Quick summary
Treat the issued workbook as a controlled tender document: understand its structure before entering prices, preserve its formulas, and verify the completed file.
01
Start with the authoritative file
Download the workbook from the official tender source and preserve an untouched original.
Confirm the file name, issue date, revision, and whether an addendum replaced it.
Confirm whether the Excel file itself is a required submission artifact.
Work in the required file format unless the tender permits a change.
02
Understand the workbook
Review every visible and hidden sheet, row, and column.
Identify protected cells, permitted inputs, formulas, subtotals, and linked sheets.
Identify supplied quantities, units, allowances, alternates, provisional items, and lump sums.
Map workbook items to the tender PDFs, drawings, schedules, and addenda.
03
Protect and validate the structure
Do not add, delete, reorder, merge, or rename rows or sheets unless permitted.
Avoid pasting over formulas or validation rules and keep units consistent.
Use an amended workbook when issued instead of imitating its changes in an obsolete copy.
Recalculate totals, check required cells, and compare the workbook total with the bid form and internal estimate.
Save, close, reopen, and verify the final file name and upload format.
Important distinction
Supplied quantities are not a drawing takeoff
MESTRE extracts supplied quantities and pricing schedules and can export an Excel workbook with a Decision Sheet. It does not perform automated takeoff from construction drawings.
Common pitfalls
Keep these visible during review.
- Pricing an outdated workbook after an addendum.
- Pasting over formulas or hidden validation.
- Treating a blank supplied quantity as zero.
- Confusing linear, area, volume, and each-based units.
- Changing the workbook layout to match an internal template.
Where MESTRE fits
Organize the review. Keep the judgment human.
MESTRE extracts supplied quantities and pricing schedules and can export an Excel workbook with a Decision Sheet. It does not perform automated takeoff from construction drawings.