Our tender and bid writing service

Our team of professional writers will help you:

• Write your tender response
• Project manage your bid
• Create a bid or tender library
• Create your supporting documentation

Why supporting documents are required in tenders

When writing a tender or bid to the government or private sector, the procurement team will just about always require supporting documents. The documents ‘support’ your bid, verify your claims, ensure you have insurances and safety documentation and ultimately give the buyers the comfort that you are a serious credible company to do business with.

For simple documentation such as Certificates of Currency for Insurance, it is relatively easy to gather the required tender attachments. However, it becomes more complex with WHS documentation, project programs for construction bids and other attachments.

At The Tender Team, we have hundreds of templates on file for supporting documents our clients required for bids and tenders across Australia. We provide these free of charge as part of our service to help clients submit compelling and persuasive tenders that are credible. Supporting documents need to:

• Be tailored to the opportunity. Whether it is a construction bid, maintenance or even medical, the documents need to be tailored to the industry and opportunity.
• Reflect the scope of the project: The documents need to have sufficient detail that reflects the scope of the project.
• Meet the mandatory requirements of the tender. For insurance and other documentation, specific information in your supporting documents, such as liability amounts, will be critical to demonstrating you meet the mandatory requirements of the contract.

Contact our team of tender writers today for help to quickly and efficiently create the supporting documentation you need.

What type of supporting documents are required in tenders

For first-time tenderers, your first tender proposal may be a bit intimidating when you’ve been asked for documents that your business and yourself don’t already have. The Tender Team have provided a list of documents that are often common asked for in many tenders;

1) Occupational Health &Safety (OHS)/Work Health Safety (WHS) Policies

These policies are a tenderer’s guidelines when things go wrong in the workplace. They are designed not only to ensure that the procuring team/selection panel for your tender response is aware of how you will react in an emergency but how your provision of goods and services are done safely.

These documents are often certified by a third party to ensure compliance but even if not, a good OHS/WHS policy will always be looked upon favourably. When the tenderer is able to provide evidence that their operations will pose no additional threat to the procuring team/selection panel, their tender proposal is more highly considered.

For those new to bid proposals, tenders often include a requirement that those tenderers who don’t possess these policies will acquire them before the start of the contract. The Tender Team are able to advise you on these OHS/WHS requirements and ensure that your tender response is presented in the best possible light if these tender attachments are not yet available.

2) Insurance Certificates

• Workers Compensation
• Public Liability Insurance
• Professional Indemnity Insurance

These three certificates are often asked for depending on the nature of the goods or services that need to be provided to the procuring team/selection panel.

Attaching an appropriate Certificate of Currency to demonstrate your insurance cover is essential to many tenders. In further detail, insurance requirements can go further, asking for both head agreement and customer contract insurance certificates. The difference between these two categories is that depending on the size of a tenderer’s business, head agreement certificates cover the entirety of the business’s operations whereas the later certificates are required only in respect to the tender or related work already being carried out.

Not all organisations will have, or even need, insurance certificates for all of these categories. Our experts at the Tender Team will make you aware of what is required and have them included in the final tender proposal.

Insurance certificates however are often a given criterion for legal reasons and providing them as tender attachments demonstrates the seriousness of your business’s operations.

3) CVs

For many procuring team/selection panels, CVs are an easy method to analyse the personnel that will be provided in response to the tender. The Tender Team are adept at including the most relevant CVs for a bid response, satisfying the selection criteria with their collective experience, education and other relevant skills. Presenting the CVs in an easy to read format and categorising them as necessary make the procuring team/selection panels’ jobs easier and are often required to abide by the tender’s clauses.

A well-formatted CV with essential experience (or any at all if possible) is vital for a successful tender proposal. These tender attachments are often incorporated in to the main response and are one of the fastest ways for a tender proposal to be assessed objectively on merit and qualified staff.

The Tender Team views these tender attachments as a ‘no-brainer’ when it comes to their inclusion. Without them, the tender proposal will be not considered.

4) Organisational Charts

The Tender Team proposes an Organisational Chart for many tender responses to help the procuring team/selection panel gain a glimpse of the tenderer’s business in its most simple form. This tender attachment is a nice visual aid and gives those reviewing the tender proposal a break from the required worded responses.

5) Financial Information

Well-presented (and accurate) Financial Information will always be required for any tender proposal. Pricing is an important aspect of whether or not the tenderer will be successful. The Tender Team always promotes the view that it is not the cheapest tender response that always wins but the one that provides the most ‘Value For Money’ in its services.

