--- title: How do I document material price escalation against my bid quotes with AI? | AEC Agents url: https://aecagents.si/use-cases/material-price-escalation-vs-bid-quotes description: When copper, steel, conduit or lumber goes up between bid day and the purchase order, a subcontractor eats the difference unless the contract allows an adjustment and the increase is documented line by line. The bid quotes, the later supplier invoices and the emails announcing increases are usually scattered across inboxes. Have Claude or ChatGPT read the original quotes and the invoices into one table by item, and have Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets compute the change in unit price and dollars per item and per job. Whether you're entitled to recover any of it depends on your contract, which your PM and counsel read. last_modified: 2026-11-11 source: AEC Agents (free, open workflows; not engineering advice) --- [AI assists](https://aecagents.si/use-cases/material-price-escalation-vs-bid-quotes#honesty-labels)Workflow guide · not independently tested # How do I document material price escalation against my bid quotes with AI? When copper, steel, conduit or lumber goes up between bid day and the purchase order, a subcontractor eats the difference unless the contract allows an adjustment and the increase is documented line by line. The bid quotes, the later supplier invoices and the emails announcing increases are usually scattered across inboxes. Have Claude or ChatGPT read the original quotes and the invoices into one table by item, and have Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets compute the change in unit price and dollars per item and per job. Whether you're entitled to recover any of it depends on your contract, which your PM and counsel read. [Subcontractor](https://aecagents.si/roles/subcontractor) · Trade contracting · Claude · ChatGPT · Microsoft Excel · Microsoft Copilot · Google Sheets Content updated 11 November 2026 · Tool links listed below; vendor features and pricing change, so confirm with the vendor ## Short answer Use Claude or ChatGPT, then Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets: Claude or ChatGPT reads bid quotes and later supplier invoices into matched item lines; Copilot or Gemini computes unit price change and dollar impact per item, supplier and job and separates expired quotes and over-buys from pure price change. When copper, steel, conduit or lumber goes up between bid day and the purchase order, a subcontractor eats the difference unless the contract allows an adjustment and the increase is documented line by line. The bid quotes, the later supplier invoices and the emails announcing increases are usually scattered across inboxes. Have Claude or ChatGPT read the original quotes and the invoices into one table by item, and have Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets compute the change in unit price and dollars per item and per job. Whether you're entitled to recover any of it depends on your contract, which your PM and counsel read. A person still checks: every proposed match against the documents, and recovery and notice terms with your PM and counsel against the subcontract. ## AI tie-in **Tool:** Claude or ChatGPT, then Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets Claude or ChatGPT reads bid quotes and later supplier invoices into matched item lines; Copilot or Gemini computes unit price change and dollar impact per item, supplier and job and separates expired quotes and over-buys from pure price change. ### Prompt 1 ``` Read these supplier quotes and invoices [upload]. Build two tables with one row per line: supplier, document date, item as written, part number, unit, unit price, quantity and quote validity date if shown. Copy prices exactly and write NOT SHOWN instead of guessing. Then propose which quote line each invoice line matches, part number first, with a confidence word (clear, likely, unsure). ``` ### Prompt 2 ``` Here are the headers and a few sample rows of my Quotes and Invoices tabs [paste]. Write Excel formulas (or a step-by-step Copilot plan) that compute the unit price change and dollar impact per invoice line, total by item, supplier and job, and flag purchases after a quote expired, invoice lines with no quote and quantities over the estimate. Use only my data and don't judge whether the increase is recoverable. ``` **Human check:** Every proposed match against the documents, and recovery and notice terms with your PM and counsel against the subcontract. ## The problem Document material price escalation against your bid quotes with AI. This is a common, time-consuming task for a subcontractor. ## What this workflow does When copper, steel, conduit or lumber goes up between bid day and the purchase order, a subcontractor eats the difference unless the contract allows an adjustment and the increase is documented line by line. The bid quotes, the later supplier invoices and the emails announcing increases are usually scattered across inboxes. Have Claude or ChatGPT read the original quotes and the invoices into one table by item, and have Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets compute the change in unit price and dollars per item and per job. Whether you're entitled to recover any of it depends on your contract, which your PM and counsel read. **How it works:** AI drafts or analyzes. A person operates the tools, checks the work, and takes action. **Your checkpoint:** The workbook shows how prices moved between your quotes and your invoices; it does not show that you are owed anything. Recovery depends on the escalation, change and notice terms in your subcontract, and late quotes or over-buying weaken a claim. Entitlement, notice and the request to the GC stay with your PM and counsel. ## Before you start - Access to the named tool; confirm license, version and cost with the vendor. - A small, non-confidential sample to try the workflow on first. - A qualified person to review the output before it is used. ### Tools and access - [Claude (Anthropic)](https://www.anthropic.com/claude) - [ChatGPT](https://chatgpt.com/) - [Microsoft Excel](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/excel) - [Microsoft Copilot](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/copilot) - [Google Sheets](https://workspace.google.com/products/sheets/) ## Follow the steps 1. Gather the supplier quotes your bid was built on, the purchase orders, the supplier invoices since award and any price-increase notices from suppliers. 