<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ManualTopic ID="/baanerp/tp/onlinemanual/000331" xml:lang="en">
   <Header>
      <Title>To use a bid</Title>
      <Keyword type="header" order="d1e2610833">
         <Level1>estimate</Level1>
      </Keyword>
      <Keyword type="header" order="d1e2610836">
         <Level1>to make an offer</Level1>
      </Keyword>
   </Header>
   <GeneralSection>
      <Paragraph>The objective of the estimate process is to prepare a 
proposal, a quotation, or a bid consisting of the sales price information of 
elements, the project schedule, and invoicing information.</Paragraph>
      <Paragraph>You can perform such an estimate by using the integration with Microsoft Word. The 
relevant information that is required to prepare the bid is
transferred from a ERP Enterprise estimate to a Microsoft Word template. 
Although ERP Enterprise provides 
standard templates, you can also easily define such templates yourself.</Paragraph>
      <Paragraph>For the preparation of a bid, you must select particular lines of an <Link href="/baanerp/tp/glossary/glossary#000364" role="glossary">estimate version</Link>. 
To store the documents that are relevant for an estimate in ERP Enterprise, use the standard document management functionality. These templates include the Microsoft Word template itself, Project 
Plan, CAD drawings, Microsoft Excel calculation sheets, or any other documents
related to the estimate.</Paragraph>
      <List>
         <ListIntro>A bid holds the outcome of the estimate process and the deliverables for the customer, such as:</ListIntro>
         <ListItem>Scope documents.</ListItem>
         <ListItem>Summary sheets.</ListItem>
         <ListItem>Agreements.</ListItem>
         <ListItem>Schedules.</ListItem>
         <ListItem>Sales price estimates.</ListItem>
      </List>
      <List>
         <ListIntro>The documents result from:</ListIntro>
         <ListItem>Reports.</ListItem>
         <ListItem>Microsoft Excel sheets.</ListItem>
         <ListItem>Microsoft Word documents.</ListItem>
         <ListItem>Microsoft Project plans.</ListItem>
      </List>
      <Paragraph>In <GUIRef href="/baanerp/tp" role="manual">Project</GUIRef>, you can attach all documents to a bid.</Paragraph>
      <List>
         <ListIntro>An estimate version can have one or more bids. You can use multiple bids 
to:</ListIntro>
         <ListItem>Provide alternative offers.</ListItem>
         <ListItem>Bid for multiple customers in the project.</ListItem>
      </List>
      <Paragraph>To identify which part of the estimate is in the bid, you can define bid 
lines. Bid lines are the selected estimate lines for a given bid. The 
estimate lines are generated by the <GUIRef href="/baanerp/tp/est/tpest3210m000" role="session">Prepare Bid (tpest3210m000)</GUIRef> session or 
inserted manually with the Insert Bid Lines option.</Paragraph>
   </GeneralSection>
   <RelatedTopics>
      <SectionTitle>Related topics</SectionTitle>
      <RelTopic>
         <Link href="/baanerp/tp/onlinemanual/000313" role="manual">To launch an estimate to a budget</Link>
      </RelTopic>
      <RelTopic>
         <Link href="/baanerp/tp/onlinemanual/000315" role="manual">To create an estimate</Link>
      </RelTopic>
   </RelatedTopics>
</ManualTopic>