What is the procurement threshold for small businesses?

There is no separate threshold specifically for small businesses. The Procurement Act 2023 thresholds that determine which rules apply are the same for all suppliers: from 1 January 2026, £135,018 for goods and services bought by central government, £207,720 for other buyers and £5,193,000 for works, all including VAT. However, below the threshold for services and supplies is the most realistic starting range for most SMEs because competition is less intense and qualification requirements are typically lighter. Central government departments' SME spend targets apply across all contract values, not only below-threshold work.

Is there a government register of approved suppliers?

There is no single universal approved supplier list for UK government. The Government Commercial Agency maintains frameworks that serve as de facto approved supplier registers for specific categories, and some local authorities and NHS trusts maintain their own supplier registers. The Procurement Act 2023 introduced the Central Digital Platform, where suppliers register once and share their core supplier information, reducing the need to submit the same information repeatedly across different buyers. Being on a GCA framework or a regional buying consortium framework is one of the most effective ways to reduce individual qualification overhead for repeat public sector work.

How do I find local council contracts near me?

Local authority contracts are published across a wide range of platforms. Larger councils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland publish above-threshold notices on Find a Tender. Many also use multi-tenant portals such as In-Tend, Proactis or Delta eSourcing, where each council has its own sub-portal. Scottish councils use Public Contracts Scotland. The challenge is that there is no single place to find all council contracts across the country. TenderSignal monitors council portals alongside all other major UK procurement systems, and you can filter by region to focus on opportunities near you.

Do I need to be on a framework to win government work?

No. Many government contracts, particularly at local authority level and below-threshold value, are procured outside frameworks through the open or competitive flexible procedure. Frameworks are advantageous because they reduce competition once you are on them and can generate a steady flow of call-offs, but getting onto a framework is itself a competitive process. For SMEs new to public procurement, open tender procedures for below-threshold contracts are often a more accessible first step than trying to secure a framework appointment.

What is the SME spend target for UK government?

Since April 2025, each central government department has set its own three-year target for direct spend with small and medium-sized businesses, replacing the earlier government-wide 33 per cent ambition. These targets cover central government departments and their arm's-length bodies. Local authorities and NHS bodies are not formally bound by the same target, though many apply equivalent policies voluntarily. The Procurement Act 2023 introduced a statutory duty on all contracting authorities to have regard for SME participation, which goes further than the spending target by embedding SME consideration into the procurement design stage rather than just the outcome measurement.

Government Tenders for Small Businesses

Q: Do government contracts have to go to tender?

Above-threshold contracts must be advertised in line with the Procurement Act 2023 requirements, which for goods and services means a value above £135,018 (central government) or £207,720 (other buyers), including VAT. Below-threshold contracts carry lighter obligations: buyers do not have to run a competition, but if they invite competitive tenders for a contract worth £12,000 (central government) or £30,000 (other buyers) or more, including VAT, they must publish a below-threshold tender notice on the Central Digital Platform. Many also advertise through their own portals or regional frameworks. In practice, the majority of accessible contracts for SMEs sit in the below-threshold band where buyers have flexibility in how they run the process.

Can small businesses win government contracts?

Yes, and the law is increasingly written to make it easier. The Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), which came into force in February 2025, introduced a formal duty on contracting authorities to have regard for SME participation throughout the procurement lifecycle. It sits alongside departmental targets, set from April 2025, for central government direct spend with small and medium-sized businesses.

In practice, below-threshold contracts represent the most accessible entry point for smaller businesses. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, contracts below the relevant thresholds (from 1 January 2026, £5,193,000 for works and £135,018 or £207,720 for goods and services depending on the buyer, all including VAT) are not subject to the full Find a Tender notice requirements, and buyers have more flexibility in how they run their procurement processes. Many choose to advertise through their own portals or through regional frameworks, meaning that competition is typically less intense and the qualification bar is lower.

Social value criteria also work in favour of local SMEs. The Social Value Act 2012 and its guidance require buyers in England to consider economic, social and environmental wellbeing in public contracts. An SME that employs local people, sources locally or can demonstrate community impact can score well on social value where a large national provider cannot. Buyers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland operate under equivalent or stronger social value requirements.

