it to see whether your scope matches the other electrical contractors' scopes, often inside the bid management tools covered in the construction bidding software guide. The template follows the order most GCs expect.
| Section | What to write | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Header and bid documents | Your company, license number, the GC, the project, the drawing and spec dates, and every addendum by number. | Proves which set you priced. A missing addendum is the first thing a GC checks. |
| Base bid | The amount in figures and in words, and whether sales tax and a bond are included. | Leaves no doubt about the number being compared. |
| Scope by spec section | Each specification section you priced, with a line on what you include from it. | Ties your price to the project manual instead of to a general description. |
| Inclusions | Systems and items that are in your price: service, distribution, branch power, lighting, controls, connections, temporary power. | Answers the GC's scope-leveling questions before they call. |
| Exclusions | What is not in your price unless listed. A standard list, edited for the job. | Keeps you from carrying work you did not price. |
| Clarifications | Assumptions you made where the documents were unclear: wiring method, who furnishes what, quantities taken from plans. | Turns a vague drawing into a clear basis for change orders. |
| Alternates | Each alternate in the bid form, add or deduct, with an amount. | Bid forms often require them; a missing alternate can disqualify a bid. |
| Unit prices | Add and deduct prices per device, fixture or foot, with the conditions they assume. | Sets the price of small changes in advance. |
| Schedule assumptions | Duration, mobilizations, working hours, and the release dates needed for long-lead gear. | Gives you a basis to ask for more money if the schedule changes. |
| Validity and payment terms | How long the price holds, billing method, payment days, retainage, how changes are approved. | Protects you from holding a copper price for months. |
Write the scope by specification section
Most commercial project manuals are organized by CSI MasterFormat. Electrical work usually sits in Division 26, Electrical, with Division 27, Communications, and Division 28, Electronic Safety and Security, covering low voltage, security and fire alarm work1. List each section you priced by its number and title as it appears in the project manual, then one line on what you include from it. If the fire alarm section is in Division 28 and you are not bidding it, say so in the scope table and again in the exclusions.
Writing scope this way makes your bid easy to level against the other electrical contractors, and it gives you a clean answer when someone asks later whether a section was in your number. For the full bid process, from reading the documents to follow-up, see how to bid electrical jobs.
26 typical electrical exclusions
These are the exclusions in the template. Strike the ones that are in your price on a given job, and add job-specific items. An exclusion only protects you if it is written down and the GC accepts the proposal it sits in.
- Utility company fees, charges, primary service work and metering equipment furnished by the utility.
- Permit fees, plan review fees and inspection fees, unless listed as included.
- Performance and payment bonds, unless listed as included.
- Overtime, shift work and premium time.
- Excavation in rock or unsuitable soil, dewatering, shoring, and hauling spoils off site.
- Concrete work: housekeeping pads, transformer pads, light pole bases and encasement.
- Cutting, patching, painting and finish repair.
- Core drilling and slab scanning beyond the quantities listed.
- Fire stopping of penetrations made by other trades.
- Roof penetrations, curbs, flashing and roofing work.
- Temperature control, BAS and low voltage control wiring for mechanical equipment.
- Furnishing motor starters, VFDs and disconnects supplied with mechanical equipment.
- Owner-furnished or other-trade-furnished equipment (connections only, as listed).
- Fire alarm, data, voice, security, access control, CCTV and AV systems, unless listed.
- Hazardous material testing, abatement and disposal, including PCB ballasts.
- Engineering, design, stamped drawings and design-build services.
- Short circuit, coordination and arc flash studies and labeling, unless specified.
- Third-party acceptance testing, unless specified.
- Seismic bracing design and calculations.
- Correction of existing code deficiencies outside the area of work.
- Temporary heat, winter protection, and temporary power beyond what is listed.
- Access panels (by others).
- Traffic control, flaggers and police details.
- Lighting control programming beyond initial startup, and extra owner training.
- Spare parts and attic stock beyond what the specifications require.
- Builder's risk insurance.
Sample electrical contractor bid proposal, section by section
The electrical proposal sample PDF is a filled-in proposal for a fictional two-story medical office fit-out from a fictional company. It is marked Sample on every page, and its amounts only show the format. Use it as one of your electrical bid examples for how the parts read together:
Bid documents and addenda
The sample lists the drawing range, the spec date and two addenda by number and date. If an addendum changes a fixture type, it is easy to show you priced it.
