Why now
Figures from the April 2026 product memo.
The whole journey
Who does what, from a Google search to the next win
Most moments have two sides: someone posts a project and picks a team, someone else finds it and bids. Those are hats, not companies. Hollis Builders posts the Starbucks to plumbers, then bids on it to Starbucks itself. And each company is more than one person.
The ideas
What we mean by each name
Each idea shows where it appears in the story.
Part 1
How a bidder becomes a customer
Today a subcontractor has to sign up before seeing much, sees projects inside a radius, and gets 14 days before the door closes. In 2028, anyone who lands on planhub.com sees real projects right away. Signing up is how you open the plans, and from then on every email is shaped by what we learn.
We'll follow one company through the story: Gulf Coast Plumbing in Tampa, and one building: a new Starbucks on Dale Mabry Highway.
01Projects before sign-up
212 plumbing projects near Tampa · names and plans open when you sign up
1A plumber who searches Google for work lands straight on real projects, on a list and a map, the way Airbnb opens on places to stay. No sign-up and no radius. Anyone can see what kind of job it is, roughly where, how big, when it's due and what the plumbing covers. The name, address and plans open with a free sign-up, and the plans cost a token. If the right project is on PlanHub, a bidder should always be able to find it.
02Tokens, not a trial
Day one
Pick 3 projects you like and we'll send more like them.
When they want more
Up to 10
tokens a month- Nationwide search
- Daily picks email
- Ask AI
- Connected tools
Up to 50
tokens a month- Everything in Good
- Ask AI, 100 questions
- Bid check before you send
- 1 connected tool
Unlimited
tokens- Everything in Better
- Ask AI, unlimited
- All connected tools
- Seats for your whole team
Tokens reset every month. Numbers are for illustration only.
2No 14-day countdown. New companies start with 3 free tokens and spend them on projects they actually want. Once they see the value of PlanHub, they pick a plan. Higher plans unlock more tokens, help reading the plans, and connections to other tools. Tokens reset monthly, so nobody hoards them.
03One great email a day
Monday, Oct 12Good morning, Maria
One thing needs you on the bid you're working on, and one new job stands out, picked from 45 new plumbing matches.
New for you
3Once a company signs up, one email a day brings what matters most today. Often that's a change on a bid they're already working on, like a site walk they haven't booked, with the fix one click away. Then the new projects worth their time, each led by the reason it's there, as specific as we can make it. Everything else is one click away. The inbox becomes a window into PlanHub, not a place people have to dig through.
Part 2
How a building becomes a project
There's one Starbucks being built on Dale Mabry Highway. Today, PlanHub might show it four times. In 2028, the building is the center of everything, and the general contractors bidding on it gather around it.
04One building, one listing
Today
What a sub sees when searching4 listings, 1 building
- Each copy sends its own invites, and every GC edit sends subs another email.
- We find the duplicates later and merge them. By then, a sub may be bidding against another GC's details.
2028
What a sub sees when searching1 listing, 1 building
- Plans come in once, ideally from the design firm's CAD files, otherwise from the first GC. Trades, scopes and Project Fit details are worked out once.
- Subs get one update when something meaningful changes, like a new GC joining with a requirement that makes them a better fit.
4Think of a product page on Amazon: one product, many sellers. The building is the product. Each GC is a seller with its own terms. General contractors who want to invite their own trusted subs still can, straight from their directory.
05The listing a sub sees
Starbucks · 4102 N Dale Mabry Hwy
Tampa, FL 33607 · Drive-thru with patio · Est. $1.8M
What plumbing needs to know
- 22 11 16Domestic water piping. Lead-free brass fittings required throughout.
- 22 13 00Sanitary waste, including a 1,000-gallon exterior grease interceptor.
- 22 33 00Two electric water heaters. Brand named with approved equals allowed.
- 22 42 0014 fixtures: 3 restrooms, bar sinks, mop sink, hand sinks.
- 22 05 00No medical gas, no fire sprinkler work in this scope.
General contractors bidding
3 on PlanHub · 1 likely5One page for the building, with each GC listed like a seller, its own deadline, and the one thing it asks for that others don't. The trade details were worked out once, when the plans came in, and use the industry-standard section codes (CSI MasterFormat). A sub can bid once and send it to every GC.
06Check the package before anyone bids
General contractor · Hollis Builders
Before plumbers see this
Starbucks, Dale Mabry · what you're asking subs to do
Subcontractor · Gulf Coast Plumbing
Is this one for you?
