Skillforce

AI Estimating & Tender Administrator · Australia

The tender closes Friday. The BOQ is still in three spreadsheets.

Lena keeps the tender desk moving—bid register, quote requests, addenda, estimate packs—while your estimator owns every quantity, every rate and every price.

Book the Tender Desk Load Audit Read the job boundaries
  • Human approval
  • Read-only access
  • Quantities, rates & pricing stay with your estimator
WORKER / TENDER-01 AVAILABLE FOR AUDIT
Estimating & tender administrator

Lena

Tender-desk capacity for the estimator who approves every request, every pack and every submission.

ON LENA'S SHIFT
07:00

Triage portal notices, addenda and quote replies; list today's close dates

CHECK
10:00

Draft subcontractor quote requests from your trade breakdown; update the bid register

APPROVE
15:00

Format the BOQ and estimate pack in your templates; assemble the submission checklist

APPROVE
17:00

Summarise open quotes, outstanding addenda and the weekly “what needs a decision” list

HANDOFF
MODE HUMAN APPROVALPRICING ESCALATE

[ RECOGNISE THE LAG? ]

Quote requests go out late.
The pack is formatted at midnight.

Lena is designed for the desk work around every tender—register, requests, addenda, formatting and checklists—not the measuring, pricing or submission judgement your estimator retains.

An observation, not a Skillforce promise: a working estimator's week splits between measuring and pricing—the work only they can do—and the chasing, formatting and tracking around it. Lena takes the second half; your own hours are the only measure here.

01

Bid register & tender calendar

Keep invitations, site visits, addenda deadlines and close dates current in your register from portal notices and your inbox.

02

Subcontractor quote requests

Draft trade-package requests from your breakdown and supplier list, track replies and chase your own outstanding requests.

03

Addenda & tender RFI log

Log every addendum and clarification, flag what changed and track which items have been actioned in the estimate.

04

BOQ & estimate pack formatting

Lay your quantities and rates into your Excel and Word templates; check arithmetic, units and cross-references.

05

Quote comparison sheets

Set received quotes out like-for-like against the trade breakdown so your estimator can compare and choose.

06

Submission checklist

Assemble forms, schedules, attachments and the upload list so the pack is complete before close, for your estimator to submit.

[ START WITH ONE LIVE TENDER ]

Choose a tender-desk workflow.
Define what “done” means.

Lena does not take over the estimate. Start with one bounded workflow, one named approver and one visible completion state.

WORKFLOW / 01QUOTES & REGISTER

Quote requests and bid register

Draft subcontractor and supplier quote requests from your trade breakdown, log replies as they land and keep the bid register current—sent only when your estimator releases them.

START
Your trade breakdown, supplier list and register template
DONE
Requests drafted, replies logged, register current
HUMAN
Every request sent and every quote accepted
WORKFLOW / 02BOQ & PACK

BOQ and estimate pack formatting

Lay your quantities and rates into your own Excel and Word templates, check arithmetic, units and cross-references, and hand back a pack ready for your review.

START
Your take-off, rates and pack templates
DONE
BOQ and estimate pack formatted for review
HUMAN
Every quantity, rate and price
WORKFLOW / 03ADDENDA & SUBMISSION

Addenda log and submission checklist

Log addenda and tender RFIs, track what changed, and assemble the forms, schedules and attachments so the pack is complete before close.

START
Tender documents, addenda and the portal checklist
DONE
Addenda actioned, checklist complete, pack ready to upload
HUMAN
Every submission and every external commitment

Connects read-only to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace (Excel, Sheets, Word, Docs, Drive, Calendar), your email and tender-portal notifications. Estimating software such as CostX, Cubit or Buildsoft is typically licence-bound and desktop, so Lena works deliverable-first: registers, quote logs, BOQs and packs are produced and maintained in Excel and Word and delivered to your estimator for import or upload. Nothing is sent, priced or submitted without your estimator's approval.

A managed system, not a rotating seat: audited approval boundaries and no seat handover to manage. Lena works the desk between the tender documents and the estimate—register, requests, addenda, formatting and checklists—while every quantity, rate, selection and submission stays with your estimator.

[ A JOB DESCRIPTION, NOT A PROMPT ]

What Lena can own.
What Lena must hand back.

Draft-and-approve, always. Your estimator releases every request, every pack and every submission; quantities, rates, selections and contract terms stay with your estimator.

GREEN

Administrative work

Configured, tested and measured within one bounded workflow.

  • Maintain the bid register and tender calendar—invitations, site visits, addenda deadlines and close dates
  • Draft subcontractor and supplier quote requests from your trade breakdown, ready for your release
  • Log received quotes, chase your own outstanding requests and set quotes out like-for-like
  • Log addenda and tender RFIs and track which items have been actioned in the estimate
  • Format BOQs, trade breakdowns and estimate packs into your Excel and Word templates from your quantities and rates
  • Check arithmetic, units, totals and cross-references in the pack
  • Assemble submission checklists, forms, schedules and attachments for upload
  • Maintain the weekly “what needs a decision” list for your estimator
AMBER

Human approval

Prepared by Lena; released or confirmed by your estimator.

  • Any quote request before it is sent
  • Any received quote before it enters the estimate
  • Any BOQ, pack or comparison sheet before it leaves the desk
  • Any tender RFI or clarification before it goes to the client
  • New or ambiguous tender conditions or scope items
  • Changes to your approved templates, wording or escalation rules
RED

Human only

Outside the worker's authority by design.

  • Measuring or take-off—every quantity is your estimator's
  • Rates, allowances, margins, risk or the pricing of any item
  • Selecting a subcontractor or accepting a quote
  • Tender submission or any external commitment
  • Contract terms, conditions, qualifications or departures
  • Any autonomous communication with a client, builder or supplier

[ MINIMUM ACCESS BEFORE AUTOMATION ]

Your tender desk is not a demo input.

