Pre-Award Production Intelligence

From creative brief to client-ready bid in minutes.

BidFrame parses the brief and builds a defensible bid.

  • Parses briefs from PDF, Word, PowerPoint, or pasted text
  • Tags every rate with its source
  • Audits risks by severity before you export: critical, recommended, info
  • Flags budget gaps against the client's budget with cost-reduction options
  • Flags tax incentive eligibility across 13 US states
  • Compares scenarios line-by-line with per-section and per-item deltas
  • Exports to AICP HTML, Client HTML, CSV, or Excel
Book a Demo See Sample Bid
Brief Parsing
Format detectedPDF / 12 pages
Deliverables3 × :30 spots
Schedule2 prep / 3 shoot / 1 wrap
Locations1 studio + 1 practical, NYC
UsageBroadcast + Digital / 1 yr
Budget range$350K – $500K
Bid Builder: AICP Sections
A. Pre-production & wrap$48,200
B. Shooting crew$86,450
C. Location & travel$31,700
D. Props, wardrobe, animals$12,300
E. Studio & stage$22,000
F. Equipment$18,600
G. Post-production$41,500
82
Confidence
3
Risk Flags
67
Line Items
Risk Review
Contingency at 6%, below 10% threshold
Music sync license without master use rights
4 deliverables, no versioning budget
Export Status
AICP HTML Client HTML CSV XLSX Branded Deck · Soon
Up to 120
Drafted Line Items
30+
Risk Checks
15-Factor
Confidence Score
130+
Rate-Sourced Roles
A–P
AICP Sections
13
State Tax Incentives

Production bidding is still trapped in spreadsheets, PDFs, and gut feel.

The Old Workflow
Open Excel or legacy budgeting software and stare at a blank template
Guess if rates are market-accurate
Forget contingency, music gaps, or versioning costs
Argue scope changes from memory
Send a static PDF and hope nothing's missing
With BidFrame
First-pass bid drafted in minutes, not days
Every rate tagged with its source
In-depth risk audit catches the costly misses
Every scope change tracked vs. approved baseline
Export in AICP, your Excel template, or a branded deck

The Economics

A 2-day bid becomes a 20-minute bid.

Every producer has drafted a bid on a Sunday night. BidFrame gives that time back. What used to take 1-2 days of typing line items, looking up rates, and sanity-checking fringes now takes under an hour of review. The producer still reviews every number. Still owns every assumption. Just faster.

What gets caught

The misses that cost real money.

Every bid you send is the one you can't unsend. BidFrame flags the omissions that blow budgets before the client sees them.

No contingency on long days
14-hour shoot day, 30-person crew, no OT buffer budgeted. $10K-$50K over on a single day. The risk audit flags it before export.[IATSE-AICP CPA 2025]
Missing P&H on talent
SAG session fees alone don't cover compensation. P&H at 23.5% applies to every dollar. On $150K of talent, that's $35K missing. BidFrame catches it before the bid ships, not at payroll run.[SAG-AFTRA 2025 Commercials Contract]
Versioning underbudgeted
10+ deliverables in multiple aspect ratios without reformat editor days. Post margin bleeds $30K-$60K per bid. The deliverables matrix forces the math at bid time.[BidFrame Industry Research 2026]
Music licensing gaps
Sync license without master use rights means the final deliverable is unusable. Stock music $2-5K, known artist $10K-$250K+. Flagged at line item, not at delivery.[Music Supervision Industry Norms]
Scope drift untracked
40% of bids drift more than 5% post-award. Added rounds, extra days, new deliverables. Every change tracked against the approved baseline. Generate a change order in one click.[BidFrame Industry Research 2026]
Tax credit left on the table
Shooting in Georgia, New Mexico, Louisiana, or 10 other incentive states. BidFrame flags eligibility with specific credit percentages and payout timelines so the savings don't slip through.[State Film Commissions]

Financial Intelligence

See the money before you sign.

Most bidding tools stop at the grand total. BidFrame models what happens next.

Cash flow exposure
Production companies front payroll, vendors, and deposits weeks before the agency's net-60 check clears. BidFrame models peak cash exposure at bid time. A $2M bid with net-60 and no advance can require $400K-$700K of working capital. Know before you sign.[BidFrame Cash Flow Model]
Premium exposure modeling
Overtime, 6th-day, 7th-day, meal penalties, holiday pay, travel days. Every premium rule modeled as exposure risk at bid time, not as a surprise at wrap. Applied against labor only or the full quote, your call.[IATSE-AICP CPA 2025 Premium Structure]
Contract-cited rate intelligence
Union rates aren't just "verified." Each one cites the named, dated contract clause: SAG-AFTRA 2025 Commercials Contract for talent. DGA 2025-2026 for director, UPM, AD minimums. IATSE-AICP CPA 2025-2028 for crew fringes. When agency business affairs challenges a rate, you have an answer.[SAG-AFTRA · DGA · IATSE-AICP 2025]

Process

How it works

01
Upload the Brief
Parse any brief format into structured production data. PDF, Word, deck, or pasted text.
02
Verify the Scope
Review what BidFrame extracted. Deliverables, talent, locations, timeline, usage, assumptions. All editable before the bid drafts.
03
Generate the Bid
A complete first-pass bid drafts in minutes. Every rate sourced. Every line item editable.
04
Review & Export
Check the confidence score, work through the risk audit, and export in whatever format your client expects.

