How to Set Up a Bid Job and Bond Request in Sage 300 CRE
A bid bond request starts with clean job data. The surety needs the estimated contract value, bid date, projected duration, owner and bond requirement, and every one of those values should come from the bid job record in Sage 300 CRE rather than being retyped into an email or spreadsheet.
This guide covers the opening stages shown in the recording: creating and verifying the bid job in Project Management, then opening the Office Connector bid bond request workbook that pulls those values from Sage. It also outlines, from the workflow plan, the later stages of checking bonding capacity, logging the deadline and filing the executed bond.
- Who does itPreconstruction / estimating coordinator working with the controller
- How oftenPer bid
- Steps7 steps · 2 systems
Watch the full workflow
every click in this recording is an AI agent — no one is touching the keyboard.
In the recording, an AI agent signs in to Sage 300 CRE for Northstar Builders, where the preconstruction dashboard shows 7 open bid opportunities, 3 bid bonds pending and a 10/16 next bid deadline. It creates bid job 26-041 Riverside Civic Center Expansion in Project Management, entering the contract value, dates, location, owner, architect, surety broker and the 10% bond requirement, and saves it linked to Job Cost. It verifies the job on the Job Overview, then opens Bid_Bond_Request_Master.xlsx from ODBC and Reporting, ready to enter the job ID in the control cell. The recording ends there, before the capacity check, submission and reporting stages.
Systems involved
You need access to each of these before you start. In the recording the agent works in all of them from one desktop, signed in as the user.
- Sage 300 CREProject Management bid job setup, Job Overview verification and ODBC and Reporting / Office Connector launch
- ExcelBid_Bond_Request_Master.xlsx surety request form populated from Sage via Office Connector
What you start with
- Bid invitation and estimate details (contract value, bid date, schedule)
- Owner and procurement contact details
- Architect, delivery method and surety broker
- Bond requirement from the bid documents
What you end with
- Bid job 26-041 saved to Project Management and linked to Job Cost
- Verified Job Overview for the bid job
- Bid bond request workbook opened and ready for the Sage job ID
The workflow at a glance
Action Decision Human review Select a step to jump to how it's done.
- 01 Action · Sage 300 CRE Check the preconstruction dashboard
- 02 Action · Sage 300 CRE Create the bid job and identification
- 03 Action · Sage 300 CRE Enter bid and contract information
- 04 Action · Sage 300 CRE Add owner, design team and surety details
- 05 Action · Sage 300 CRE Save the job and link it to Job Cost
- 06 · Human review · Sage 300 CRE Verify the bid job on Job Overview
- 07 Action · Excel Open the bid bond request workbook
Step-by-step: how to do it
-
Action · Sage 300 CRE · 0:50 in the video
Check the preconstruction dashboard
Sign in to Sage 300 CRE and review the Preconstruction — Active Bids panel on the home page for open opportunities, pending bonds and the next bid deadline. Note any bid-readiness message telling you which job data must be verified before a bond request can go out.
In the video- Open bid opportunities
- 7
- Bid bonds pending
- 3
- Next bid deadline
- 10/16
- Bid readiness: Riverside Civic Center requires verified job data before the bond request can be issued.
-
Action · Sage 300 CRE · 1:05 in the video
Create the bid job and identification
Open Project Management > Setup > Jobs and click New. On the General tab enter the job number, description, status Bid, project manager and office.
In the video- Job
- 26-041
- Description
- Riverside Civic Center Expansion
- Status
- Bid
- Project manager
- M. Donovan
- Office
- Main — Riverside
-
Action · Sage 300 CRE · 1:20 in the video
Enter bid and contract information
In Bid and contract information enter the estimated contract amount, contract type, bid date, job cost status and projected start and completion dates. Under Location and classification confirm the address, department and job type (public work matters for bonding).
In the video- Estimated contract
- $8,450,000.00
- Contract type
- Fixed Price
- Bid date
- 10/16/2026
- Job cost status
- Pending / Bid
- Projected start / completion
- 11/02/2026 / 08/31/2028
- Address
- 3900 Main Street, Riverside, CA 92522
- Department / job type
- 10 — General Construction / PUBLIC — Public Works
-
Action · Sage 300 CRE · 1:40 in the video
Add owner, design team and surety details
On the Contacts tab select the owner ID, then enter the owner's primary contact, role, email and phone. Under Design team and delivery enter the architect, delivery method, surety broker and the bond requirement from the bid documents.
