Bid or no bid: a go/no-go checklist for UK tenders

A bid/no-bid decision is the few minutes you spend deciding whether a tender is worth the work before you start writing. It matters because bids take time: small businesses told the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) that a bid takes five days on average. This guide gives you a go/no-go checklist you can copy, and the facts that help you answer it.

Should I bid for this tender? The checklist

Answer each question yes or no. A "no" in the first group usually means no bid.

Pass/fail

1. Can you meet every condition in the notice, such as insurance levels, accreditations or licences?
2. Is your business registered on the Central Digital Platform, or can you register in time? Registration is free.
3. Can you meet the deadline with time left to ask the buyer questions?

Fit

1. Can you deliver the whole contract, or the lot you'd bid for, from the start date?
2. Is the location workable for your staff and vehicles?
3. Is the contract value sensible next to the size of your business?
4. Do you have similar work you can point to as evidence?

Odds

1. Do you know who holds the contract now?
2. Do you know roughly how many bids similar contracts get?
3. Have you read how it's scored, including the award criteria and their weightings?

Worth it

1. Would you still want the work at the price you'd need to bid?
2. Is this the best opportunity closing that week?

A simple way to use it: with no "no" in the pass/fail group, count the yeses in the other three groups. Six or more out of nine is a go. Fewer than six, look for a better match. Adjust the cut-off to how much bid time you have.

Facts that help you answer

• Time to bid. For most larger contracts, GOV.UK's time periods guidance gives a minimum tendering period of 25 days when tenders are submitted electronically and all the documents are available from the start. It can be as short as 10 days in some cases, such as when a qualifying planned procurement notice was published earlier, or when the buyer decides the contract is urgent. Light touch contracts, such as many care services, have no minimum.
• Smaller contracts. For below-threshold contracts, the buyer must give a reasonable time to bid, the same for every supplier.
• No separate pre-qualification stage below the threshold. For most below-threshold contracts, the buyer can't run a separate suitability stage before tenders. It can still check suitability when it decides the award.
• Who won before. Contract award and contract details notices on Find a Tender, and older awards on Contracts Finder, show who won similar work.
• How many bids. Our guide on how many bids public tenders get has the numbers by sector.

When to say no

• There's a pass/fail condition you can't meet before the deadline.
• The contract needs staff, vehicles or premises you don't have yet.
• The deadline leaves no time to ask questions.
• The scoring rewards experience you can't show yet.

Saying no to a poor fit leaves time for a better one. Our guide to why tender bids get rejected covers the common reasons bids fail.

Questions

What is a bid/no-bid decision?

It's a short check, before you start writing, of whether a tender is worth bidding for. You look at the pass/fail conditions, how well it fits, your odds and whether the work is worth the price you'd bid.

How long does a tender bid take to prepare?

Small businesses told the FSB that a bid takes five days on average. That's why a quick go/no-go check first is worth doing.

Can a buyer ask for a pre-qualification questionnaire on a small contract?

Not as a separate stage before tenders for most below-threshold contracts. The buyer can still check suitability at the award stage. Some larger works contracts are the exception.

Want a shortlist done for you?

UK Tender Desk, from Your Evenings Ltd (that's us), is a done-for-you tender shortlist for small businesses in construction trades, training, transport, care, cleaning and catering. We look at live tenders on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder and pick the ones that suit a business your size. See how UK Tender Desk works

Sources

• FSB press release, 15 December 2025 (five days per bid)
• GOV.UK: Guidance: Time Periods (updated 17 August 2026; read 31 October 2026)
• GOV.UK: Guidance: Below-Threshold Contracts (updated 13 July 2026; read 31 October 2026) (paragraphs 16, 18 and 24)
• Find a Tender home page, About Find a Tender (read 31 October 2026) and GOV.UK: Contracts Finder (read 31 October 2026) and Contracts Finder
• The Procurement Regulations 2024, regulation 36A (supplier registration, from 1 April 2026)

This guide summarises the official sources above. It isn't legal advice. Check the notice and tender documents for each contract.

Written with AI assistance by the Your Evenings team at Your Evenings Ltd. Last updated 31 October 2026.