Why good businesses lose tenders on paperwork

A tender is evaluated in two stages, and most bidders never reach the second.

The first stage is compliance: does this submission contain everything the tender asked for, in the form it asked for? Submissions that fail are set aside, usually without anyone looking at the price or the technical offer.

It is a frustrating way to lose, because it has nothing to do with whether you were the right supplier. It is also the easiest kind of loss to prevent.

Have the standing documents ready before you need them

The documents asked for vary by tender and by buyer, but the same categories come up again and again. The point is to hold a current set, in one folder, so that a three-week deadline is three weeks of writing a good proposal rather than two weeks of chasing certificates.

Typically asked for:

• Proof of company registration and current standing
• Tax registration and a current clearance or good-standing confirmation
• Proof of registration for employee statutory contributions
• Any sector licence or permit your work requires
• Insurance certificates, with cover at the levels the buyer specifies
• Audited or signed financial statements, often for three years
• Bank details confirmed by the bank, and sometimes a bank rating
• Company profile, CVs of key staff, and reference letters from past clients
• Tax and legal declarations in the buyer’s own format

Check each one’s expiry today. The certificate that lapsed four months ago is the one that will be missing on the Friday the submission is due.

Confirm the actual requirements from the tender document itself, and where it is a public tender, from the procuring authority. Requirements differ and they change; this list is a starting point for getting organised, not a statement of what any particular tender will demand.

The mistakes that get bids thrown out

Answering a different question. The returnable schedules are the answer sheet. If the tender says to complete Form C, a beautifully written letter covering the same ground is non-compliant.

Missing a signature or an initial. Many tenders require every page initialled and specific forms signed by a person with authority. One missed page is enough.

Leaving something blank. Where a section does not apply, write “not applicable” rather than leaving it empty. Blank reads as incomplete.

Submitting late, or in the wrong way. Deadlines on tenders are usually absolute, and the method — sealed, labelled, delivered to a named place, or uploaded in a particular format — is part of the requirement.

Quoting outside the required structure. If a pricing schedule is provided, price in it. A separate quotation on your letterhead is often rejected even when the numbers are good.

Ignoring the clarification deadline. Most tenders allow written questions until a stated date. Almost nobody asks. If anything in the specification is ambiguous, ask — the answer goes to all bidders, and you are the one who understood the question.

Build the submission backwards

Start from the tender’s own checklist and build your folder in its order, not yours. Then have someone who did not write it check it against that list, page by page, before it goes.

The person who wrote the submission cannot see what is missing from it. This is the single highest-value hour in the whole process and it is almost always skipped because the deadline is close.

The decision before all of this

Ask whether to bid at all.

Tenders are expensive to prepare and a bid you cannot deliver on is worse than no bid. Look honestly at whether you meet the mandatory criteria, whether you can fund the work on the payment terms stated, and whether the volume is one you can actually service.

Losing on paperwork is annoying. Winning something you cannot deliver is considerably more expensive.

This note is general information, not advice on your situation, and it is not a statement of what any particular tender requires — read the tender document. If you want your standing documents in order, or a submission checked against the requirements before it goes, that is work we do.