> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.bidright.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Your First Bid

> A complete walkthrough of the BidRight workflow from file upload to rate export.

This walkthrough takes you through your first full bid in BidRight, from customer setup through export.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Log in and create your first customer">
    Log in to BidRight and go to the **Customers** page. Click **Add New Customer** and create the customer you want to bid for.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a new bid for that customer">
    Once you have a customer, go to **Bid Workflow**, which is the landing page for all bids. Click **Add New Bid**, or use the quick action in the sidebar to open the same **Add New Bid** modal.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the bid details">
    Add the type of opportunity, bid format, description, sales strategy, due date, close date, and relevant documentation, including the bid file.

    <Tip>
      Write a clear sales strategy before pricing. This is a core BidRight concept and helps your team make consistent lane decisions.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Import and map your bid file">
    After you add the bid, BidRight sends you to the import process. Map and validate data from the bid file to load it into BidRight.

    You can use the raw bid file. BidRight is smart enough to work through these workbooks and map the columns you need.

    <Info>
      BidRight auto-maps columns during import right now. If your mapping results do not look correct, reach out to us for help.
    </Info>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review enrichment and linked data">
    After import, BidRight normalizes location data and starts importing Practical Miles and tolls.

    If you are a FreightMath client, BidRight also searches for historical data to link to matching lanes.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Move through the workflow stages">
    Review the bid, then move it through the 6 workflow stages until you reach export.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Export completed rates">
    Export takes rates from BidRight and copies them into the shipper Excel workbook you imported at the beginning. This makes upload to the shipper portal simple.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  For stage definitions, see [The 6 Stage Workflow](/concepts/six-stage-workflow).
</Info>