Home / Compliance desk / Bid & prequalification
Rung four · flat fee per package
The bid desk you borrow for a week, then hand back
Somebody who has walked the job, assembled the whole package before, and knows that a listing error under Public Contract Code §4104 does not lose you the line. It loses you the bid. We prepare the documents. You sign them, you submit them, you are the bidder.
Why it matters
Under the Subletting and Subcontracting Fair Practices Act, failing to list a sub who crosses the threshold makes the entire bid non-responsive. Not the line item. The bid. Substituting improperly after award exposes you to 10 percent of the subcontract, or cancellation of the prime contract. The package is where a good number goes to die.
How an engagement runs
Four steps
You send the solicitation
The invitation to bid, the addenda, the forms packet. We read the whole thing and come back with the document inventory, the mandatory-attendance dates, and every deadline that is not the bid date. Those are the ones that catch people.
We attend the bid walk and write it up
Conditions, access, staging, what the engineer said out loud that is not in the documents, who else showed up. A dated written observation report, in your file the same week. Not a phone call you have to remember.
We assemble the package and verify every listed sub
Forms, attachments, license and bond and insurance commitments, the DBE and skilled-and-trained workforce commitments, and the subcontractor listing schedule. Every listed sub’s license and DIR registration number gets verified before the package goes in, not after.
You sign and submit
Always. On your bid you are the bidder of record: we never sign your bid and never sign anything as your contractor of record. We hand you a complete, checked package and a covering memo of what still needs your numbers, your seal, and your signature.
Scope
Scope, and where we stop
Included on every bid package
- Subcontractor listing compliance under Public Contract Code §§4100 to 4114, identifying which subs cross the one-half-of-1-percent-of-bid listing threshold, or, on street, highway and bridge work, the greater of that half-percent and $10,000
- Every listed sub’s CSLB license and DIR registration number cross-checked before submission, inside the 24-hour post-opening correction window §4104 allows for an inadvertent number error
- Complete forms, attachments, and the certifications the solicitation requires, indexed and cross-referenced to the instructions to bidders
- A deadline schedule covering everything that is not the bid date: questions cut-off, addenda acknowledgement, bond and insurance evidence, mandatory attendance
- A signature memo: exactly what still needs your numbers, your bond, and your signature before it goes in
Never, at any price
- Bidding your job as bidder of record. On your work the bidder is always your own CSLB-licensed entity, and the bid price is always yours.
- Signing or sealing anything as your contractor of record, or submitting your bid on your behalf as your agent.
- Advice on bid-protest rights, specification ambiguity, or whether to challenge a solicitation. Those go to your counsel.
- Placing or brokering a bond, or advising on surety. That requires a license we do not hold.
- Setting your number. We assemble the package around the price you put in it; markup, contingency, and whether to bid at all are yours. Quantity takeoff and a priced estimate are available as a separate service, never as your bid decision.
See a sample
A bid package, verified sub by sub
Six listed subs from a single-trade package, checked against the scope before the package goes in. Illustrative sample: synthetic data, not a client record.
| Sub | Listed scope | CSLB license # | Classification | DIR registration | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sub A | Electrical, Div. 26 | 918-3341synthetic | C-10, covers scope | Current | CLEARED |
| Sub B | Concrete, Div. 03 | 772-9058synthetic | C-8, covers scope | Current | CLEARED |
| Sub C | Fire sprinkler, Div. 21 | 605-1187synthetic | C-16, covers scope | Current | CLEARED |
| Sub D | Process & domestic water piping, Div. 22 | 834-2266synthetic | C-20 only: does not cover piping scope | Current | FLAG§4104 ↗ |
| Sub E | Framing & drywall, Div. 09 | 549-7723synthetic | C-9/C-5, covers scope | Current | CLEARED |
| Sub F | Site utilities, Div. 33 | 291-4405synthetic | A, covers scope | Current | CLEARED |
SAMPLE OUTPUT · ILLUSTRATIVE, NOT A CLIENT RECORD · every name and license number above is synthetic.
Why flagged. Sub D is licensed C-20 (HVAC) only; the listed scope calls for process and domestic water piping, which sits under a C-36 (plumbing) or C-4 classification. A classification that does not cover the listed scope is exactly the kind of defect Public Contract Code §4104 lets you fix inside the 24-hour post-opening window, but only if it is caught before the package goes in. Every other listed sub above cleared.