Scope table
Each Division 26 line names the panels, devices, fixture types and equipment connections covered, and the Division 28 fire alarm line says Excluded. A GC can level it without calling.
Clarifications that carry risk
The sample states the wiring method (MC cable concealed, EMT exposed), a receptacle grade change from an addendum, the cut sheet used for an owner-furnished connection, and the assumption that the existing switchboard has capacity. Each is a sentence that turns a future argument into a change order. Before you write a capacity assumption like that, a quick Article 220 load calculation shows whether it is reasonable.
Alternates and unit prices
One deduct alternate and one add alternate, each with an amount, and unit prices with both add and deduct columns and the conditions they assume (within 50 feet of the panel).
Schedule, validity and terms
Duration and mobilizations, the release date needed for gear and lighting, a 30 day validity, monthly billing, retainage, and written approval of changes.
Contractor bid sheet PDF: when to use it instead
Some bids only need a number. A GC collecting prices for a budget, a small tenant improvement, or a bid form that already contains the terms may just want the base bid, alternates and a short list of qualifications. Budget numbers on early drawings are often built from electrical cost per square foot; say so on the sheet, so nobody holds you to it once the full set is out. The one-page contractor bid sheet template (PDF) covers that: project and bidder information, addenda received, base bid in figures and words, three alternates, unit prices, a checklist of commonly questioned items (tax, permits, bond, temporary power, overtime, lifts, cutting and patching, excavation, fire stopping), a few lines of exclusions, and a signature. It also works as a construction bid template PDF for other trades, since nothing on it is electrical-specific.
How to fill in the Word template
- Replace every item in [brackets], starting with the header block. List every addendum by number and date.
- Enter the base bid in figures and in words, and mark whether tax and a bond are included.
- Fill the scope table from the project manual: one row per specification section you priced.
- Edit the inclusions to describe this job, then go through the exclusions and delete any that are actually in your price.
- Write clarifications for every assumption you made while counting and pricing.
- Enter every alternate from the bid form, even ones you price at no change, and your unit prices.
- Set the validity period, payment terms and retainage, save as PDF, and send it with the bid form.
Mistakes that cost electrical contractors on bids
- Not acknowledging an addendum, or pricing a superseded sheet.
- A long exclusions list pasted from an old job that excludes work the specs clearly put in Division 26. GCs read that as a scope gap and may carry a plug against you.
- Leaving an alternate blank because it seemed unlikely to be accepted.
- Unit prices without conditions, so a receptacle 200 feet from the panel costs the same as one next to it.
- No validity period while copper and gear prices move.
- Fixture counts that never got checked against the fixture schedule, so the supplier quote and your takeoff disagree after award.
The numbers behind the proposal
A proposal is only as good as the takeoff and estimate under it. Count devices and fixtures with the electrical takeoff sheet, price material and labor in the electrical estimate template, then carry the bid price here. If you are comparing tools for the whole workflow, the electrical bidding software guide covers what each type does. If the bid volume is more than your team can count and price in time, the guide to outsourced electrical estimating explains what you get back and what still needs your review before it goes on this proposal. AmpCount handles the counting step on vector PDF sets: it reads the legend, counts every device and fixture on every sheet, and checks fixtures against the schedule. It does not write proposals or price work.
Questions about the electrical bid template
Is the electrical bid template free?
Yes. All four files download directly, with no account or email. You can edit, rebrand and reuse them on any job.
Can I put my logo on it?
Yes. Open the Word file, add your logo to the header, and delete the small template line in the footer if you want.
Should exclusions go on every bid?
Yes, but edited for the job. A short, accurate list that matches the specs is more useful to the GC, and more defensible for you, than a generic page of exclusions.
Count the devices, check the numbers
AmpCount reads the legend on a vector PDF set, counts every electrical device and fixture on every sheet, keeps uncertain marks out of the count until you confirm them, and checks fixtures against the schedule. $149 a month or $1,490 a year for a team of up to 3, cancel anytime, full refund within 14 days.
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Sources
MasterFormat is a registered trademark of the Construction Specifications Institute.