CCTP and DPGF software for interior designers: six ways to produce your tender documents, compared in October 2026

Which software should you choose for your CCTP and DPGF? The short answer

For an interior designer working on private renovations, the choice comes down to three questions: public or private contracts, an exhaustive standards library or your own work items, tender documents in isolation or linked to the fee quote, the contractor tender and the client's approval. Cost consultants' tools mainly answer the first two; a studio tool answers the third first.

The CCTP and the DPGF come from public procurement. On a private renovation, no text requires them (see our annotated CCTP template): you produce them to make the bids comparable and to set the quality expected at handover. A tool designed for public procurement carries functions (BPU, the schedule of unit rates; DQE, the estimated bill of quantities; payment statements) that an apartment does not need, and its price includes them.

A studio that renovates apartments reuses twenty to forty work items from one project to the next: generic clauses to prune, or your own work items to enrich? And where do your tender documents go next: a file sent by email, or a tender compared item by item, then a budget the client approves? Their place in the whole assignment is set out in our interior designer's toolbox.

What does an interior designer need for tender documents?

Eight criteria are enough to judge tender document software: numbering shared by the CCTP and the DPGF, a description per work item, standards cited by reference and version, an Excel export of the DPGF, online tendering with comparison of the bids, a link with the fee quote and the budget, a space where the client approves, a clear price with its commitment.

• CCTP and DPGF numbered together. Clause 05.2 and line 05.2 describe the same work item; in two separate files, the gap appears at the second change.
• One description per work item. Designation, composition, location, "not included" items, a quality reference "or technically equivalent": see our annotated DPGF example.
• Standards cited by reference, title and version. "NF DTU 25.41, Ouvrages en plaques de plâtre, P1-1, February 2022" (an NF DTU is a French code of practice for building works), checked against the list of DTUs published by the CSTB (the French building research centre) on 9 December 2025; the content itself, which is protected, is never reproduced. See our list of NF DTUs for interior renovation.
• An Excel export of the DPGF. Contractors price in a spreadsheet, without your prices, with the "N°" column pointing back to the description.
• Online tendering and comparison of the bids. At least two contractors per trade package, a deadline, bids readable item by item: see our guide to tendering to contractors.
• The link with the fee quote and the budget. Pre-estimate, estimate after the tender, fees: on a private renovation, all three move together.
• A space where the client approves. A private client does not read a tender file; they approve a budget and a contractor, online, with a date.
• A clear price, with its commitment. Per user or per studio, monthly or annual: the gap between two price grids runs to hundreds of euros a year.

How do the six solutions compare, criterion by criterion?

The table crosses the eight criteria with six ways to produce your tender documents: Word and Excel, four named vendors (Kalm, Aglo, kreaCCTP, DeviSOC) and Nodal. Each cell summarises what the vendor states on its public pages, recorded on October 18, 2026; "not stated" means the function is not described there, and it may still exist.

How to read it: "partial" means part of the criterion is covered (details in the profile); "via the library" means the standards references come with the clauses, without citation by version being described as such. Outside the table: building price libraries, which also offer tender document modules but serve first and foremost as a price reference; Archipad, a site-tracking tool according to our August 2026 comparison, whose pages could not be reread.

What does each solution do, and for whom?

Six profiles, in the order of the table: stated target, scope described on the public pages, price and commitment, then what an interior designer on private renovations would be missing according to those same pages. A function absent from a page is noted "not described", with no conclusion drawn about the tool.

Word and Excel: every studio's starting point

For whom: any studio, from the first project. Scope: a Word template, an Excel workbook, your discipline. Price and commitment: included in your office software licences, no commitment. Limits: numbering kept by hand, every change made twice, bids compared in a third file, client approval by email, with no date you could rely on in a dispute.

Kalm: agency project management, for architects and interior designers

For whom: architects, interior designers and project managers, in particular agencies of 2 to 10 people that carry out full assignments. Scope: descriptions written package by package; the DPGF is presented as another view of the same data, with no table rebuilt by hand; CCTP exported as a numbered PDF with a table of contents, DPGF in Excel; contractors' prices entered work item by work item in the tender, then a comparison per package and award scenarios; an MCP server lets an AI agent read and modify projects, contracts and quotes; the project owner views documents, schedule, budget and meeting minutes through a single link. Price and commitment: €89 excl. VAT per month for one user on monthly billing, €69 excl. VAT on annual billing, up to €174 excl. VAT (€154 on annual billing) for 10 users, one-year commitment; no invoicing or accounting. Limits for an interior designer: standards cited by version, fee quote and online client approval not described. Source: Kalm's reference page and DPGF page, October 18, 2026.

