We’ve kept a record of the main questions our clients ask us when engaging with the Tender Response team. This list of public procurement FAQs isn’t exhaustive; it can’t be. Your industry sector and business are distinct, and you may have a burning question that isn’t covered here.

Or, that we’ve not thought of yet.

Call us on 0203 9300 664 or contact Tender Response via this website for more information.

What is the difference between a tender, bid, proposal and contract?

Like all sales documentation, there is a slightly different name depending on the industry that you’re in and the purpose of the document.

A proposal document is something that outlines your standard service offering; an off the shelf product – otherwise known as s front window.

A bid pack documents encompass the whole the bid process and often include certificates for completion, such as Form of Tender, Non-Collusion, Anti-Canvassing and more. There are multiple documents within this pack which includes:

  • Specification
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Overview – document that sets out timelines, scoring, mandatory requirements and how to respond
  • Templates – such as the Standard Supplier Questionnaire, and Quality Response

The bid response encompasses the completion of all documents and certificates needed for the SME to respond to that opportunity.

The tender documents are the quality response template and the scope of works. They generally go together and form the written qualitative response, the tender response.

A contract form is the confirmation of the order which often includes a legal document and a purchase order number.

Regardless of what your terminology is, Tender Response takes the time to understand what support you need from us. We can complete responses to individual questions (often ones here are (Social Value, Sustainability, ESG, … ), all of the qualitative questions or the complete bid management response.

Can you provide advice on pricing for my bid?

We can’t advise you on what your pricing structure should be, nor the expected win price for the bid. However, as part of our offering, we have Tender Insights. This is a market research tool that can provide you with insights on your target clients, and your competition. The reports we provide can be used to see trends in the market,  including local influences as well as a forecasting tool for upcoming new tenders.

What Areas of Business Do You Support?

In brief, all of them.
We are a team of eleven highly experienced bid professionals, and each one of us has specific sector expertise, with a broad range of sub-sectors included. Tender Response’s service delivery is high-level.
Construction, IT, Marketing, Financial Services, Technology – our knowledge and experience is extensive.

Do You Work on International Tenders?

No, we don’t. Our specialist skills are in UK-based public sector and charity procurements.

How Much Do You Charge?

Apologies, we can’t offer you a definitive answer for all our services. However, for our Tender Finder service, prices start at £37 and progress from there, depending on the level of qualification and support you need.
We provide our Tender Reader and Tender Writer services for a fixed fee – which sets us apart from many competitors. This means that should your bid succeed, we do not charge a commission.

Can I Cancel?

With Tender Finder you can cancel any time. And, you can upgrade. Tender Finder Plus involves a minimum six-month commitment due to the commitment and work involved from Tender Response.
As we price on a per-tender basis that you pay on submission, you only pay for what you have used regarding our Tender Writer service.

Do I Need to be a Subscriber to Access Tender Writing Support?

No, if you have your own tender document and need help with it, we can help. From one question to the whole tender, we’ve got the expertise you require.

Do I Need to Subscribe to Tender Finder to Use Tender Reader?

No. We’d be pleased to work with you if you find your own tender and would like us to help you respond to it.

How Long Does It Take?

We work systematically, carefully and in a structured way – so this streamlines our processes and means that we steam along faster than if you were doing it yourself.
There’s no set time.
However, detail is everything. We can’t rush. It’s worth mentioning that we will need information from you within a certain number of days so that the whole response is ready in plenty of time. This is our structure and process:
• We will aim for complete submission and upload 24 hours before it is due for submission
• There will be two internal reviews before we send the document to you
• Your internally reviewed tender document will be with you three working days before submission
• For larger tenders, we will share the content with you in batches. Generally, larger tenders have 10 or more questions.

What About Copyright?

All copyright belongs to you. We write your content so that, should you wish, you can use it elsewhere in your marketing: handy “sound bites” for your business. This applies whether we’ve written just one response or the whole tender.
If you buy policies from us, copyright will belong to you.
Importantly, we can build up a bid library on your behalf which we can review and improve for every subsequent bid we work on with you. As our client, you will have access to this information.

Help, I Need Access to Policies. Can You Help?

Relax. Yes, we can. We have access to several types of policies, including:
• Social Value
• Modern Slavery
• Sustainability
• Social Value
• Modern Slavery
• Health and Safety
• Quality
• Environmental
• Diversity and Equality
• CSR
• Staff Development and Training
• Business Continuity

How Do You Manage Passwords? Are They Fully Secure?

We use lastpass.com to manage passwords across our business. To access the portal yourself, you can set us up as an approved user. Or, we can manage portal access for you. You will need to be subscribed to Tender Response to use this service.

Are You Insured?

Yes, we have full public liability insurance.

What Makes You Different as a Business?

Look at our Why Work with Tender Response page for many compelling reasons to pick up the phone to us.
We’ve thought of a few more, though:
We fully support equality, and fairness – including equal pay for all. And, helping people achieve success with us regardless of circumstances. So, most of the Tender Response team are working carers; either they support children, disabled siblings or ageing parents. Our focus is on offering flexibility to work when they want to, rather than to inflexible time frames.
Even if you are new to tendering, we can still do everything from start to finish. For example, you may not have references yet; no worries, we’ll get them for you. And, can supply adaptable templates for any critical documents. It’s a secure way to sell, as you will be outsourcing this complicated process to an exceptional company that lives, breathes and eats tenders.
Not literally, of course.

Latest Insights From Tender Response

27th September 2024 Fosters Roofing Secures Five-Year Council Contract Through Tender Response’s Strategic Support

Tender Response is excited to share that our client, Fosters Roofing Limited, has secured a spot on the Roofing Framework for a local council.

Press Release
18th September 2024 What to include in modern slavery, GDPR and health and safety statements when responding to tender invitations

All public sector tenders will include a requirement for comprehensive statements on modern slavery, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Health, safety and Environment (HSE) in the standard supplier questionnaire (SSQ). These areas reflect critical legal and ethical obligations that any supplier must meet to be considered. Here we’ve broken down some of the […]

Policy & Process
27th August 2024 Can you use AI for Bid Writing?

In today’s business, leveraging technology is no longer a luxury but a necessity. One such technological advancement that has been making waves is Artificial Intelligence (AI). But what exactly is AI, and how can it be useful in the realm of bid writing? Let’s delve into the details. What is AI? Artificial Intelligence, or AI, […]

Bid Writing & Tender Management

What our clients say about us


As a kind of small, medium business, tenders are very time consuming, can be quite arduous, potentially complex, and she cut through it all, making it very clear, concise, articulate, and helped us with our final submission in terms of writing the final draft, which basically allowed us to focus on selling our business, our services and USPs and the commercials into the template that was required and necessary for the project in hand. And happily to say, sort of 10 days later, our first using of Vicky's services, we won that tender.

Leyton Ede, MD LIVE Experiences

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