Guides to bidding for UK public sector IT tenders
Plain guides for small UK IT firms bidding for public sector contracts: how to find tenders, what the documents ask for, and how to answer them. Each one names its sources and the date it was last checked.
What is a PSQ (Procurement Specific Questionnaire)?
Fail the PSQ and your tender is never scored. What the Procurement Specific Questionnaire asks, what buyers cannot demand, and how to pass it first time.
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What is a bid writer, and when do you need one?
A bid writer gets your tender response scored: nothing mandatory missed, answers written to the marks. What one does, UK costs, and when you need one.
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What is social value in tenders, and how is it scored?
Social value carries 10% of the marks in central government tenders, rising to 20% on large contracts in 2027. How it is scored and how a small firm wins it.
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The Procurement Act 2023 for small IT suppliers
The Procurement Act 2023 changed UK public tenders on 24 February 2025. The rules a small IT supplier can use: thresholds, feedback, payment, registration.
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Invitation to tender (ITT): what it is and what is in it
An invitation to tender starts a 30 day clock. What is in an ITT pack, how the UK tender process runs, and what to do on day one so no requirement is missed.
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How to write a tender response: a step-by-step guide
How to write a tender bid for a UK public contract without wasting the 30 days: qualify first, list every requirement, write to the marks, submit early.
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How to find IT tenders in the UK on Find a Tender
Stop finding IT tenders too late. How to search Find a Tender, the free UK portal, set alerts for your services and see who wins the contracts you want.
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G-Cloud explained for small IT firms (G-Cloud 15)
About £3 billion a year of public cloud spend goes through G-Cloud. How G-Cloud 15 works, its five lots, when it reopens and what to do if you are not on it.
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Compliance matrix: what it is, with a worked example
A compliance matrix stops a bid being thrown out over a missed line. See the columns, six real rows from a live £140,000 UK IT tender and how to build one.
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