^{Quick Start Guide For Buyers}

 

The purpose of this document is to quickly guide you through adding your first project.  There are three basic steps:  1) Define your project, 2) Assign your vendors by “Groups” and “Categories” using the “Vendor Wizard” and 3) Send your “Invitations to Bid”.

 

Important Note

Contractors Register, Inc. permits the usage of BB-Bid and our vendor database for the sole purpose of messaging solicitations to secure pricing and availability on services, materials and equipment related to the building and construction industry.  Recipients are encouraged to respond to these messages through the BB-Bid network.  BB-Bid is not to be used for promotional or “spamming” purposes.  If it is communicated to Contractors Register, Inc. that you have misused the service, we reserve the right to terminate your usage.  We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

 

Before you begin building your first project and you need help entering your private vendors into BB-Bid, please call our support staff at (888) 303-2243.

 

To Build Your First Project:

·  Click on the My Projects tab.  You will be placed on the Dashboard project screen. Now Click on Add Project

 

Add Project

 

The Add Project screen is where you create and define your project.

 

 

General (Required)

 

The General screen is where you enter high-level information about the project to be communicated to your vendors.

 

·        Enter the required data for your project.

 

Screen Tips

Data must be entered in fields marked with a red asterisk (*).

To move from field to field, press the Tab key or use the mouse. You may need to use the scroll bar or arrows to the right of the screen to view all data fields.

If you wish to return to the Main project screen to begin again, click Cancel.

 

·        Click Next at the bottom of the screen to proceed to the Details project screen.

 

Details (Optional)

 

The Details screen is where you define structural information and the scope of the project.

 

·        Fill in the fields to further describe the project.

 

Screen Tips

If you wish to return to the previous screen, click Previous. If you wish to return to the Main project screen to begin again, click Cancel.

At any time, you may also move from one screen to another by clicking on the General, Detail, Principal, Plans or Vendor Wizard tabs.

 

·        Click Next at the bottom of the screen to proceed to the Principals project screen.

 

Principals (Optional)

 

The Principals screen is where you identify the key-project team members such as owner, architect and engineer.

 

·        Enter the principal’s Phone and click Find.  If there is a match, the fields will fill in automatically.

 

If there is NO match, you will see “No matching vendor was found.  Would you like to create a new vendor?”

To search with a different phone number, click Cancel, enter the new phone and click Find.

OR 

To create a new record, click OK and fill in the fields.

 

Important: Whether you are creating a new record or using the record displayed, be sure to select the Type of principal by clicking on the drop down menu to the right of the “Type” field.

 

·        Click Save to add this name to you project principals. You will see the name displayed in the summary section on the lower portion of the screen.

 

Screen Tips

Instead of saving the current name, you may click Clear and search with a different phone.

 

·        Repeat these steps until you have added all key-project team members.

 

Screen Tips If you wish to view detailed information on the project principals, click on the name in the summary screen below and the detail will be displayed in the upper portion of the screen.

 

·        Click Next at the bottom of the screen to proceed to the Plans project screen.

 

Plans (Optional)

 

The Plans screen is where you identify the location(s) where plans can be viewed, picked up, or purchased.

 

·        Enter the plan holders Phone and click Find.  If there is a match, the fields will fill in automatically.

 

If there is NO match, you will see “No matching vendor was found.  Would you like to create a new vendor?”

To search with a different phone number, click Cancel, enter the new phone and click Find.

OR

To create a new record, click OK and fill in the fields.

 

Important: Whether you are creating a new record or using the record displayed, be sure to select the Type of plan holder by clicking on the drop down menu to the right of the “Type” field.

 

·        Click Save to add this plan holder to your list. You will see the name displayed in the summary section on the lower portion of the screen.

 

Screen Tips Instead of saving the current name, you may click Clear and search with a different phone.

 

·        Repeat these steps until you have added all plan holders.

 

Screen Tips If you wish to view detailed information on the plan holders, click on the name in the summary screen below and the detail will be displayed in the upper portion of the screen.

 

·        Click Next at the bottom of the screen to proceed to the Vendor Wizard screen where you will select your vendors by Group and Category for messaging.

Using Vendor Wizard to Build Your Vendor List:

Groups (Required)

 

The Groups screen is where you select the groups that are required for this project.

 

·        Click on the box ð to the left of the GROUP you wish to include. A check mark will display

 

Screen Tips  To deselect a group, click on the check mark in the box.

