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• Stability: Many contracts last several years, offering income certainty.

• Barriers to entry for competitors: Once awarded, you may gain a foothold in sectors where others find it hard to win in.

Disadvantages

• High initial cost: Preparing a tender can be expensive—if you fail, those costs may be lost.

• Resource diversion: Time, staff, and management focus may be diverted from other projects.

• Complex compliance requirements: Especially for public sector work, you may be asked for certifications or detailed evidence on policies such as environmental impact, equality, and supply chain.

• High competition: Many firms will compete, often pushing down margins.

Before proceeding, make sure you are comfortable with potential losses and have qualified people handling the bid.

How to prepare a compelling tender (via Purfleet Accountants’ method)

Once you decide to proceed, treat the tender process as a structured project. Some key steps are:

1. Assemble a team — designate roles for cost/finance, technical, writing, and review.

2. Collect required documents — client specifications, scope, drawings, terms & conditions.

3. Costing & pricing (a core Purfleet Accountants’ concern)

   • Drill down into direct and indirect costs (labour, materials, overhead, subcontractors).

   • Include contingency buffers for unforeseen events.

   • Assess life-cycle costs (maintenance, replacements) and present them clearly.

   • Be cautious: having the lowest price doesn’t always win; clients often consider value for money, quality, and aftercare.

4. Demonstrate compliance and added value

   • For public and regulated contracts, show how you meet standards in environmental, equality, health & safety, cyber security, supply chain modern slavery, etc.

   • Include case studies, client testimonials, or guarantees to set you apart.

5. Resource & risk planning

   • Show how you will manage time, deliverables, contingencies, delays, subcontractor issues.

   • Present risk mitigation strategies (insurance, alternative suppliers, slack capacity).

6. Structure your response clearly

   • Use headings, summaries, and a logical flow.

   • Follow the client’s instructions (format, word counts, appendices).

   • Make your bid easy to read and evaluate.

   • Be precise, but not verbose.

Public sector contracts: updates and what you should note

Over recent years, UK public procurement rules have continued to evolve — especially post-Brexit and in response to calls for more SME participation. Some of the recent changes or trends you should be aware of:

• The Buying for EU exit reforms and the new UK’s Public Procurement Act encourage greater flexibility in procurement and more weighting on quality and environmental/social value, not just lowest cost.

• The Procurement Act 2023 (introduced but parts rolled out over time) aims to simplify procedures, require contracting authorities to adopt standard procurement documents, and place greater emphasis on sustainability, carbon reduction, and social value.

• The threshold levels for contracts requiring full procurement procedures remain, but contracting authorities are under pressure to make processes more accessible to SMEs.

• Many public bodies now explicitly include social value scoring, which means bids increasingly need to show community impact, diversity, training, local supply chain benefits, and carbon reductions.

• Some procurement frameworks now require bidders to commit to Net Zero or carbon footprint reductions.

• There is more transparency: pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) are being relaxed or simplified in many areas, and the use of dynamic purchasing systems or “light touch regimes” is widespread.

• Use of the Contracts Finder portal (for central government and many public contracts) remains essential; many local authorities and public bodies now publish tenders via Find a Tender Service or local portals.

As Purfleet accountants, we advise our clients to keep up with these legal and policy shifts, ensure environmental/social credentials are presented, and avoid purely price-led bids.

Common pitfalls to avoid (with Purfleet Accountants’ insights)

• Underestimating the cost (in time, money, or risk) of preparing the tender.

• Omitting lifecycle or aftercare costs.

• Failing to tailor the bid to the client’s values (e.g. sustainability, social value).

• Weak structure or poor readability — evaluators may stop reading.

• Neglecting risk identification or lacking mitigation strategies.

• Failing to comply with formal requirements (format, deadlines, supporting documents).

• Ignoring feedback from unsuccessful submissions — reviewing and learning is critical.

Where value for money and not just cost is an important consideration, be sure to emphasise unique features and benefits that your competitors are unlikely to provide. Quality, reliability, support, maintenance, and guarantees should all be emphasised in this context, as should testimonials from other customers where appropriate.

Remember, procurers will generally want to consider the lifetime costs of a product or service and will want to look at costs associated with aftercare, maintenance and replacement, not just the original purchase price. Be sure to itemise these in your tender.

Specific qualifications

Where the customer lists specific qualifications it is important that you spell out in detail how you will meet them. This is especially true in the case of public sector contracts, where evidence of compliance with specific policies on matters such as sustainability, discrimination, and health and safety is often required.

The customer will want to know that you fully understand their needs and that you have the skills, resources, and experience to meet them. Generally, the more specific you can be in this area, and the more you can demonstrate that you can bring practical ideas and solutions to the table, the more chance you have of your offer being given serious consideration.

Resources and experience

You will also need to demonstrate that you have the resources and experience to manage the contract effectively, adhere to schedules, deliver on time, deal with contingencies, and have appropriate risk management procedures in place.

Finally, remember that with the tendering process timeliness is everything. Make sure you work within the customer’s timetable and that the proposal and any other relevant information is presented in a timely manner.

Do you have the prospect of a public sector contract?

For smaller businesses thinking of bidding for public sector contracts there is good news and bad news.

The good news is that the Government has taken a number of steps towards removing barriers to small businesses bidding for public sector contracts, promising greater transparency, less red tape and easier access to information.

How Trueman Brown (Purfleet Accountants) can help you

If you’re considering bidding for contracts but aren’t sure where to start, Trueman Brown – Purfleet Accountants can provide dedicated support across the entire process. We can assist you with:

• Cost and pricing analysis — making sure your figures are accurate, defensible, and competitive

• Drafting or reviewing your tender document — ensuring clarity, compliance, and persuasive structure

• Compliance checks — helping you meet standards in environmental policy, health & safety, equality, social value and supply chain responsibilities

• Bid coaching and oversight — giving a second pair of expert eyes to improve quality

To find out more or to get started, get in touch via email at mark@truemanbrown.co.uk or call us on 01708 397262.

We’d be glad to act as your Purfleet accountants partner through the tendering journey.

FAQ on tendering & contract bids

Q: What is a tender?
A tender is a structured proposal you submit to win a contract — you present your terms, pricing, methods, and commitments in response to a formal invitation.

Q: How much does it cost to submit a tender?
Costs vary depending on scale and complexity — you need to budget time, staff, documentation, and possible external consultancy. Sometimes that cost is lost if the bid fails.

Q: Do public contracts only go to the lowest bidder?
No. Increasingly, contracting authorities assess using a mix of price and quality, social value, sustainability, lifecycle costing, and risk management.

Q: What changes should I watch for now?
Keep an eye on the rollout of the Public Procurement Act 2023, increased emphasis on social value and net zero, simpler PQQs, and greater transparency in procurement rules.

Q: How many contracts can a small business realistically win?
That depends on your resources, niche, and bid quality. It’s better to bid selectively — for contracts you truly can deliver — rather than apply everywhere.

Q: Should I hire consultants or rely on my internal team?
It’s practical to use both. Internal knowledge is valuable, but external consultants (like Purfleet accountants) can bring specialist bid writing, audit, and compliance experience.

Q: How long does the tendering process take?
It depends on scale — from a few weeks for small contracts to several months for large public sector tenders. Always allow buffer time for document assembly, review, and possible clarifications.

Q: What happens if my bid fails?
Request feedback from the buyer to learn weaknesses. Use that to refine your next bids. Also consider whether you misjudged cost, compliance, or client priorities.