Package assembly · checked off
- Bid bond, 10% of bid price, original plus power of attorney
- Subcontractor listing form, Public Contract Code §4104
- Prevailing-wage and DIR public-works registration acknowledgment
- Non-collusion affidavit
Verified before submission
- Every listed sub’s CSLB license is active
- DIR public-works registration is current for every listed sub
- Classification matches the listed scope of work
- License and DIR numbers cross-checked against the listing schedule before submission
Pricing
Pricing
Bid work is episodic and it arrives with a deadline, so the price should be a number you can decide on in one reading rather than a range you have to negotiate.
| Package | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Bid walk attendance and written observation report | flat | $995 |
| Single-trade bid package: forms, attachments, license, bond, insurance, DBE and skilled-and-trained commitments, subcontractor listing schedule | flat | $2,250 |
| Full multi-volume bid package | flat | $5,500 |
| Prequalification package, new agency: Public Contract Code §20101 model questionnaire and the agency’s own supplements | flat | $3,400 |
| Annual re-qualification update | flat | $1,150 |
| Subcontractor substitution request: PCC §4104 enumerated-grounds check and the required notices | flat, per event | $695 |
| Open-ended or unscoped bid work | hourly | $225two-hour minimum block, then quarter-hour increments |
Minimum engagement: $995, the bid-walk unit. Rush: +35% where a bid or prequalification package is required in under five business days. Travel: +15% for work outside Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Pass-throughs: bonding, filing, and plan-purchase fees are billed at documented cost with the receipt attached and are never marked up.
A listing error makes the entire bid non-responsive. $2,250 to have the package assembled and every listed sub verified before it goes in is the cheapest insurance on the job.
Single-trade bid package · rate card effective 2026-08-19Scope and license, stated plainly
Aeternus Dynamics LLC holds no CSLB contractor license. This page is not an offer or advertisement to perform construction, repair, improvement, or the supervision of means and methods, and it may not be read as one (Business and Professions Code §§7027.1, 7028). This service is document assembly and application preparation only.
On the work we do for you, you are the bidder of record and the contractor of record. We never sign your bid and never sign as your contractor of record; the bidder is always your own licensed entity, the bid price is always yours, and the signature is always yours. We never perform, direct, schedule, or supervise any physical work, and attending a bid walk is observation and note-taking, not site supervision. We do not set your bid number or decide whether you should bid; quantity takeoff and priced estimates are a separate service and never a substitute for your own bid judgment. We do not place or broker bonds. We do not advise on bid-protest rights, specification ambiguity, or whether to challenge a solicitation. Those are legal questions for your counsel. Aeternus Dynamics is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. See our Terms & Disclosures.
On its own contracts, Aeternus Dynamics does bid and contract directly with public agencies as bidder of record, for the services it lawfully performs, which are compliance administration, documentation, verification, monitoring, and consulting. It is a California minority-owned limited liability company. The line is construction, not bidding: holding no CSLB license, the firm never bids, offers, performs, or supervises construction, repair, or improvement work for any buyer, public or private.
Questions
Before you send the solicitation
Do you put in the bid for us?
No, and we will not. We prepare and check the package; you sign it and you submit it, because the bidder of record on construction work must be your own CSLB-licensed entity. Bidding your construction work in our own name would be advertising and performing work we are not licensed for, and that is not a line we will get near. On our own contracts, which are compliance and administrative services rather than construction, we do bid and sign as bidder of record.
Do you tell us what to bid?
No. The number is yours, and so are the markup, the contingency, and the decision whether to bid at all. This package is assembled around whatever number you put in it. If you want the arithmetic done properly underneath that decision, quantity takeoff and a priced estimate are a separate service.
What actually happens at the bid walk?
We attend, take notes on conditions, access, staging, and phasing, record what was said in the room that is not in the documents, note who else attended, and write it up as a dated observation report for your file. It is documentation, not supervision and not an inspection.
Why does the listing check matter so much?
Because the consequence is disproportionate. Failing to list a sub who crosses the threshold under the Subletting and Subcontracting Fair Practices Act can make the entire bid non-responsive, and an improper substitution after award exposes you to 10 percent of the subcontract or cancellation of the prime contract. The check is cheap; the failure is not.
How long does a prequalification package take?
Plan on two to three weeks from the point where you have handed over financial statements, insurance and bonding letters, safety history and project references. Assembling those is usually the long pole, not our work on the questionnaire. If you need it faster than five business days, the rush surcharge is +35% and we will say so before starting.
Have you done this before?
Yes. Direct hands-on experience inside a licensed general contractor doing exactly this: bid walks, complete public-works bid applications start to finish, subcontractor onboarding, owner’s-representative duties. That is the reason this line is a flat fee rather than a discovery call.
Can you handle federal solicitations too?
Federal contracting sourcing and pursuit is a separate line in our service catalog rather than part of this desk. This page is California state and local public works: bid packages, agency prequalification and substitution requests.
Configure and sign it yourself Pick the services, see the estimate, sign online.
Aeternus Dynamics uses AI-assisted tools to help prepare and check compliance documents; all deliverables are reviewed by a qualified human before submission or use. Aeternus Dynamics is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Statutory references are provided for orientation and are not legal advice; verify against the current text and the solicitation governing your bid. Prices on this page are the current published rates for the Compliance Desk, effective 2026-08-19, and govern where they differ from older per-line rates listed elsewhere on this site. See our Terms & Disclosures.
Send the invitation to bid
Forward the solicitation and the addenda. You get the document inventory and the deadline schedule back before you commit to anything.
Email hello@aeternusdynamics.com