 

·        Continue clicking on the boxes until you have selected all desired GROUPS.

 

·        Click Next at the top or bottom of the screen to proceed to the Category selection screen.

 

Categories (Required)

 

The Categories screen is where you choose categories from which vendors will be selected.

 

·        Click on the box ð to the left of the CATEGORY you wish to include. A check mark will display.

 

Screen Tips To deselect a category, click on the check mark in the box.

You may need to use the scroll bar or arrows to the right of the screen to view the entire list of CATEGORIES.

You may click Prev at the top or bottom of the screen at any time to return to the previous screen and change your selections.

 

·        Continue clicking on the boxes until you have selected all desired CATEGORIES for this Group.

 

·        Click Next at the top or bottom of the screen to continue selecting CATEGORIES for the next Group.

 

·        Repeat these steps you have selected CATEGORIES for each Group.

 

·        After you have selected CATEGORIES for the last Group, click Next to continue.

 

Vendor Proximity (Optional, if the default values identified below are acceptable.)

 

The Vendor Proximity screen allows you to define the parameters of your vendor selection by entering a radius (in miles) from the zip code of your project and selecting the minimum and maximum number of vendors to be added to your list.

 

·        The default value for the radius in miles from your project zip code is 20. To change the number of miles, click in the box and modify the miles to the desired value (maximum is 60 miles).

 

·        The default value is the zip code of your project. To change the zip code, click in the box and modify the zip code as desired.

 

·        The default value for the minimum number of vendors is 5. To change the minimum number of vendors to be selected per category, click in the box and modify the number to the desired value.

 

·        The default value for the maximum number of vendors is 15. To change the maximum number of vendors to be selected per category, click in the box and modify the number to the desired value.

 

Screen Tips At the bottom of the screen is a list of the Groups & Categories from which Vendors will be gathered. You may need to use the scroll bar or arrows to the right of the screen to view the entire list of Groups & Categories which you selected with the Wizard. If you wish to cancel your entire selection and start over at the first step in the “Vendor Wizard”, click Cancel and then click OK.

 

·        Click Find Vendors to let the Wizard build your categorized list of vendors.

 

The Wizard will display the elapsed time while it is building your database.  Upon completion, you will see a list indicating the number of categorized vendors added to your project. This process may take a few minutes.

 

·        When the data build is complete, you will see “The Vendor Wizard has finished adding vendors to: Your Project.”

To Send Your Invitation for Bids:

 

·        Click Continue. You will be placed in the Main screen where you will see a “snapshot” of your project.

 

·         To message all categories, click ALL.

OR

·        Click on the box to the left of the individual CATEGORY you wish to message.  A check mark will display.

 

Screen Tips To deselect a category, click on the check mark in the box.

You may need to use the scroll bar or arrows to the right of the screen to view the entire list of CATEGORIES.

 

·        Once you have selected the categories you wish to message, click .  You will be placed in the “Message Wizard” screen.

 

·        Create a new message by selecting the message type (i.e. ITB-Invitation to Bid, NOA-Notice Of Addendum, RFQ-Request For Quotation, etc.)  The type selected will appear as your message heading.

 

·        Click Next. You will be placed in the message form that you selected (i.e. ITB, NOA, RFQ, etc.)

 

·        Click in the “Respond By” field and enter the date that you would like the vendors to respond by.

 

Screen Tips You may modify the pre-defined project information by clicking in the message text box.

 

·        Click Next.  You will be placed in the “Send Message Summary” screen.

To Message Your Vendors:

 

·        The “Send Message Summary” screen displays the number of vendors that will be messaged by In-Network, Email and Fax.  It also details your messaging costs.

 

Screen Tips If you choose to message by Email and In-Network only, you may deselect Fax.  To deselect Fax, click on the check mark in the box. If you choose NOT to accept additional bids from other companies listed in The Blue Book, click in the box next to that message.

To Fax or Email a proof of the message for your review, click in the FAX or EMAIL box and then click Proof. If you wish to return to the previous screen, click Previous. If you wish to return to the Main project screen to begin again, click Cancel.

 

·        To deliver your messages, Click .

 

A message will be displayed acknowledging that your messages were sent.

 

·        Click OK to return the Main project screen.

 

Contractors Register, Inc.
Jefferson Valley, NY 10535
(888) 303-2243   Fax: (914) 962-8412
www.thebluebook.com