Bid writing, also called tender writing, is the work of preparing a formal response to a procurement opportunity: presenting your capability, approach and price in the structure the buyer will score. The aim is not to describe what you do, but to prove, with evidence, that you are the best supplier for this particular contract.
This guide covers what a tender response involves, how evaluators score it, and how to write answers that win marks.
What a tender response involves
Most UK public procurements have two stages, though the detail depends on the procedure the buyer has chosen.
Selection. The buyer first checks you meet minimum requirements: financial standing, insurance, relevant experience and exclusion grounds. This is usually a Selection Questionnaire; under the Procurement Act 2023 the same checks appear as conditions of participation. Passing is a prerequisite, not a win.
The invitation to tender (ITT). Shortlisted suppliers then respond to the questions that are scored. Typically that means:
- Method statements: how you will deliver the contract, manage risk and meet the specification.
- Social value: the community, environmental or economic benefits you will deliver. Central government buyers must give social value at least 10% of the total score, and many other public bodies weight it too.
- Pricing: unit rates, day rates or lump sums, often broken down by phase.
- Evidence: case studies, CVs and references, usually in a set format.
Framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems add a further step: short, fast call-off competitions among admitted suppliers. The same disciplines apply, at speed.
Read the ITT before you write a word
The ITT governs everything. Read it in full and note:
- The specification. What is the buyer trying to achieve, not just what deliverables are listed?
- The evaluation criteria and weightings. A 70/30 quality-to-price split rewards a strong methodology far more than a lower price.
- The scoring bands. Many ITTs publish them against each question (for example, 0 for no response up to 5 for excellent). Use them as your brief.
- Pass/fail questions. These are not scored; they simply gate you in or out.
Then build a simple bid plan: every question, its word limit, its owner and a draft deadline.
How evaluators score
Evaluators are usually a small panel mixing procurement and technical expertise. They score independently, then agree a moderated score. Three rules follow:
- Write for an intelligent non-specialist. They do not know your track record unless you tell them.
- They score what is written, not what you meant. A capability you implied but did not state earns nothing.
- Consistency matters. Contradictions between answers, or between your method and your price, get noticed.
Under the Procurement Act 2023, buyers must set out the award criteria and their relative importance in advance. Treat them as a marking guide in plain sight.
How to write a winning answer
Use the same four-step structure for every scored question:
- Restate the requirement in one sentence, so the evaluator sees you are answering the right question.
- State your approach: what you will do, how and by whom. Concrete, process-level detail scores; "we pride ourselves on quality" does not.
- Evidence it with a named, comparable example and its outcome. "We delivered a five-year FM contract for a council, cutting reactive call-outs by 31%" is scoreable. "We have extensive FM experience" is not.
- Link it to the buyer's outcome. Explain why your approach delivers what this buyer needs, in their own language.
Two further habits separate the winners:
- Develop win themes. Pick the one or two reasons this buyer should choose you, such as sector specialism, a local supply chain or a strong social value offer, and carry them through every answer rather than stating them once.
- Price to win, not just to cover costs. Even in quality-weighted tenders, a price well above the market can undo a strong quality score. Benchmark your rates and use the buyer's budget if published.
For social value, make specific, measurable commitments: not "we support local employment" but "we will recruit two apprentices from the area during the contract, reported quarterly."
Mistakes that lose marks
- Generic, copied answers. Recycled text, especially with the wrong buyer's name left in, is obvious and scores poorly.
- Unanswered sub-questions. Answer two parts of a three-part question and you cannot score full marks.
- Breaching word or page limits. Some buyers cut responses at the limit before scoring.
- Missing attachments. A missing insurance certificate or set of accounts can eliminate you before evaluation.
- Pricing that contradicts your method. If your staffing plan and your pricing do not match, it will be queried.
- Submitting late. Portals close on the minute. Aim to submit a day early.
Use the clarification period
Most procurements include a window for bidders to ask questions through the portal, and it is underused by SMEs. Ask about ambiguities in the specification or acceptable evidence. Answers are shared with every bidder, so you gain certainty rather than advantage, and certainty removes risk from your response. Ask early: some portals close clarifications days before the deadline.
Before you submit
- Every question and sub-question answered in full, within its limits
- All mandatory attachments uploaded, correctly named
- Pricing complete, arithmetically correct and consistent with your method
- Named personnel confirmed as available
- Proofread by someone who did not write it
- Submission confirmation received and a copy of everything saved
Doing it yourself or hiring a bid writer
Many SMEs write their own bids, especially for repeat or lower-value work where they know the buyer well. A professional helps most on high-value, unfamiliar or strategically important bids. Our guide to bid writers covers what they cost and when they are worth it, and our round-up of tender writing courses covers building the skill in-house.
Start with the right opportunities
The best bid is one you had time to prepare properly, for a contract you can genuinely win. TenderSignal brings together Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and 600+ buyer portals into one feed filtered by your categories, region and contract value, so you see opportunities when they are published rather than days before the deadline.
Create a free TenderSignal account and start building a pipeline worth bidding on.