These tender attachments are often the most important documents in a tender response and require transparency in the valuation of a tenderer’s goods and services.

While we are generally not responsible for pricing, we always encourage that our clients pay great attention to this area so as to provide a strong bid proposal.

Other types of supporting documents that our team has helped clients quickly create to include as tender attachments

Our team has helped clients write a range of other documents to attach to tenders including:

• Modern slavery policy
• JSA
• Safe Work Method Statements
• Testimonials and references
• Conflict of interest declarations
• Confidentiality agreements
• Privacy policies
• Sustainability policies
• Quality management system certifications (e.g., ISO 9001)
• Occupational health and safety (OHS) or Work Health and Safety (WHS) certifications and policies
• Environmental management system certifications (e.g., ISO 14001)
• Industry-specific licenses and permits
• Insurance certificates (e.g., public liability, professional indemnity, workers compensation)

How you can create these documents

In need of assistance for a tender response, grant application or other documents? Call us on +61410 448 770 or email info@thetenderteam.com.au for our assistance in working with you on your next project.

Are you looking for expert help on your tender?

Firstly, if you are stuck on a tender and are looking for expert help, give us a call or email. We help businesses across Australia and New Zealand win government and private contracts. We provide an obligation free quote, and will work with you to deliver an exemplary tender response. We love writing bids and proposals and it’s all we do all day. We’re based in Sydney and are a team of four writers.

Our Director, Jason Cooney, is available 24/7 (feel free to wake him up although we do prefer 7am – 10pm so why not give us a call or email info@thetenderteam.com.au with your RFP docs. To get an idea of our fees, you can review our fees page here.

What is an Addendum for Tenders?

Well, nothing is rarely perfect the first time it is released and many tenders fall under this category. When the procuring team/selection panel releases the tender documents out to first-time tenderers, mistakes and misunderstandings are bound to occur.

For these eagle-eyed tenderers, the first course of action is to bring up these points with the company tendering for goods and/or services. In response, the procuring team/selection panel will provide answers to most of the tenderer’s questions within reason – not doing anything, in particular, to give one party an advantage over the other.

So to answer the question, “What is an addendum for Tenders?”, these issued changes in the tender are known as tender addendums, either editing/inserting/removing any clauses or other criteria that may be erroneous or no longer apply.

These are common examples of tender addendums;

• Changes in nature/types of goods/services required
• Addition/removal of locations where the tenderer will be needed
• Administrative changes in the documents – such as clarifying whether one section only permits four pages for a response over four pages for an entire document.

With all these changes, the tenderer must keep your tender response on track and ensure that nothing important is omitted from your winning bid. It is important then to be prepared for these changes lest you find yourself asking the question, “What is an addendum for Tenders?”.

Regardless, addendums are not only important for the tenderer but also a way to gauge the responsiveness of a future employer/business partner. If responses to questions in addendums are well-detailed, accurate and most importantly objective, then the tenderer should focus even more on the tender response in order to produce the winning bid. When these addendums are issued, the Tender Team always encourages our clients to read the contents closely. Addendums should clearly state all changes and sometimes provide reasons for why they have been changed. While every change may not apply specifically to a tenderer’s response, there are often times where certain sections of your response need to be altered accordingly.

Most procuring teams/selection panels will require you to acknowledge all addendums issued for a tender, a process that the Tender Team is more than able to assist with when appropriate.

Rarely an addendum is made where tenderers are caught off guard, wherein new tenderers often find themselves a little confused and asking the question, “What is an addendum in tenders”, though with a little preparation it is easily within reach of any new tenderer to push through any future tender addendums.

Government tenders in particular issue a variety of addendums as their tenders often abide by more stringent conditions than private companies and other organisations. For tenderers responding to a government, these addendums serve as worthwhile experience for customising a response that is both relevant and addresses the strict evaluation criteria as set by the government department or agency.

Addendums are often posted on tender noticeboard websites, providing a fair opportunity for all tenderers to review and respond appropriately as required. They will only be posted from between the time the tender is first issued to the closing date for tender responses.

The Tender Team will help both first-time and experienced tenderers to interpret these alterations and propose a strategy that will incorporate this new knowledge into the tender response effectively. Furthermore, we are equipped to repurposing particular sections of the response and carefully wording affected sections in a way that is both inviting and convenient for the procuring team/selection panel.

In a way, tender addendums can be used by tenderers as a fair Q&A process that benefits everyone involved. While the Tender Team will do its utmost to protect our own side, insightful questions asked by other competitors will be answered for the benefit of all.

