# Bring in bid invites

> Three ways invites get into Tidy. Forward them to your bids address, paste them for the agent to read, or type them in.

Source: https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/features/bid-intake
Section: Features

Every opportunity starts as an invite from a client. Tidy gives you three ways to get it in. New opportunities land on **Opportunities > Undecided**, unassigned, until someone decides to bid.

## 1. Forward the invite

Forward the invite email to your bids address:

```
bids@tidy.automatedconstruction.io
```

The address also shows on the Opportunities page and in the **+ Opportunity** dialog, with a copy button.

Tidy then:

1. Checks that it came from someone at your company. It recognizes your account email and your company's email domains.
2. Checks that it is really a bid invite and not a duplicate.
3. Reads the project name, client, contact, due date and time, site walk, scope, location and source link.
4. Matches the client by the sender's domain, or creates the client and contact.
5. Adds an **Undecided** opportunity and saves the attachments to its Files.
6. Replies to you to confirm. If the email was not a bid, the reply says it was not imported.

> [!tip]
> Set up a rule in Gmail or Outlook that forwards invites from bid networks and regular clients to your bids address. Then invites file themselves.

When a client replies on a bid's email thread, the reply is logged on that bid's **Messages** tab, whoever sent it.

## 2. Paste it for the agent

1. On Opportunities, click **+ Opportunity**.
2. Open the **Add With Agent** tab.
3. Paste the invite email ([[Ctrl]] + [[V]] anywhere on the tab). Add files if you have them.
4. Choose the assignee and status, then click **Create with agent**.
5. Check the review window. Click any field to fix it, and add or change clients and contacts. The first client is the primary one.
6. Click **Confirm & Create bid**.

If Tidy finds a likely duplicate, it offers **Open existing opportunity** or **Create anyway**.

You can also ask the Tidy agent in chat: "Create an opportunity from this invite" with the email or documents attached.

## 3. Type it in

Use the **Manual entry** tab of **+ Opportunity**. Only the project name is required. You can add the due date and time, phase, sealed bid, site walk, location, source link, client, assignee, status, the original email and files.

## Plugin switch

Forwarding and **Add With Agent** both use the **New Bid Creation** plugin. If an admin turns it off, forwarded emails are not processed and the **Add With Agent** tab is greyed out. See [Skills and plugins](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/features/skills-and-plugins).

## Set up by the Tidy team

Two more intake options are set up per company on request:

- **Email & Bid Syncing** connects your company's own estimating inbox so invites and vendor replies come in on their own. Click **Request access** on its row in **Skills & Plugins > Plugins**.
- **Sheet Import** brings opportunities in from a Google Sheet estimating list.

## Limits

- The Free plan includes 10 opportunities per company in total. At the limit, forwarded invites are not added and you get a reply saying so.
- Reading an invite with AI counts toward the daily AI limit. See [Plans and limits](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/get-started/plans-and-limits).

## Not available yet

Tidy does not connect to bid networks such as BuildingConnected, PlanHub or ConstructConnect. Forward their invite emails instead. You can save a client's portal links on the client's page.

## Related

- [Bring in bid invites (guide)](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/guides/bring-in-bid-invites)
- [Opportunities](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/features/opportunities)
- [Clients](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/features/clients)