Starbucks, Dale Mabry · plans opened with 1 token
What they're asking for
- Fixtures and water service · 22 11 00 to 22 42 00
- Grease interceptor · 22 13 00, page 4
- Site walk · required by Hollis
- 5% bid bond · Bay Commercial only
- Bids due Wed, Oct 21
6PlanHub reads the bid package once, when it comes in, and shows each side what matters to them. The general contractor sees what's missing before any plumber does: here, the plumbing spec isn't in the package. It also checks what the general contractor is asking of subs, like whether approved equals are allowed, so a clear listing is how a general contractor puts its best foot forward. The plumber sees everything they're being asked for in one place, with page numbers, and can decide quickly whether it's worth a bid. PlanHub says what it found and where; people make the call.
Part 3
How companies meet
This is the moment partnerships are made. Gulf Coast Plumbing bids, Hollis Builders picks a team, and for the first time everyone finds out how it went. A lost bid can still start a partnership: the next invite, and the next win. Help from PlanHub shows up as answers and catches, never as a feature to learn.
07Catch the one thing that loses the job
Your bid · Starbucks, Dale Mabry
$186,200 · Sending to Hollis Builders, Bay Commercial, Kessler Construction
Before you send
Ask AI
See page 147
Add to my checklist
7Catches that would have cost the job: this GC wants a site walk, and PlanHub knew before the sub did; and a later addendum changed the grease interceptor, which the bid doesn't mention yet. Anything the sub attaches is saved for next time. Questions about 212 pages of plans get answered with the page number. Drawings go straight to the takeoff tool and the quantities come back.
08Suppliers get one great email too
Monday, Oct 19Good morning, Luis
One job needs what you sell this week, and the plumbers pricing it are bidding now.
Also new for you
8The same daily email works for suppliers. PlanHub knows which jobs call for what a supply house sells and which plumbers are bidding them, so the email leads with the job worth a call, and who to call. One click takes Luis from the email to the job in PlanHub (next screen).
09Suppliers quote in one place
Palmetto Plumbing Supply · Starbucks, Dale Mabry
5 plumbers are bidding this job
What the plans call for
| Plumber | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay MechanicalTampa | Buys from you | Send quote |
| Gulf Coast PlumbingTampa · walked the site | New to PlanHub | Quote sent · $28,250 |
| Harbor Pipe & DrainClearwater | Send quote | |
| Sun Coast PlumbingSt. Petersburg | Send quote | |
| Allied Plumbing Co.Lakeland | Buys from you | Send quote |
9One click from the email, Luis sees what the plans call for and every plumber bidding the job, with his customers marked. A quote goes to any of them the same way, and lands in their bid: Gulf Coast gets his fixtures and interceptor price, and it shows up in Maria's bid before she sends it.
10General contractors pick their team here
Hollis Builders · Starbucks, Dale Mabry
Plumbing bids · 5 received
Picking within 5 days counts toward Trusted GC.
10PlanHub makes sure general contractors get enough bids. Marcus wanted 3 plumbing bids; two days before they were due, only 2 were coming, so PlanHub nudged the right plumbers for him, some he has worked with and some new to him, by text and email. Five came in. Comparing them here is easier than in a spreadsheet, even with bids from other platforms, and shows how each price sits against the others. Trusted Bidder badges show who has a record on PlanHub. The general contractor makes the call, and picking a plumber is the moment the result is recorded. The other bidders hear back as soon as it sends its own bid, and once the job is won, the team goes straight to the project management tool a colleague uses.
11Everyone hears back
How your bid compared
From what PlanHub can check. No rank, no prices.
What PlanHub now knows about Gulf Coast
- Restaurants around $190K, drive-thrus with grease interceptors. Your daily picks get sharper.
- First bid to Hollis. Walked the site. Hollis sees this when it invites plumbers next time.
- How you bid: answered Hollis's question the same day, acknowledged both addenda. Counts toward Trusted Bidder.
Next up
11Every bidder hears back the day the general contractor sends its own bid. No rankings, no prices: just that the general contractor went with someone else, how the bid compared on what PlanHub can check (addenda, the site walk, where the pricing sat), and what PlanHub now knows about the sub's company because of it. That record sharpens the next email, shows general contractors who to invite back, and counts toward Trusted Bidder.
12Connected both ways
In · a project Hollis already runs
Projects
Hollis Builders in Procore
Plans, dates and trades come across. Nothing is posted twice.
Out · the team, once the job is won
Commitments
Starbucks, Dale Mabry
Scope, number, insurance and contacts come with each one.
12PlanHub connects to the tools general contractors already run their jobs in, in both directions. Hollis already has the Chick-fil-A in Procore, so Marcus brings it into PlanHub in one click, plans and dates included, instead of posting it again. When a job is won, the team goes the other way: the chosen subs, their numbers and their paperwork land in Procore for the project manager. Bids from BuildingConnected come in the same way, and drawings go out to takeoff tools.