You may have your initial question answered, “What is an addendum in Tenders?” but here are some examples of how questions answered within addendums can reveal information that the tenderer may not have asked for, but will nevertheless benefit from;

• Will the company require our goods/service for other locations later on?
• Will the company provide additional benefits for the successful tenderer in the future?
• Will the company cover the tenderer for damage/loss of profit from exceptional events?
• Will the company plan to renegotiate in the near future for a better deal from the incumbent provider in exchange for long-term business?

Tender addendums give additional depth to a tender that may or may not be a good thing for the tenderer. The Tender Team provides not only tender writing per se but tender advice from our experienced professionals. We make sure that we account for unforeseen circumstances in our services and provide adequate solutions to resolve any problems that may occur if the tenderer finds themselves incapable of providing or performing a good or service because of a new addendum.

In need of assistance for a tender response that may have you asking “what is an addendum”?

Call us on +61 410 448 770 or email info@thetenderteam.com.au for our assistance in working with you on your next project.

For many new tenderers, the concept of decision gates may halt your progress with your tender response from the very beginning.

Decision gates are implemented by governments and many other organisations to weed out tender responses that fail to pass sets of requirements laid out by the procuring team or selection panel. In some ways, it’s similar to an exam format where getting the first question right is essential for getting the correct answers to the later questions as they are all connected. The Tender Team, like all other experienced tender writers, are aware of this assessment style and adept at abiding by these rules.

We have put forth a decision gate format that will help those both new or old to tender responses make sure they pass the first hurdle of the tender in order to finish the race. Many Decision Gates are repeated in tender responses but often in different orders. This reflects the procuring team/selection panel’s preference for businesses that may either be the most experienced or the least in cost to utilise.

Below is an example of a set of Decision Gates found in a tender:

Decision Gate 1

The first gate is usually concerned with the most basic of tenderer requirements – often focusing on things such as

• Work Health Safety (WHS)
• Quality Assurance
• Criminal Checks
• Other regulatory assessments.

The tenderer should either possess these qualifications or either explicitly state a commitment to acquiring them at the start of the contract (should they win). This means you must organise your documents, collating the required info whilst providing a suitable response when you don’t immediately satisfy one of these requirements.

For many businesses new to the tender process, some find it hard to justify paying for an additional WHS or QA template and certification when winning is obviously not guaranteed. Here at the Tender Team, we advise on the most cost-efficient way to progress with your tender.

Decision Gate 2

Once the tenderer passes Decision Gate 1, Decision Gate 2 more often than not dives straight into the heart of whether or not your business is capable of performing the contract.

At this stage, the procuring team/selection panel will assess the following;

• Locality

Is your business within the same region or state as to where the contract will take place? Many organisations (especially government departments) will clearly favour those tender responses that are closer to home, giving additional weighting to your response if you satisfy locality.

• Capability

Above all else, the tenderer must have an acceptable, minimal level of expertise, resources and knowhow to abide by the procuring team/selection panel’s requirements. In our roles as tender writers, the Tender Team mainly focuses on our client’s capabilities in the tender response – putting them forth in the best possible light without misrepresentation.

We often make clear that a compelling and yet easy-to-read response, as provided by the Tender Team, that may not satisfy every single criterion possible is still worthwhile. For many new tenderers it is important to note that Decision Gates do not always shut out the less experienced, but instead, provides an opportunity for self-assessment and eventual success.

Decision Gate 3

After passing through the previous Decision Gates, the procuring team/selection panel will often move onwards to interviews. This is the best opportunity for a tenderer to really showcase their worth and capability to complete the contract.

At this stage, tenderers will also need to demonstrate how their tender response provides the best value-for-money solution. Through the combination of a comprehensive tender response and appropriate pricing, Decision Gate 3 will be satisfied and the tenderer announced as the winning bid.

Don’t be the business that doesn’t get business because Decision Gates dissuade them from applying. Call the Tender Team today at +61410 448 770 or email us at info@thetenderteam.com.au to enquire about our services and how best to pass through these gates with ease and walk out the other side with the winning bid.

Being involved in your first tender response can be daunting. Client expectations must be balanced with project (time) management in order to get your documents ready before the procuring company’s submission deadline.

Responding to the tender or bid

When starting your first tender response, it is most important to consult with the client to get started. In fact, it’s the only way to start your response. Your client will possess most of the answers available for your project but usually not in the most desirable format.

It’s likely that there will be a mess of documents delivered to your front doorstep or email inbox. The information present in those files will contain most of the answers required for your response but as it stands, it will likely not be presentable for the procuring team or selection panel to review.