The combination of a statutory SME participation duty, a spending target with real accountability behind it and social value weighting means the conditions for SMEs to compete have genuinely improved. The challenge is visibility: finding the right opportunities at the right time across a fragmented procurement landscape.

Where to find government contracts for small businesses

UK public procurement is published across dozens of separate platforms rather than a single central marketplace. At the national level, Find a Tender (FTS) is the statutory portal for above-threshold notices, but below-threshold opportunities are routinely published on buyer-specific systems, regional procurement portals and multi-tenant platforms, and not all of them reach FTS: a below-threshold tender notice is only required where the buyer invites competitive tenders for a contract worth £12,000 (central government) or £30,000 (other buyers) or more, including VAT.

The platforms most relevant to SMEs include:

Find a Tender (FTS). The official above-threshold portal for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Mandatory for contracts above the relevant threshold, but smaller contracts are often absent.
Public Contracts Scotland (PCS). The statutory portal for Scottish public sector contracts. Covers a wide range of values and is actively used by Scottish local authorities, NHS boards and government agencies.
Sell2Wales. The Welsh procurement portal, covering both above and below-threshold opportunities from Welsh public bodies.
In-Tend, Proactis and Jaggaer. Multi-tenant platforms used by hundreds of councils, housing associations, police forces and NHS trusts. Each buyer has its own sub-portal with separate registration.
Local authority and NHS trust portals. Many public bodies run their own tender pages outside the main national portals entirely.

TenderSignal monitors 600+ live sources across this landscape and consolidates them into a single searchable feed. Rather than registering on each platform individually and checking them manually, you describe your business once and receive matched alerts every morning on Pro, or search it all yourself for free, covering the full range of UK public procurement. Pro finds, ranks and emails your matches every morning, with renewals in your sectors, buyer contacts, portal links and tender tracking with reminders. Below-threshold opportunities, which are the most accessible for SMEs, are included alongside above-threshold notices from FTS and PCS.

What size of government contracts can SMEs win?

Contract size is one of the most important filters for smaller businesses entering public procurement. Below-threshold contracts, broadly those under £135,018 (central government) or £207,720 (other buyers) for goods and services, are the most realistic starting point for most SMEs. These contracts are not subject to the full procedural requirements, buyers have more discretion in how they advertise and evaluate them, and the qualification requirements are typically lighter.

Frameworks represent a second important route. Many central and regional frameworks are structured with lots specifically sized for SMEs: shorter call-off values, reduced turnover requirements and simplified qualification questionnaires. The Government Commercial Agency (formerly Crown Commercial Service), NHS Shared Business Services and several regional buying consortia run frameworks that explicitly set aside lots for smaller suppliers. Being appointed to a framework is itself a qualification process, but once on it, call-offs arrive without the need to compete from scratch each time.

For larger contracts, consortium and subcontracting routes open the door to opportunities that would otherwise exceed an SME's capacity. Many prime contractors on major public sector contracts are required or incentivised to subcontract portions of the work to SMEs, and some buyers actively encourage consortium bids at the tender stage. The Procurement Act 2023 introduced provisions making it easier for buyers to structure procurements in lots, which directly benefits smaller suppliers by breaking large contracts into manageable packages.

A useful starting discipline is to set a realistic contract value range based on your current annual revenue. A common rule of thumb is that a single contract should not represent more than 30 per cent of your turnover, both for financial stability and to avoid minimum turnover thresholds set by buyers who apply the same logic in reverse.

Common barriers SMEs face and how to overcome them

Despite the supportive policy environment, smaller businesses regularly encounter practical barriers when engaging with public procurement. Understanding them in advance saves time and avoids avoidable rejections.