2. Have Claude or ChatGPT read the quotes into a Quotes tab and the invoices into an Invoices tab: supplier, document date, item description as written, size or part number, unit, unit price, quantity and quote validity date if shown. It copies prices exactly and writes NOT SHOWN instead of guessing. 3. Have it propose a match between each invoice line and a quote line using part number first, then description and size, with a confidence word (clear, likely, unsure). Review the unsure ones yourself. 4. Have Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets compute the unit price change and the dollar impact per line (invoiced quantity times the difference), then total by item, supplier and job. 5. Flag purchases made after a quote expired, invoice lines with no quote to compare, and items where quantities bought exceed the estimate, so those are separated from pure price change. 6. Pair the summary with the supplier notices and invoices as backup, and give it to your PM to compare with whatever escalation language your subcontract has. ## Try a small example Replace the bracketed fields with your own project details. No tested sample run is published for this workflow yet. ### Sample input ``` Fill in the bracketed [fields] in the text below with your project data. ``` ### Starter prompt ``` Here are the headers and a few sample rows of my Quotes tab [paste: supplier, quote date, valid until, item, part number, unit, unit price, estimated quantity] and my Invoices tab [paste: supplier, invoice date, item, part number, unit, unit price, quantity, matched quote line]. Write Excel formulas (or a step-by-step Copilot plan) that compute the unit price change and dollar impact per invoice line, total it by item, supplier and job, flag purchases after the quote expired, invoice lines with no matched quote and quantities over the estimate. Use only my data; do not judge whether the increase is recoverable. ``` ### Expected output ``` Not published yet. Treat any output as a draft and check it against the source documents. ``` ## Check the result - Every value, citation or quantity traces back to a source document. - Missing information is marked as missing, not filled in. ## Limits and recovery - The workbook shows how prices moved between your quotes and your invoices; it does not show that you are owed anything. Recovery depends on the escalation, change and notice terms in your subcontract, and late quotes or over-buying weaken a claim. Entitlement, notice and the request to the GC stay with your PM and counsel. - Check your organization’s data policy before sharing project files with third-party tools. **Stop or switch when:** The source cannot be verified, permissions are missing, or the result contains unsupported facts. ## Frequently asked questions How does AI help with this? Claude or ChatGPT, then Copilot in Excel or Gemini in Google Sheets: Claude or ChatGPT reads bid quotes and later supplier invoices into matched item lines; Copilot or Gemini computes unit price change and dollar impact per item, supplier and job and separates expired quotes and over-buys from pure price change. A person still checks: Every proposed match against the documents, and recovery and notice terms with your PM and counsel against the subcontract. How do I how do I document material price escalation against my bid quotes with AI?? Gather the supplier quotes your bid was built on, the purchase orders, the supplier invoices since award and any price-increase notices from suppliers. Have Claude or ChatGPT read the quotes into a Quotes tab and the invoices into an Invoices tab: supplier, document date, item description as written, size or part number, unit, unit price, quantity and quote validity date if shown. It copies prices exactly and writes NOT SHOWN instead of guessing. Have it propose a match between each invoice line and a quote line using part number first, then description and size, with a confidence word (clear, likely, unsure). Review the unsure ones yourself. The full step list is above. Does this use an AI agent or regular software? It is labeled AI assists: AI drafts or analyzes. A person operates the tools, checks the work, and takes action. What tools do I need? Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Copilot, Google Sheets. Confirm license, version and cost with the vendor, and try it on a small non-confidential sample first. Has this workflow been tested? Workflow guide · not independently tested. Written from vendor documentation and practitioner use. Labels apply to the steps described here, not every feature of a product. Links were checked when the page was written. ## Where to go next - [How do I turn signed T&M tags into a priced change order request with AI?](https://aecagents.si/use-cases/tm-tags-to-change-order-request) - [How do I roll each monthly pay application forward from the last certified one and catch carry-forward and retainage errors with AI?](https://aecagents.si/use-cases/subcontractor-pay-app-roll-forward) - [How do I log backcharges from the general contractor against notice dates and backup, and draft responses with AI?](https://aecagents.si/use-cases/subcontractor-backcharge-notice-log) - [All Subcontractor workflows](https://aecagents.si/roles/subcontractor) - [All Estimating and takeoff workflows](https://aecagents.si/tasks/estimating-takeoff) ## Evidence and maintenance Written from vendor documentation and practitioner use. Labels apply to the steps described here, not every feature of a product. Links were checked when the page was written. - [Claude (Anthropic) (vendor site)](https://www.anthropic.com/claude) - [ChatGPT (vendor site)](https://chatgpt.com/) - [Microsoft Excel (vendor site)](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/excel) - [Microsoft Copilot (vendor site)](https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/copilot) - [Google Sheets (vendor site)](https://workspace.google.com/products/sheets/) ## Put it to work Start with a small sample and keep the original record open while you verify the result. ## Know what does the work. Agent executes : An AI agent calls connected tools to carry out bounded actions. You set permissions and review the result. AI assists : AI drafts or analyzes. A person operates the tools, checks the work, and takes action. Conventional automation : Rules or specialist software perform the task. No AI agent is required.