Getting Started

Help videos and popovers are available everywhere. Here's how to find everywhere.

BidUnity provides user documentation and help in seven ways. They include the following:

1. Page descriptions: Each interface contains a brief description of its purpose below the page title. Click here to highlight the purpose of this page.

2. Popovers: BidUnity provides forms for recording information throughout. Information describing the desired input is available to users when they hover their mouse over form field labels.

3. Help Videos: Clicking on the question mark icon in the upper right hand corner of the page launches a video on your screen. Help videos are composed in a consistent pattern.

   • All videos are limited to a maximum of ten minutes, but most are much shorter.

   • First, the form fields on the page are discussed, each in order, beginning at the top and going to the bottom of each page. We follow this sequence so that you can skip ahead to the information that interests you.

   • After discussing form fields, videos may end. Alternatively, they may continue to explain how the information provided in the interface is related to other parts of BidUnity.

4. User Manual: BidUnity is highly automated. If you want to know how calculations are performed the technical documentation can be found in the user manual. Specifically, technical documentaiton explains how the program calculates, processes, and compiles information.

5. Dynamic Interfaces: BidUnity hides irrelevant options based on context. For example, BidUnity can generate progress bills, but that has no relevance to projects which do not yet have proposals.

6. Email: If you cannot find the information you need quickly, please email us at [email protected].

7. Call Us: (941) 777-BIDS (941-777-2437)

What is BidUnity?

• BidUnity is a faster and easier way for everyone to estimate, organize, and run glass work.

• BidUnity's purpose is to be useful for organizing all of the information associated with all types of glazing systems.

• BidUnity is for organizing systems of products which are derived from multiple suppliers.

• BidUnity is cloud based, meaning that it is accessible from anywhere, works on all devices, and communicates with other computers.

• BidUnity will connect material suppliers and glazing contractors online. Electronic price communications between firms will become the standard.

• BidUnity will become useful for takeoff and estimating of all forms of glazing work, showers, storefronts, etc., before 2018.

• BidUnity provides the means to share knowledge of glazing system construction between firms.

• BidUnity will become the preferred training tool for new estimators everywhere.

General Usage

• How BidUnity Works

  Basically, you're sending information to and receiving information from a super computer. You could think of your browser, the program that you're using to read this, as a translator that is facilitating a conversation between your computer and BidUnity. Your browser works without you having to think about it, but it is helpful to understand that computers are exchanging information.

• Understand Permissions

  BidUnity organizes who can do what based on a system of user permissions. Essentially, whoever starts the company is automatically assigned the 'company administrator' permission. Company administrators can add users to the company, manage their passwords, and update company margin schedules. Standard users can use BidUnity, but can't mess around with the administrator's settings. There can be more than one administrator and that permission can be remitted by administrators.

• Navigation

  You see the navigation bar at the top of the page? That's it. It really isn't much to explore. It might be worth mentioning that in BidUnity, proposals are created for projects not for customers. You can send the proposal to anyone that you want. If you want to create a proposal, you will need to create the project first. Settle down, you only need a name and address to create a project. You were going to put it on your proposal any way, by organizing projects and proposals the way that BidUnity has, you only enter the address once, when you create the project. Imagine not transcribing the same information on various project forms...we did and the day is coming.

• Browser Tips

  Basically, browsers act as interpreters. They read and translate computer code. Most browsers will translate code in the same way, but just as teenagers are hip to the latest slang, Google Chrome usually supports the latest language features. You can use any browser that you like, but Google Chrome is the browser that we recommend.

  When your browser sends a request to BidUnity, for example when you click on a link to a new page, BidUnity interprets that request, does something, and responds by sending the latest information. Your broswer translates the information received and displays it for your review. If you had a different window already open, that information might be out of date. An example would be that you want to add a part to a component. The part doesn't exist so you open a new window and create the part. Going back to your original window, the part doesn't show up because you need to request the latest information. This is what is meant by refreshing the page.