The load audit starts with your bid register template, a past estimate pack with prices removed, your trade breakdown and weekly volumes—not a client list or a rate library. Live access follows a written map of purpose, minimum fields, human approval, retention and escalation.

Lena reads your register, templates, tender documents and inbox through read-only connections. Your estimator approves every request, every pack and every submission before anything is sent or uploaded.

  1. 01

    Audit without identities

    Bring your register template, a past pack with prices removed, your trade breakdown and volumes. Remove client names, rates, pricing data, banking data and credentials.

  2. 02

    Map minimum access

    Consider only the folders, templates, portal notifications and document formats required for the approved workflow.

  3. 03

    Test synthetic cases

    Cover a quote request, an addendum, a pack format and a pricing-question escalation with invented examples.

  4. 04

    Name the human owner

    Your estimator approves every request, every pack and every submission, and receives every exception.

[ AN OPERATING SPECIFICATION ]

The desk is visible.
The numbers stay human.

Turnaround is set during onboarding to match your tender cadence and working hours. Start with one bounded workflow—quotes and register, BOQ and pack, or addenda and submission—and widen only after the pilot evidence supports it. Anything that touches a quantity, a rate, a selection or a client is flagged when logged and never waits in the standard queue.

Bid register
Invitations, addenda and close dates current
Quote requests
Drafted from your breakdown, released by you, replies logged
Estimate pack
Formatted into your templates, arithmetic checked
Submission checklist
Forms, schedules and attachments complete before close
Your baseline
Tender-admin hours returned, measured against your own figures
CONTROL / 01APPROVAL

No silent sends

Every quote request, RFI, pack and submission stays in draft until your estimator releases it.

CONTROL / 02PRICING

No numbers from Lena

Quantities, rates and margins come from your estimator. Lena formats, checks and tracks; she never measures and never prices.

CONTROL / 03ESCALATION

Exclusions leave the queue

Pricing questions, subcontractor selection, contract terms and any client contact leave the standard queue immediately for your estimator.

CONTROL / 04MEASUREMENT

Use your own numbers

Track register currency, requests out on time, replies logged, packs ready before close and admin hours returned against your own baseline—never a promised figure.

Capacity is scoped per workflow during onboarding, not sold as a flat seat. Lena's queue is sized to the tender, quote and pack volumes agreed in the load audit. If volume grows past that load, the scope is reviewed before expansion.

[ FREE TENDER DESK LOAD AUDIT ]

Measure your own tender-desk workload.

Bring your register template, a past pack with prices removed, your trade breakdown and weekly volumes. Map the hours exposure, approval boundaries and one workflow worth testing.

Book the Tender Desk Load Audit No client names or rate library required.

[ FROM LOAD AUDIT TO CONTROLLED WORK ]

One workflow.
Proof before expansion.

STEP 1

Free load audit

Use your own tender, quote and pack volumes to baseline the workload and choose one workflow. No client names or pricing data are required.

STEP 2

Map minimum access

Define the folders, templates, portal notifications and document formats Lena needs, plus your estimator's approval rules.

STEP 3

Test synthetic cases

Exercise a quote request, an addendum, a pack format and a pricing-question escalation with invented examples.

STEP 4

Run one workflow

Start in approval mode. The first useful draft batch is ready after synthetic-case testing passes and your estimator is confirmed as approver; exact timing is set during the load audit.

[ BEFORE THE AUDIT ]

Questions a careful estimator should ask.

Does Lena replace an estimator?

No. Lena prepares bounded tender-desk administration. Your estimator measures, prices and decides, and approves every request, every pack and every submission.

Can Lena price anything?

No. Quantities, rates, allowances, margins and risk come from your estimator. Lena formats, checks arithmetic and tracks; she never measures and never prices.

Can Lena send quote requests or submit a tender on her own?

No. Every quote request, tender RFI and submission pack stays in draft until your estimator releases it, and nothing is sent to any client, builder or supplier without that approval.

Can Lena choose a subcontractor or accept a quote?

No. Lena lays received quotes out like-for-like so your estimator can compare them. Selecting a subcontractor, accepting a quote and any contract term or qualification stay with your estimator.

Does the load audit need client or pricing data?

No. Start with your bid register template, a past estimate pack with prices removed, your trade breakdown and weekly volumes. Remove client names, rates, pricing data, banking data and credentials.

Will Lena work inside CostX, Cubit or Buildsoft?

Not autonomously. Estimating software is typically licence-bound and desktop, so Lena works deliverable-first: bid registers, quote logs, BOQs and packs are produced and maintained in Excel and Word and delivered to your estimator for import or upload.

What result do we measure?

Track bid-register currency, quote requests out on time, quote replies logged, packs ready before close and tender-admin hours returned against your own baseline.

How is Lena different from your project controls worker, Vera?

Lena works the tender desk before a job is won: invitations, quote requests, addenda, BOQs and submission packs. Vera works the delivery side after award: RFIs, submittals, minutes and handover. Quoting and job packs for a trades business belong to Rhea, and contractor compliance paperwork belongs to Jude.

What does Lena do beyond estimating software?

Estimating software measures and prices inside its own file. Lena works the desk around it, keeping the register current, the quote requests out, the replies logged and the pack formatted and checked, so your estimator can approve in one pass.

[ START WITH YOUR OWN BASELINE ]

Bring the tender-desk load.
Keep the numbers.

Map one approval-ready tender-desk workflow and test whether careful administration keeps the register, the requests and the pack current without a new hire.

Book the Tender Desk Load Audit No generic sales demo · Direct with the founder