How to Write a Tender · The submission phase
How to Submit a Tender
Knowing how to submit a tender correctly is the last thing standing between your work and the evaluation panel. Get it in on time — preferably the day before, to take the stress out of a last-minute rush. If anything is going to go wrong, it'll wait until that moment.
Stop faffing with it!
Good tender writers never "finish" a tender — we only "stop". Pens down, the exam is over. If you've been at it for weeks, the last few hours won't make a material difference, so accept where you are and stop.
Set a hard deadline of 48 hours before close. That leaves you plenty of time to compile everything and actually get it in before you submit a tender.
Most tenders are submitted online these days. Double-check that's the case — and that your login details work.
This is not the time to panic
Weeks of work won't be undone in the final hour. Trust the work and call it.
Prepare the tender for submission
Read the submission instructions very, very carefully.
Some portals want several documents, each in a specified format. If no format is specified, PDF everything into a single print-ready document.
- Check every page so nothing has disappeared and every required attachment is included.
- It's safer not to zip the files together.
- Pay close attention to the labelling requirements.
Submit the tender
If you're submitting online, allow a minimum of six hours of panic time in case something goes wrong with the technology.
The power or internet may go down, you may pick up a virus — anything can happen, and if it's going to, it'll wait until you're under pressure.
If anyone is holding you up, submit what you have anyway. You can always replace a delayed document later — at least something is in.
Build in six hours of panic time
Treat the portal deadline as six hours earlier than it really is. Technology fails at the worst moment.
Answer the clarification questions
Unless you've done a sensational job, it's common to receive clarification questions from the evaluation committee after you submit a tender.
Work out what they're really getting at, so you don't frustrate them with a response that doesn't satisfy them.
If you're submitting to government, there's a long process at their end before they can announce the preferred respondent. It could be months before you hear anything.