The first set of documents you should review is the Invitation to Tender and Form of Tender.

The Invitation to Tender is the main document tender writers (such as those at The Tender Team) refer to when starting a client project. These documents detail the procurement company’s expectations and specific requirements that a tenderer must adhere to.

For example, only companies with a certain level of experienced key personnel and current working inventory may only be considered. These requirements are considered necessary by the procuring team as they are likely after the services of the ablest tenderers. Some tenderers are already primed to offer every product and service possibly required as their current capacities match or exceed procurement expectations. On the other hand, other tenderers may apply in order to achieve their first big break, propelling their company forward by purchasing supplies afterwards in order to meet the client’s demands.

Both situations can occur and the likelihood of either doing so results primarily in the original tender response to the procuring team’s criteria. While the Invitation to Tender should be considered an appropriate checklist and guide to follow, exceptions may apply that change the prospects of the successful tenderer not necessarily being the largest and able competitor.

The decision is ultimately up to the other side and it is the tender writer’s responsibility to put forth a proposal for submission that allays any concerns and offers as much as convenience and credibility as possible.

Pricing to win

The price level itself is usually not the tender writer’s responsibility. But they are charged with ensuring it is appropriately included in the final set of documents and verified with the pricing specialist responsible that no further price changes are required. The lowest price offered in the procurement process is an inviting feature of any submission but unless specified in the Invitation to Tender, it does not guarantee a successful bid.

The Invitation to Tender is usually a considerably large document specifying all relevant details that must be addressed. Procedural formalities such as submission location and adherence to general business ethics and confidentiality are always covered. The communication process between the tenderer and the procurement team is highly governed and can be somewhat restricted – as in limiting communication to email only. These procedures are in place to not give any competitor before the assessment of the submissions an undue advantage. It is also in place to cover the procurement team should they find themselves accused of corruption (bribery, etc) by the other competing bids.

This document also usually contains information on the evaluation process of the tender responses. As mentioned before, many procurement teams are not always looking for the cheapest provider. They may eschew the lowest cost solution for a more experienced one, implicitly demonstrating an assumed relationship between a higher price and better quality products and/or services. The tender writer needs to remember that pricing is only one component of tender writing and not the be all and end all factor that determines the successful bid.

The tender writer should always review the evaluation process for the tender response. This section of any Invitation to Tender will give the greatest insight into what criteria is being exactly assessed and the reasoning behind who will likely win. Many evaluation strategies assess a ‘value for money’ approach where it is always a combination of tender response characteristics such as affordable pricing, clearly stated capacity and experience levels and a captivating yet substantial response to alleviating the procurement team’s requirements.

If you’re ready to take the next step in securing new contracts for your business, call us here at the tender team on 0410 448 770 or email info@thetenderteam.com.au 

The Tender Team is proud to have recently expanded our service offering to Singapore to provide tender writing and business writing in Singapore. Our serviced office in Singapore enables us to provide cross-border business writing and consultancy services for major bids and tenders as well as other marketing and business projects across Australia Pacific. We provide tender writing services to a range of Singapore and Asia-Pacific based businesses as well as other writing services including bid writing, proposal writing and business development and marketing.

We provide writing services across a range of industries including:

• Legal, Accounting and other professional services – We have drafted tenders for a number of international legal and accounting firms as well as capability statements
• Manufacturing, engineering and operations – From the manufacturing of train tracks to componentry to maintenance services, we have experience drafting proposal and business documents
• Health and pharmaceutical
• Defence and science – we have a track record of getting multi-million dollar deals over the line

We provide the full scope of tender writing service, from developing a tender strategy to drafting case studies and advising on compliance. We understand what governments and private procurement people are looking for, and how to draft winning tender material that will appeal to them. Our team of personnel has extensive experience in tender writing and business writing in Singapore. We will liaise with all of your relevant internal stakeholders to put together multi-national bids that are compelling and compliant.

Our service is round-the-clock as we are well aware that there are significant deadlines on many bids and tenders which must be adhered to. We introduce industry-leading win-themes and other strategies to give you the best chance of success. Our team of writers and editors are also supported by a graphic design team that can assist to ensure the final result is exemplary.

Our tender writing and business writing Singapore team is highly experienced and skilled in all aspects of tender writing. We provide services across the Asia-Pacific and have the contacts and experience to draft bids to Europe and America. A global consultancy based in Australia, The Tender team is a multi-national consultancy committed to delivering results for our clients.

For assistance with your next tender or bid, contact the tender team on +61 410 448 770 or info@thetenderteam.com.au