Capabilities

Core features

Structured Bid Builder
Organizes estimates by AICP sections A–P with real-time totals and markup control. Adapts to your company's preferred format on export.
Confidence Scoring
Shows how complete and defensible the bid is, from rough ballpark to locked budget.
Scope Drift Tracking
When the agency adds rounds, cuts, or shoot days mid-project, every change is tracked against the approved baseline. Generate a clean change order in one click. No more arguing from memory.

Transparency

You stay in control

Editable Assumptions
Every generated field is visible and editable. No black-box outputs. The producer stays in control of every number.
Source-Backed Line Items
Every rate shows its source. Know whether a number came from parsed brief data, union tables, or manual entry.
Real-Time Totals
Section subtotals, markups, contingency, and grand totals update as you edit. No broken formula chains.
Scenario Restore
Roll back to any saved version. Compare any two scenarios. Restore an approved baseline at any time.
Export Gates
Unresolved risk flags and low confidence scores surface before export. Ship when the bid is ready, not before.
Audit Trail
Track who changed what, when, and why. Full edit history for internal review and client accountability.

Competitive Edge

Every other tool starts with a blank template. BidFrame starts with your brief.

Versus Excel & Legacy Tools
Drafted bid, not a blank template
Rate logic enforced, not editable fields
Risk engine + confidence score built in
Browser-native, not desktop-bound
Every rate shows its source
Versus Cloud Bidding Platforms
Pre-award intelligence, not post-award ops
Drafts bids automatically, not just scans receipts
Union rates cite the contract clause
Per-line scenario deltas
AICP, Excel, or branded deck export
Versus Payroll-First Platforms
Cash exposure modeled before you sign
Bid creation, not payroll operations
Pre-export risk checks, not post-shoot actuals
BidFrame is the bid. Payroll comes after
Contract-cited rates for audit defense

Brief Parsing

Every field extracted automatically.

Drop the brief into BidFrame and it parses everything into structured production data in seconds. Format, scope, talent, deliverables, schedule, usage, budget, special requirements. All extracted from a single upload. Conservative by design: when a field isn't in the brief, it stays null. Producer-confirmed intake data always overrides what the parser extracts.

Brief Parsing
Format detectedPDF / 12 pages
Project typeCommercial
Client / BrandNike / Nike Air Max
Deliverables3 × :30, 16:9 + 9:16
Schedule2 prep / 3 shoot / 1 wrap
Locations1 studio + 1 practical, NYC
Talent3 principals, 20 background
UsageBroadcast + Digital / 1 yr / US
Budget range$350K – $500K
Special requirementsStunts, food styling
Key questions4 flagged for producer

Also detects agency, VFX scope, post scope, production timeline, and more. Conservative extraction: null when uncertain, never guesses.

Rate Provenance

Every rate has a source. No more "trust me."

When someone asks where a number came from, you have a specific answer. Every line item shows where its rate came from: parsed from the brief, pulled from a published union scale, matched to your company's rate card, or sourced from a verified market baseline. Hover any value to see exactly where it came from and when it was last verified.

Rate Sources: Example Bid
Director (DGA Commercial Min)$1,841 · UNION
1st AD (DGA Commercial Min)$1,280 · UNION
DP, NYC (Market Baseline)$2,400 · MARKET
Editor (Your Rate Card v2)$1,200 · RATE CARD
Craft services (per person/day)$45 · INFERRED
Source Legend
BRIEFExtracted from client brief
UNIONPublished contract scale
RATE CARDYour organization's rates
MARKETVerified market baseline
INFERREDBest-guess · flag for review

Risk Review

Know what is missing before the client sees it.

Every bid runs through 30+ checks before it leaves your hands. Contingency, music rights, crew completeness, travel, insurance, post budget, all audited against industry norms. If something's missing or off, you see it before the client does.

Risk Audit: 3 Unresolved of 30+
Contingency at 5%: below 10% threshold
Music license incomplete: sync only, no master use
Versioning budget thin: 4 deliverables, 1 editor day
Usage terms present
Travel and per diem covered
Insurance line included
GA tax incentive: 20-30% credit eligible
Export Gate
StatusBLOCKED: 3 unresolved flags
Confidence68 / 100

Stop rebuilding bids from scratch.

Built for production teams that need faster bid turnaround, fewer pricing misses, and cleaner client delivery.

Book a Demo

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is BidFrame replacing the producer?
No. It accelerates the producer by drafting, calculating, and surfacing risk while keeping every assumption editable. The producer reviews and approves every number before it leaves the platform.
Can I edit every line item?
Yes. Every parsed field and generated line item is fully editable before export. Override rates, quantities, descriptions, and section assignments at any time.
Is it only for commercials?
Commercials are the primary use case, but BidFrame also supports digital and social campaigns, branded content, music videos, documentaries, short films, and corporate video production.
Does it support union and non-union work?
Yes. BidFrame handles non-union, union, and mixed productions. Union shoots get built-in SAG-AFTRA, DGA, and IATSE rate logic automatically.
Can it export client-ready bids?
Yes. Export in AICP-format HTML, client-facing HTML, CSV, and XLSX. Bids are formatted and structured for immediate client delivery.