13Invited back, then the win
Wednesday, Nov 1813Losing the Starbucks wasn't the end. Marcus remembered Gulf Coast's bid, and PlanHub put it one click away when he started his next job. His personal invite comes by email and leads with why: Maria's scope was the clearest on the Starbucks, and she walked the site. Three weeks later, she wins the Chick-fil-A with Hollis, and the win goes on Gulf Coast's profile for the next general contractor to see.
14Good habits build a track record
Gulf Coast Plumbing
Plumbing · Tampa, FL · on PlanHub since Oct 8
What PlanHub has seen
Also on the record: won the Chick-fil-A plumbing with Hollis Builders, Dec 9. Wins show, but aren't needed.
How a sub earns it
- License and insurance checked
- Answers questions within a day
- Acknowledges every addendum
- Good feedback from 2 general contractors
General contractors earn Trusted GC the same way: reviewing every bid, making sure every bidder hears back, answering questions within a day, and picking within 5 days of bids closing.
What general contractors see
6 wins on PlanHub · answers questions same day · license and insurance checked
14Reputation built from what PlanHub has seen happen, not star ratings. Trusted Bidder is earned by how a sub works, not by winning, so a new or small shop can get there from its first bid: paperwork checked, questions answered within a day, every addendum acknowledged, and good feedback from general contractors. Wins still show on the profile. General contractors work toward Trusted GC the same way, so reputation runs both directions.
It only uses facts PlanHub records, following the Quality Bids research: no scores for how "complete" a bid is.
Behind the scenes
One profile runs all of it
Every screen above is shaped by the same thing: a profile for each company that starts before they sign up. Bidders and posters get different profiles (and a general contractor is both), but both learn the same way: from what they do on PlanHub. The same profiles tell our own teams who to call and who might leave.
15What goes in, what comes out
Subcontractors and suppliers who bid on projects, and everyone at the company who works the bids. Here: Gulf Coast Plumbing.
What it learns from
Bidder
Gulf Coast Plumbing
One profile per company, shared by product, marketing, sales and customer success.
What it shapes
What it learns from
Poster, and a bidder too
Hollis Builders
One profile per company, shared by product, marketing, sales and customer success.
What it shapes
15We listen to what people tell us, watch what they do, and put the right thing at the top with a reason. For bidders, that's the right projects. For posters, it's the right partners.
16Invited by role
Thursday, Oct 8Maria invited you to Gulf Coast Plumbing
You're joining as office manager. PlanHub will start you on the paperwork every bid needs, and keep the project picks with Maria.
Office manager · Gulf Coast Plumbing
Welcome, Denise
Here's what needs you first
16When Maria invites Denise, she picks Denise's role. That one choice tells PlanHub what Denise is there to do. She lands on the paperwork, not a project search, and her daily email will be about documents and deadlines, not new jobs. Same company, same profile, a different PlanHub for each person.
17One email, shaped by role
Tuesday, Dec 1Good morning, Denise
One document needs you before the Chick-fil-A bid goes out.
All set
Tuesday, Dec 1Good morning, Maria
Same company, same morning, a different email.
Also new for you
17Two people at the same company get different emails on the same morning. PlanHub knows Denise handles the paperwork, so hers leads with the one document a general contractor is waiting on, with the fix one click away. Maria's leads with jobs like the ones she bids. Nobody sees the other person's to-do list.
18Every bid makes the next one easier
Gulf Coast Plumbing · New bid
Chick-fil-A · Brandon
Restaurant · New build · Invited by Hollis Builders · Bids due Fri, Dec 4
Already started from your Starbucks bid
Why your Starbucks bid is the starting point
- Another drive-thru restaurant, close in size and kitchen to the Starbucks.
- The same general contractor. Hollis asks for the same things it did last time.
- 12 miles from your shop, inside the area you bid.
18Every bid teaches PlanHub something about the company: the work it wins, how it prices, what it always does, who it works with. Six weeks in, Maria's Chick-fil-A bid opens half done, from her Starbucks bid and everything else PlanHub has seen her do. She still checks and prices everything; PlanHub points out what's different this time.
Still to decide
Three questions this story raises
How much do we show before sign-up?
Search only works if locked projects are still worth clicking. We need to test how much detail keeps people interested without giving the plans away.
What do tokens and plans cost?
The numbers on this page are placeholders. We need to price tokens and decide what each plan unlocks.
Where do partners talk?
Messages and questions between GCs and subs can live on PlanHub or in the tools they already use. We should pick one and do it well.