Top 3 Bidding Challenges Subcontractors Face (According to Riffle’s 2025 Survey)

If there’s one universal truth across the subcontractor landscape, it’s this: bidding is getting harder, not easier. With more ITBs landing in inboxes, shorter turnaround times, and pressure to win work in a competitive market, subcontractors face growing challenges that slow them down or cost them revenue.

Riffle’s 2025 Subcontractor Survey dug into these challenges, asking subcontractors across dozens of trades what makes bidding so difficult today. While the specifics vary by company size and trade, three themes rose to the top, and they represent the biggest friction points in the modern subcontractor workflow.

Managing Bid Volume and Inbox Overload

Across every trade and company size, the #1 challenge subcontractors cited was simple: too many ITBs, scattered across too many email threads.

Common pain points included:

• Missing ITBs buried in inboxes
• Losing attachments or scope docs
• Multiple versions of the same project
• No centralized tracking or visibility
• No way to quickly see “what’s due when”
  
  

Many respondents shared that they spend hours per week sifting through email before they even start estimating.

‍Survey Insight: The majority of subcontractors said they miss at least one ITB per month due to inbox overload.

The impact is serious: missed bids = missed revenue.

Takeoff and Estimation Bottlenecks

The second-biggest challenge is the time and effort required to create accurate estimates, especially when takeoff tools, scope docs, and versioned plans aren’t centralized.

Subs reported:

• Constant rework due to updated plans
• Difficulty keeping track of revisions
• Slow handoffs between office and field
• Frustration when GCs send incomplete info
  
  

Even firms with modern takeoff tools still struggle because the workflow around those tools isn’t organized.

For many subs, the issue isn't the estimating itself — it's everything around it.

Tight Deadlines and Unpredictable Turnaround Times

The third challenge is one that has rapidly intensified over the last two years: GCs are sending more bids with shorter deadlines.

Subs described a constant cycle of:

• Rush bids
• Unexpected Friday deadlines
• Weekend work
• Juggling multiple last-minute requests
  
  

This unpredictability makes it harder to plan workloads and often results in rushed estimates or incomplete submissions.

Survey Insight: A large portion of respondents said “deadline pressure” was their biggest source of stress during bidding.

The challenge isn’t just the amount of work — it’s the volatility of it.

What This Means for Subcontractors

These three challenges compound each other:

• More ITBs → more inbox chaos
• Inbox chaos → slower estimation
• Slower estimation → more deadline stress
  
  

This cycle is exhausting subcontractors and limiting their capacity to grow.

The takeaway from the survey is clear: subs aren’t just seeking better tools — they’re seeking better workflows. They want visibility, predictability, and a single place to manage everything tied to bidding.

That’s exactly the workflow Riffle was designed to solve.

If these challenges sound familiar, you’re not alone.

Join the waitlist at rifflecm.com to get early access to the Riffle platform.

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