Aglo: CCTP, DPGF and tendering for architects, cost consultants and engineering firms

For whom: architects, architecture agencies, construction cost consultants, engineering firms and engineers, as well as project owners. Scope: descriptions and quantities kept linked at all times; a personal library, AI-assisted writing, 40,000 CSTB clauses in the Intégral tier; PDF export in Pro, Word and Excel in Max and Intégral; a tender module the vendor says it has completely rebuilt: online replies, or by email for contractors without an account, gaps against the estimate and the average, changed quantities and units flagged. Price and commitment: Pro €480 excl. VAT, Max €880 excl. VAT, Intégral €1,380 excl. VAT per year per user, annual commitment, 5-day trial. Limits for an interior designer: in Pro, 50 clauses per project and PDF export only; CSTB library in Intégral only; fee quote and client portal not described. Source: Aglo's pricing page and tendering page, October 18, 2026.

kreaCCTP: the online CCTP from Éditions T.I., exported to Word

For whom: construction professionals, architects and engineers. Scope: an online tool; a library in 28 trade packages written by construction industry professionals, updated as products, standards and DTUs evolve; CCTP templates; CCTP export to Word and DPGF export to Excel. Price and commitment: free version (one project); Illimitée (unlimited) plan at €724 per year, several users, excl. or incl. VAT not specified. Limits for an interior designer: tendering, comparison of bids, fee quote and client portal not described. Source: kreaCCTP's offers and pricing page, October 18, 2026.

DeviSOC: the cost consultant's suite, from tender documents to payment statements

For whom: construction cost consultants, project managers, architects, engineering firms and general contractors. Scope: CCTP, DPGF, BPU, DQE, calls for tender, contracts and payment statements; a single data entry for two views of the same project; the BatiCCTP (40 trade packages aligned with CSTB standards), BatiChiffrage and Clauses Construction libraries; take-offs on PDF; bid comparison (Avancé pack); Word, Excel and PDF export. Price and commitment: Essentiel €138 excl. VAT, Avancé €173 excl. VAT, Intégral €238 excl. VAT per month per user, billed annually; or a perpetual licence from €2,425 to €4,800 excl. VAT. Limits for an interior designer: €1,656 excl. VAT a year at the first tier, bid analysis from the Avancé pack upwards, fee quote and client portal not described. Source: SOC Informatique's DeviSOC page and pricing page, October 18, 2026.

Nodal: CCTP and DPGF in the same document, linked to the fee quote and the client

For whom: the solo interior designer or the studio of one to three people, on private renovations. Nodal publishes this comparison: read this profile with that caveat in mind. Scope: CCTP and DPGF in the same document, derived item number, 43 standard work items, 57 standards across 19 trade packages, 494 national and 113 regional prices, tendering and time-stamped client approval depending on the plan, fee quote and budget tracking (details below). Price and commitment: monthly subscription, no commitment, see the pricing page. Limits: "What Nodal does not do", below. Source: Quotes & Estimating module, October 18, 2026.

When should you stay with Word and Excel?

Stay with Word and Excel if you produce fewer than three tender files a year, if your trade packages are simple and if you consult a single contractor per package. Software would add a subscription and a learning curve for a difference you would not measure. Three hygiene rules then make your files reliable.

• Shared numbering. "05.2" in Word, in Excel and on the contractor's bid; any line added gets its number in both files the same day.
• Strict versioning. A revision index and a date in the name of every file, never "final"; the index sent appears on the cover page.
• A locked template. Columns locked, price cells empty, no line added by the contractor without it being flagged.

Key point: when two tender files overlap, or a contractor sends back a reorganised DPGF, these rules stop holding up on their own: that is the moment to test a tool on a real project.

What are the most common mistakes when choosing tender document software?

• Choosing a cost consultant's tool for three projects a year. BPU, DQE, payment statements and BIM serve contracts you do not handle, and their price is in the grid.
• Paying for a standards library you will not read. A renovation studio reuses a few dozen work items; first check that yours are in it, in your vocabulary.
• Splitting the CCTP and the DPGF into two files. They diverge at the second change, and the contractor prices whichever one it opened.
• Committing for a year before testing on a real project. A five-day trial does not cover a complete tender; redo a real trade package from start to finish, or choose a monthly subscription.
• Comparing prices without counting the number of users. "Per user per month", multiplied by three people and twelve months, gives a different grid; the colleague who proofreads a description needs access, the client does not.

So, what about Nodal?

In Nodal, the CCTP and the DPGF are the same document: a tree of trade packages, chapters and items, and a "DPGF (priced) / Technical description" switch that changes how it reads without changing the numbering. The derived item number is printed on the PDF of the description, in the "N°" column of the Excel file and on the contractor's reply page.

43 standard work items, composed by the team without AI, provide a designation and a bullet-point description to adapt; 57 standards across 19 trade packages, re-audited against the CSTB list of DTUs of 9 December 2025, are cited by reference, title and version; 494 national prices and 113 regional prices give supply-and-fit ranges excl. VAT, supplemented by your own items imported from your PDF quotes. The DPGF goes out to tender without prices, to at least two contractors per trade package; you compare item by item, award per package, and the client approves online, with a date, before the package is frozen. Upstream, a named pre-estimate and a fee quote approved online; downstream, budget tracking and a read-only client portal in your branding. Tendering, comparison and branding are available depending on the plan.

What Nodal does not do

• No CSTB library. Standards are cited by reference; the text of the DTUs is purchased from AFNOR or the CSTB.
• No standalone Word export of the CCTP. Description in PDF, DPGF in Excel.
• No AI writing. Descriptions start from templates written by the team; only the reading of your PDF quotes is automatic.
• No drawings or 3D.
• No client invoicing or accounting.

Article published on October 18, 2026. Vendors' prices and scopes recorded from their public pages on October 18, 2026; they change often, so check before committing. Nodal publishes this comparison. A professional synthesis that does not constitute legal or financial advice.

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