A pipeline in GoHighLevel with one card per solicitation and opportunity custom fields for the dates and terms tracks every corrections laundry bid in one place. Give each card the solicitation number, the agency and facility, the due date, the site visit date, the number of addenda, the contract type and term, and the buyer contact, and add a workflow that alerts you whenever the due date changes. The bottom line: corrections laundry bids differ in ways that matter, so the record must hold those differences, and a shared date field is what keeps a late addendum from costing you the bid.
How different these bids are
New York's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision issued IFB 2024 29 for commercial washers and dryers as a purchase authorization contract that lets facilities across the state buy as needed, with a five year term starting May 1, 2025 or on approval by the Office of the State Comptroller. Bids were due February 26, 2025 at 3 p.m., and bidders had to be a manufacturer or an authorized distributor or reseller. A Hampton, Virginia invitation for bid for washers and dryers at a community correctional center set a site visit on November 30, 2020, took bids on December 16, and was changed by two addenda in November, one rewriting the equipment requirement to name Milnor machines or equivalent. Iowa's RFB 005 RFB 1464 2025 sought six industrial washer and dryer units for the Clarinda Correctional Facility, opened December 26, 2024, and closed as a sealed bid on January 10, 2025.
A Washington County, Maryland award shows the other side: 15 companies registered or downloaded the bid, 2 bids were received, and the contract for three Milnor washer extractors at $14,000 each and three gas dryers at $5,550 each went to the lowest total bid of $58,650. Most downloaders never bid, so tracking who bid, who won, and at what price is the market data you will want next time.
Fields that hold the differences
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Solicitation number and agency | Finds the record when an addendum arrives |
| Due date and time | Late bids are not accepted |
| Site visit date | Some bids require attendance or offer a visit |
| Addenda count and last addendum date | Addenda change requirements and sometimes dates |
| Contract type: one time purchase or purchase authorization | Changes the value and the follow up |
| Term and start date | Sets renewal reminders |
| Brand named, or equal | Decides whether your line qualifies |
| Buyer contact and permitted contact method | Many agencies restrict contact during a solicitation |
| Award date, winner, and price | Feeds the next bid |
Contact rules during a solicitation
Cities and school systems commonly publish a cone of silence. Key West's, for example, bars communications about a solicitation with officials, staff, or evaluation committee members from issue until final award, requires questions in writing through the procurement channel, and says a violation may disqualify the proposal. Albuquerque Public Schools says unsolicited contact with its evaluation committee is grounds for disqualification. So the pipeline needs a Permitted contact method field, and no workflow should email a buyer during an open solicitation unless the documents allow it.
Build it in GoHighLevel
Stages: Found, Bid or no bid, Preparing, Submitted, Awaiting award, Won, Lost, Post award.
- Go to Settings, then Custom Fields, and create the opportunity fields listed above before you build the pipeline.
- Go to Opportunities, then Pipelines, and create the pipeline with the stages listed above.
- Add one opportunity per solicitation, with the buyer as the contact, and leave Allow multiple Opportunities on so one buyer can hold several bids.
- Build a workflow with the Opportunity Changed trigger, filtered on the Due date and Addenda count fields, that sends an internal notification when either changes.
- Add a task 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day before the due date. Because a task needs a date, copy the due date to a contact date field with an update contact field action and use the Custom Date Reminder trigger, or set the tasks by hand at intake.
- Build a workflow for the Won stage that creates a Post award opportunity for the facility staff contact, with an installation and service check in.
- Build a workflow for the Lost stage that asks for the winner and price fields to be filled in.
- In the workflow's Settings tab, turn on Stop on Response, choose the Timezone, and set a Time Window for weekday business hours.
- Test with your own contact and your own phone, then move a test card through every stage and read the workflow history.
GoHighLevel's Workflow Settings page says Stop on Response removes a contact from the workflow when they respond to a message sent from that workflow, and only for that contact. It says Allow Reentry controls whether a contact can enter again, that Allow multiple Opportunities lets each of a contact's opportunities start its own run (on by default in new workflows), that the Timezone can follow the account or the contact, and that the Time Window restricts when communications go out, uses one window for every day, and does not affect internal actions such as tags, fields, or opportunities. Its Automating Opportunities page lists the Pipeline Stage Changed and Opportunity Status Changed triggers, both filterable by standard and custom opportunity fields, and its Opportunity Changed trigger page adds that this trigger also detects changes to lead value, assignment, and custom fields, with date field filters. A HighLevel agency help center article says opportunity custom fields are created under Settings, then Custom Fields.
What the workload looks like
For example, if you track 40 open solicitations across 12 states and each has a due date, a site visit, and up to 3 addenda, that is up to 200 dates to keep straight (40 times 5). One field per date and one alert on change replaces a spreadsheet and a memory.
Mistakes to avoid
- Missing an addendum. Record the addenda count and the date of the last one.
- Emailing a buyer during the solicitation. Check the contact rules first.
- Not recording losses. Winners and prices tell you where to bid.
- One card per agency. Use one per solicitation.
How this was handled before
Bid tracking traditionally lived in a spreadsheet with a row per solicitation and a color for the deadline. It works until an addendum arrives by email and no one updates the row. State and county portals now post addenda and awards, which makes accurate records possible, but only if someone enters them. A pipeline turns each date into a field with an alert when it changes.
Check before you switch it on
US text messages sent from a standard 10 digit number need A2P 10DLC registration. The HighLevel support portal says registration is required for texts to US recipients from 10 digit long code numbers and that toll free numbers do not require it. HighLevel's opt in guidelines also say a person cannot be forced to agree to text messages in order to submit a form, so keep the consent box optional. One compliance guide separates informational texts, which need documented consent, from marketing texts, which need prior express written consent. Ask your attorney which category your reminders fall into. Procurement staff usually prefer email, so use text only after an award. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
What fields does a bid pipeline need?
Solicitation number, due date and time, site visit date, addenda count, contract type and term, brand or equal, buyer contact and permitted contact method, and award result.
Can I contact the buyer after I submit a bid?
Check the solicitation. Many agencies restrict contact until award, and a violation can disqualify a proposal.
How many companies actually bid?
In one Maryland county award, 15 registered or downloaded and 2 bid, so most downloaders never submit.
Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.
You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.