Minimum turnover requirements. Many buyers set a minimum annual turnover threshold, often a multiple of the contract value. If your turnover falls below this, address it directly in your selection questionnaire response: provide evidence of financial resilience (bank references, credit scores, management accounts) and consider whether a consortium or parent company guarantee could bridge the gap.
Selection questionnaire (SQ) complexity. The standard SQ asks about financial standing, insurance, quality management systems and environmental policies. SMEs without ISO certifications can often substitute equivalent evidence: a written quality policy, client references or an existing PAS accreditation can satisfy evaluators who are open to proportionate responses.
Experience and case studies. Buyers routinely ask for two or three relevant previous contracts. If you are new to public sector work, lean on private sector equivalents that demonstrate comparable scope, value and complexity. The PA23 explicitly discourages buyers from requiring prior public sector experience as a standalone criterion.
Insurance requirements. Professional indemnity and public liability requirements can feel disproportionate for smaller contracts. Check the required levels before bidding and, if they exceed your current cover, get a quote first: the cost of uplift for a single contract may be worthwhile if the contract value justifies it.
Bid writing resource. Unlike large firms with dedicated bid teams, most SMEs write tenders alongside their day job. Being selective, bidding only where you have a genuine case for winning, is more important than volume. A well-constructed response to three targeted opportunities will outperform rushed responses to ten.

How TenderSignal helps small businesses

TenderSignal was built with SMEs in mind. The core problem it solves is the monitoring burden: staying across 600+ procurement portals manually is not realistic for a small business without a dedicated bid team. TenderSignal replaces that monitoring with a single alert covering every relevant opportunity across the full UK procurement landscape.

The key features for smaller businesses include:

Matched alerts. You describe your business during onboarding: your sector (via CPV category), your region and the keywords that describe your work. TenderSignal matches incoming notices against your profile and sends you a curated alert rather than a raw feed of everything.
Below-threshold coverage. Below-threshold opportunities are included by default alongside above-threshold notices, giving you the full picture of what is actually accessible.
Forward signals. Beyond live tenders, TenderSignal surfaces signals of future procurement activity: award notices indicating when incumbent contracts are due to expire, pre-market engagement notices and prior information notices that give you lead time before a formal procurement begins.
A free tier, with no card. Free lets you browse and discover, so you can assess whether public procurement is the right channel for your business before paying anything. It lets you search every live tender yourself and keeps one saved search with its matches, with a weekly email of how many new tenders it found. Pro does the finding for you every morning, with unlimited saved searches and the contracts in your sectors coming back out to tender.

You can create an account in under two minutes, or view plan details to see what is included at each tier.

SME success in government procurement

Winning government contracts as a small business is less about size and more about fit, preparation and selectivity. The businesses that succeed consistently tend to share a few practical habits.

Bid selectively. Every tender response costs time and money. Assess each opportunity against a simple scorecard before committing: do you meet the minimum qualification requirements? Do you have strong evidence for the evaluation criteria? Do you have a credible differentiator against likely competitors? If the answer to any of these is unclear, the resource is better spent on an opportunity where the fit is stronger.

Develop a social value narrative early. Social value is now a scored criterion in most public sector procurements, and it is one area where a local SME can consistently outscore a large national provider. Articulate your local employment contribution, your supply chain relationships and any community or environmental commitments in concrete, measurable terms before you start bidding. A pre-prepared narrative saves time and improves quality across every submission.

Engage before the notice is published. Pre-market engagement (formerly supplier days or market sounding) is explicitly supported under PA23. Buyers who are planning a procurement often publish a preliminary market engagement notice or a planned procurement notice (a Prior Information Notice under the old rules) before drafting their specification. Engaging at this stage lets you shape the requirement, build a relationship with the buyer and understand evaluation priorities that may not be explicit in the tender documents.

Consider consortium bids for larger contracts. If an opportunity is slightly above your individual capacity, approaching a complementary business to bid jointly can unlock it. Consortium arrangements need to be formalised (a teaming agreement at minimum, a joint venture for larger contracts), but they are well understood by public sector buyers and explicitly encouraged in PA23 guidance.

Public procurement rewards preparation and persistence in roughly equal measure. The businesses that build a sustainable pipeline of government work do so by monitoring consistently, bidding selectively and continuously improving their qualification documents and case study library between submissions.

Government tenders for small businesses