How it levels
Every rule, written down
"Bid levelling" is what purchasing teams do before they compare quotes: put every reply on the same lines and fill the holes, so that the comparison is like for like. These are all the rules Level Quote uses. It shows the arithmetic; the decision stays with you.
- 01 Lines
- Each line costs unit price x quantity. A line marked quoted but left without a price counts as not quoted: a price is what makes it comparable. Type 0 for a line the dealer includes at no charge.
- 02 Plugging
- A line one dealer left out is filled with the HIGHEST unit price any other dealer quoted for that line, times the quantity. Leaving something out never makes a quote look cheaper. Plugged amounts are shown in amber and listed as notes.
- 03 Gaps
- If no dealer priced a line, nothing can be plugged. Each quote missing it gets a Caution, and quotes with a gap rank after complete ones.
- 04 Extras
- Shipping, sales tax and other fees are added as quoted.
- 05 Levelled total
- Quoted lines + plugged lines + shipping + tax + fees.
- 06 Per seat
- Levelled total divided by the number of computers, rounded to the cent.
- 07 Per seat per year
- Per seat divided by the warranty years the dealer offered (or the years you asked for, when the reply does not say).
- 08 Stop
- Windows 10 offered (support ended October 14, 2025); Windows 11 Home where the computers must join Active Directory or Microsoft Entra ID; the quote has expired; the computer line itself is not quoted. Stopped quotes rank last.
- 09 Caution
- A different operating system from the one asked; operating system not stated; less memory or storage than asked; fewer warranty years; depot instead of on-site; refurbished when new was asked; delivery after your needed-by date; the quote expires within 7 days; a gap nobody priced.
- 10 Note
- Substituted lines and plugged lines.
- 11 Order
- Quotes with no Stop and no gap first, cheapest levelled total first (fewer Cautions break a tie); then quotes with gaps; then stopped quotes. Level Quote shows the arithmetic; the choice is yours.
Worked example
On the home page's example, Dealer B left out the 8 docking stations. Dealer A asked $189.00 each and Dealer C $219.00, so B's file gets the higher, $219.00 × 8 = $1,752. B's quote of $11,501 is the lowest as quoted, and it levels to $13,253. Dealer A has the lowest levelled total ($12,568) but offers Windows 11 Home for computers that must join a company directory: a Stop, so it ranks last, and Dealer C ($12,928) is the lowest of the quotes that can be compared.
Sources for the facts
- Microsoft, "Windows 11 specifications and system requirements": TPM 2.0 and a supported processor.
- Microsoft, "Windows 10 support has ended on October 14, 2025".
- Microsoft, "Compare Windows 11 editions": domain join and Microsoft Entra ID join are Pro (and higher) features, not Home.
- NIST Special Publication 800-88, "Guidelines for Media Sanitization": the erase/destroy standard named in the recycling line.
Memory and storage suggestions are Level Quote's own rule of thumb, shown as such.