Skip to content

How we write tenders

One tender, from the question to the pack you submit

We follow one made-up tender through every step. TenderIn reads the pack, finds your evidence and drafts. Your team checks, approves and submits.

Everything below is an example. Anytown Borough Council, Sample Cleaning Ltd and every document, figure and evidence item on this page are invented to show how the product works.

  1. Step 1

    The question and the published criteria

    Everything starts with what the buyer has published: the question, what it's worth, the word limit and the guidance evaluators will use. Evaluators can only credit what is written in the answer.

    We take these from the tender pack rather than assuming them, because every buyer sets its own.

    Anytown Borough Council (fictional)

    Example

    Office and building cleaning, 12 sites

    Estimated value £420,000 over 3 years

    Published weighting
    CriterionWeight
    Quality60%
    Q1 Understanding the service10%
    Q2 Health and safety10%
    Q3 Mobilisation and service delivery20%
    Q4 Staffing and training10%
    Q5 Environmental management10%
    Price30%
    Social value10%

    Q3 Mobilisation and service delivery · 20% · 750 words max

    Describe how you will mobilise and deliver the service. Your answer should cover: (a) mobilisation in the first four weeks; (b) staffing and supervision; (c) quality monitoring and reporting; (d) handling complaints.

    Scoring guidance for quality questions

    5
    Excellent. Fully answers every part of the question with specific, relevant evidence. Gives full confidence, with no risks or reservations.
    3
    Good. Answers every part of the question with some evidence. Minor reservations.
    1
    Poor. Answers only some parts, with little evidence. Significant reservations.
    0
    Unacceptable. No answer, or not relevant to the question.

    Answers below 2 on any quality question are excluded.

    Example tender question with its published weighting and scoring guidance.
  2. Step 2

    Requirements, with the page they came from

    We pull every requirement, question, word limit and weighting out of the pack.

    Each one links to its document and page, so you can check it against the source in seconds.

    Requirements found in the tender pack

    Example
    • MandatoryPublic liability insurance of at least £5m.
    • Word limitQ3 answer of no more than 750 words. Text over the limit will not be read.
    • Q3 (a)Mobilise all 12 sites within four weeks of the contract start date.
    • Q3 (b)A named contract manager, available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
    • Q3 (c)Monthly report on cleaning audit results and complaints.
    • Q3 (d)Respond to every complaint within one working day.
    Example requirements, each with the document and page it was extracted from.
  3. Step 3

    Evidence from your verified vault

    Each requirement is matched against what your company can prove: documents you've uploaded and checked, public records such as Companies House, and answers your team approved before.

    Every item shows where it came from. Anything found on your website stays a suggestion until you confirm it, and is never used in a draft.

    Sample Cleaning Ltd (fictional): evidence vault

    Example
    • DOCUMENT VERIFIEDEV-003Public liability insurance certificate: £10m cover, valid to 31 March 2027PASSMeets the £5m requirement
    • DOCUMENT VERIFIEDEV-014Case study: nine-site cleaning contract for a housing association, mobilised in three weeks (2024)Proof for Q3 (a)
    • DOCUMENT VERIFIEDEV-021CV: contract manager, running multi-site cleaning contracts since 2019Proof for Q3 (b)
    • DOCUMENT VERIFIEDEV-009Quality procedure QP-04: monthly audit of every siteProof for Q3 (c)
    • VERIFIED PUBLIC RECORDCHSample Cleaning Ltd: company status activeSupplier details
    • WEBSITE DERIVED“Eco-friendly products on every site” (from your website)Not used: you haven't confirmed it yet
    • NOT PROVIDEDAudit results from previous contractsMISSINGNeeded for Q3 (c)
    Example evidence items matched to the requirements, each labelled with where it came from.
  4. Step 4

    An answer plan before any prose

    Before drafting, we build a plan: one heading per part of the question, in the buyer's order and words; a checklist taken from the top band of the scoring guidance; and a word budget that uses most of the allowance without going over.

    Each part gets the same slots: what, who, when, how it's measured, proof, the benefit to this buyer, and the risk and how it's handled.