In the video- Owner
- RIVCITY · City of Riverside
- Primary contact
- Owner's procurement manager
- Architect
- Civic Design Partners
- Delivery method
- Design-Bid-Build
- Surety broker
- Pinnacle Surety Services
- Bond requirement
- 10% of bid amount
-
Action · Sage 300 CRE · 2:00 in the video
Save the job and link it to Job Cost
Click Save and confirm the message that the job was saved to Project Management and linked to Job Cost, so the same job can carry costs and the bond record later.
In the videoJob 26-041 saved to Project Management and linked to Job Cost.
-
Human review · Sage 300 CRE · 2:10 in the video
Verify the bid job on Job Overview
Open Project Management > Inquiry > Job Overview, select the job with the Project summary view, and check status, estimated contract, bid date, projected dates, contract type, job type, owner, contact, bond requirement and surety broker against the bid documents before anything is sent to the surety.
In the video- Job
- 26-041 — Riverside Civic Center Expansion
- Status
- Bid
- Estimated contract
- $8,450,000.00
- Bid date
- 10/16/2026
- Owner / bond
- City of Riverside · 10% of bid · Pinnacle Surety Services
- Bid job verified: status, estimated contract value, projected dates, and owner information are complete.
-
Action · Excel · 2:55 in the video
Open the bid bond request workbook
Go to ODBC and Reporting > Office Connector and open the Bid Bond Request Master workbook. Enter the Sage job ID in the control cell and use Refresh Data so the project name, owner/obligee, contract value, dates, duration, bond percentage, required bond amount, delivery method and surety broker populate from the PJ Job and Address Book query.
In the video- Workbook
- Bid_Bond_Request_Master.xlsx
- Control cell
- B3 – Sage Job ID
- Contractor
- Northstar Builders, Inc.
- Prepared date
- 10/03/2026
- Source
- PJ Job + PJ Address Book via Sage 300 Office Connector Query (read-only)
Rules, exceptions and controls
Rules to follow
- The bond request is populated only from approved, verified Sage job data, not retyped values.
- The bid job must show status, estimated contract value, projected dates and owner information before the bond request is issued.
- The bond requirement comes from the bid documents; in this job it is 10% of the bid amount.
- Per the workflow plan, the request is checked against single-job and aggregate bonding capacity, net of active work and pending bids, before submission.
When something doesn't match
- Bid job missing contract value, dates or owner details: the dashboard flags the bid as not ready and the request waits until the job is completed.
- Office Connector fields show Refresh to populate: the job ID has not been entered or data has not been refreshed.
- Request exceeds remaining bonding capacity: escalate to the controller and surety agent before the bid deadline.
Controls and audit trail
- A person verifies the bid job on Job Overview before the request is generated.
- The workbook query is read-only against Sage, so the form cannot change job data.
- Bid deadline and pending bond counts are tracked on the preconstruction dashboard.
Practitioner tips
- Set up the bid job as soon as you decide to bid so the bond request, deadline and later contract all hang off one job number.
- Record the surety broker and bond requirement on the job, not just in email, so capacity reporting can include pending bids.
- Keep the bid bond request template in Office Connector with a single control cell so every request is generated the same way.
About this recording
In the recording, the agent created and verified bid job 26-041 in Sage 300 CRE and opened the Office Connector bid bond request workbook; the clip ends before the capacity check, submission and reporting stages.
Documented the way you'd train a new hire — and the same way an agent learns it.
Frequently asked questions
How do you request a bid bond using Sage 300 CRE data?
Create the bid job in Project Management with contract value, bid date, schedule, owner, surety broker and bond requirement, verify it on Job Overview, then generate the surety request from that job using an Office Connector workbook.
What information does a surety need for a bid bond?
Typically the project name, owner or obligee, estimated contract amount, bid date, projected start and completion, the bond percentage and required bond amount, delivery method and your surety broker. In Sage 300 CRE these can all be stored on the bid job.
How do I set up a bid job in Sage 300 CRE?
Open Project Management > Setup > Jobs, click New, set status to Bid and fill in the General and Contacts tabs. Saving links the job to Job Cost.
How do I pull Sage 300 CRE job data into Excel?
Use Office Connector from ODBC and Reporting. A query workbook with a control cell for the job ID can refresh the job and address book fields into a form.
Can an AI agent do a bid bond request in Sage 300 CRE?
Yes. As shown in the video, the agent works the same Sage 300 CRE and Excel screens a person does to set up and verify the bid job and open the request form, with your team reviewing the decision before submission.