Vendors
The short answer: send every bidder the same scope and the same questions, set one reply date, and line the replies up side by side — price, what is included, start and end, insurance — on the vendor's record. Keep the losing bids; next year's board will ask why this vendor won.
This job still runs on email in most associations, and whole side-products exist just to collect bids. The bids scatter, the comparison lives in one volunteer's head, and it leaves with them.
Ask once, compare once
Write the scope before you ask: the work, the frequency, what is not included. Price without scope is not comparable. Note who was asked even if they declined — an asked-and-declined is a record too.
- Write the scope before you ask: the work and the frequency
- Name what is not included, so prices compare
- Ask once, from the same scope, and note who declined
- Compare once, on the record the board will keep
Keep the bids on one vendor record
The vendor file in Hoavik holds the quote, the agreement, the invoice, and the work on one record. The board still hires the vendor; we do not take a cut of the bid and do not manage the association.
General information, not legal advice. Your state and your governing documents differ.