    Answer plan for Q3

    Example

    Headings and word budget

    • Opening: one-line commitment25Proof: None needed
    • (a) Mobilisation in the first four weeks200Proof: EV-014
    • (b) Staffing and supervision175Proof: EV-021
    • (c) Quality monitoring and reporting175Proof: EV-009, audit results (missing)
    • (d) Handling complaints150Proof: None yet

    Planned725 of 750 words (97%)

    Checklist from the top band (5, Excellent)

    • PASSEvery part of the question answeredOne heading per part, in the council's order and words
    • PASS WITH CONDITIONSpecific, relevant evidenceProof planned for three of the four parts; (d) has none yet
    • PASSFull confidence, no risks or reservationsA risk and how it's handled under each heading

    Plan for (a)

    What
    All 12 sites cleaned and supervised from the end of week four
    Who
    Mobilisation lead (named role), then the contract manager
    When
    Week 1 site surveys · week 2 staffing · week 3 training · week 4 go-live
    How measured
    Every site audited in week four
    Proof
    EV-014: nine sites mobilised in three weeks
    Benefit to the council
    No gap in cleaning when the current contract ends
    Risk and mitigation
    Staff shortfall at go-live, covered by a relief team
    Example answer plan with sub-criterion headings, a word budget and a checklist taken from the top band of the scoring guidance.
  5. Step 5

    A draft where every claim shows its evidence

    The draft uses only verified facts, and each claim carries the evidence it rests on.

    A claim with nothing behind it is flagged NEEDS EVIDENCE. You upload the proof or remove the sentence, and the pack can't be exported until you do.

    Draft: Q3, parts (a) to (c)

    Example

    In 2024 we mobilised a nine-site cleaning contract for a housing association in three weeks.Supported by evidence:EV-014

    Your contract manager has run multi-site cleaning contracts since 2019 and will be your contact Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.Supported by evidence:EV-021

    Every site is audited monthly under our quality procedure QP-04, and the results go into your monthly report.Supported by evidence:EV-009

    NEEDS EVIDENCEAcross our last three contracts, site audits averaged 96%.

    Nothing in the vault supports the 96% figure. Upload the audit results or delete the sentence. The pack can't be exported while a flag remains.

    Example draft sentences, each linked to its evidence, with one sentence flagged NEEDS EVIDENCE.
  6. Step 6

    Criteria coverage: what's covered and what's missing

    For each part of the question we show whether the draft covers it fully, partly or not at all, and what's missing.

    Flagged claims don't count towards coverage. Coverage isn't a prediction: only the buyer's evaluators decide how an answer does.

    Criteria coverage for Q3

    Example
    Coverage of each part of Q3 and what is missing
    PartCoverageWhat's missing
    (a) Mobilisation in the first four weeksFULLNothing missing
    (b) Staffing and supervisionPARTIALHow holiday and sickness cover will work
    (c) Quality monitoring and reportingPARTIALThe 96% claim has no evidence, so it doesn't count. What the monthly report contains.
    (d) Handling complaintsNONENot answered yet, including the one-working-day response
    Example criteria coverage: full, partial or none for each part of the question, with what is missing.
  7. Step 7

    People review and approve

    Nothing drafted goes into the pack until a person on your team has approved it.

    Reviews cover compliance (every question, limit and document), quality (the checklist, the evidence, the buyer's own language) and a final read by someone who didn't write it. You can require that the approver isn't the author.

    Q3 review

    Example
    • Compliance. All four parts answered, 731 of 750 words, no flags left.
    • Quality. Checklist met; audit results uploaded, so the 96% figure now links to its evidence.
    • Approval. The bid manager wrote Q3, so the operations director approves it. Once approved, the answer is locked.
    Example review steps for one answer, ending in approval by a second person.
  8. Step 8

    The submission pack, then you submit

    Before export we check word limits, missing answers, expired documents, file names and any remaining NEEDS EVIDENCE flags.

    Then it's over to you. We don't submit tenders for you, and we never log in to buyers' portals. Our advice: upload a day early, as portals can be slow near the deadline.

    Submission pack check

    Example
    • Answers Q1 to Q5Approved, locked and within word limitsPASS
    • Pricing scheduleYour prices, in the council's own template, layout unchangedPASS
    • Public liability insurance certificate£10m cover, valid past the deadlinePASS
    • Form of tenderSign it before you uploadPASS WITH CONDITION
    • NEEDS EVIDENCE flagsNone leftPASS
    • File namesAs the council's instructions askPASS

    You submit it on the buyer's portal

    The pack comes with the link to the council's e-tendering portal and its submission instructions. You log in with your own supplier account, upload the files and submit before the deadline.

    Example submission pack checklist, followed by the note that the supplier submits on the buyer's portal.

Where the tenders come from

Every source we search, its status at launch, and what we don't do. See coverage

Request early access