Tendering & procurement
Run a tender from a BOQ
Take a priced bill of quantities out to market: package it, invite the subcontractors, leve…
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Cases / Tendering & procurement
Tendering & procurement
Evaluate a government tender against the estimated cost
Fix the estimated cost the tender is called on, issue the same bill to every bidder, receive and open the offers, read them item by item against the estimate rather than only on the percentage, and put the reasoning for the award on the record.
How it works, step by step
5 steps across the platform - what you do at each one, and why it matters.
1
Fix the estimated cost the tender is called on
Basis of EstimateRecord the estimated cost as issued, the schedule and edition behind it, the price level, and what it excludes. Freeze it before the notice goes out, so later comparison is against the figure bidders actually saw.
Why: An estimate that keeps moving after issue cannot be compared with anything. Fixing it is what makes the percentage above or below meaningful, and it is the first thing an audit of the award asks to see.
InThe priced estimateThe sanctioned amountOutThe estimated cost, fixed and dated
2
Issue one bill, one set of conditions, one clock
TenderingPublish the tender on the frozen bill, stating the tender form, whether rates are quoted item by item or as a single percentage, the earnest money required, the eligibility conditions and the closing date. Issue every clarification to every bidder.
Why: The comparison at the end is only valid if the offers answer the same question. A clarification sent to one bidder, or a bill quietly corrected after issue, breaks that and is the most common ground on which an award is challenged.
InThe tender billConditions and eligibilityOutOne bill issued to everyoneDates and the earnest money required
3
Receive the offers and settle eligibility before price
Bid ManagementLog every offer with its time of receipt, check the earnest money and the eligibility documents, and settle who is technically qualified before any financial offer is read.
Why: Two-stage opening exists so that eligibility cannot be decided by knowing the price. Recording the technical decision with its date, before the financial opening, is what makes that separation demonstrable rather than merely intended.
InSealed offersOutA register of who bid and whenWho cleared the technical stage
4
Compare at the item, not only at the percentage
Cost ExplorerPut the offers beside the estimated rates and look for items that are far below the estimate on early work and far above on late work, and for rates that no analysis supports. Query those with the bidder and record the answer.
Why: Front loading is legal, invisible in a total, and expensive. So is a rate so far below the estimate that the item cannot be built for it, because that work is either not done or comes back as a claim. Both are visible only when the bill is compared line by line against a fixed reference.
InQualified offers on the same billThe estimated ratesOutItem by item spread against the estimateThe items worth querying
5
Award on the record, with the security in place
ContractsSet the contract up on the accepted rates, carry the percentage above or below onto it, and record the performance security, the defect liability period and the price variation position agreed at award.
Why: Everything the job argues about later, valuation, extras, escalation, release of security, is decided against what the contract says at this moment. Writing it down here is cheap; reconstructing it from the tender file two years later is not.
InThe recommendation and its reasonsOutA contract on the accepted ratesPerformance security recorded