CONTENTS
1
2
3
4
Checklists
Quotation forms
Submission covers part of job requirements
Contact & Company Information
CONTENTS
5
6
7
8
Equipment & Insurance
Support Documentation
Submitting the final document
Where to now?
2015 will be the year of infrastructure
spending. Is your business positioned to take
advantage of this?
Too many Contractors' tenders are eliminated
before being considered.
Despite many Councils & business adopting a
"Buy Local" policy, Contractors still lose out on
jobs because of incorrect tender submissions.
So what are the most common mistakes?
INTRO
Local government and bureaucrats are risk adverse.
They want to ensure the contractor they select has all
the appropriate documentation.
Stand in their shoes - with all the corruption
investigations, local council needs to be careful about
following published rules of submission.
Because of this, without the correct documentation,
your application is rejected before it is even
considered. Make sure you answer all the questions
requested.
Usually a checklist is provided for documentation -
including insurance certificates, trading entity
(company, sole trader etc), equipment list. Make sure
you leave no detail out of the submission.
Mistake 1:Checklists
A tender is not a standard private quotation and
should be approached differently.
Government can provide ongoing contracts and
reliable payments - so it is worth putting in the extra
effort/cost associated with a winning tender.
Too often I have seen local contractors submit their
standard quotation form without the supplementary
documentation. Whilst this may save time and be
convenient - this will immediately eliminate your
business from consideration.
Pricing needs to be competive, but also needs to
factor in compliance costs (insurances etc). Be
realistic. Decisions are not always based on price -
they are also based on capacity to deliver.
Mistake 2:QuotationForms
If your business is not large enough to cover the full
tender requirements, look to partnering with other
contractors to submit a complete tender. You will
need to sort out who the lead contractor is, for
communication and payments, along with
insurances etc.
Formalise the arrangement with a simple agreement
between contractors to ensure everyone is clear
about communication, accountability and
equipment.
Be transparent in the application about the
arrangement. Lack of transparency will eliminate
your application.
Mistake 3:Part Submission
To ensure your business is not eliminated from the
outset, make sure all contact and corporate details
are correctly provided.
This is tedious and time consuming - however it can
make the difference between landing the contract and
being eliminated.
Tender administrators will check your ABN or your
ACN - so if you have made a mistake with this
reference, your tender submission will be eliminated.
Make sure all the contact information for your
business is listed correctly and that you are easily
contactable!
Mistake 4:Contact Info
Full disclosure and images of equipment should be
included in the submission.
Don't expect the assessors of the tender to know the
equipment / machinery by name.
Equipment to be used as part of the tender needs to
be fully insured. You will also need public liability and
worker's compensation insurance, and possibly
professional indemnity - this will be outlined in the
tender documents.
Make sure you submit certificates as part of the
application process.
Mistake 5:Equipment&Insurance
Local government and bureaucrats are risk adverse.
A capacity statement about your business with clear
statements outlining safe work methods as sourced
from WorkCover - goes a long way. See the OHSE
Subby Pack and other Work Cover guides here.
Tender administrators want to be sure you have the
required management processes in place for
employing sub-contractors and dealing with
workplace issues.
Your website and social media profiles should align
with the information you are communicating in the
tender.....the tender administrators will check your
online profile.
Mistake 6:Support Document-ation
Don't submit an application with typos. Get someone
else to read it. Attention to detail reflects your ability
to deliver the details of the job being tendered for.
Provide references of jobs done, with full contact
details along with case study examples (with
pictures) to confirm your business' capacity to deliver
the required job.
The document should be well presented & complete.
And last - a deadline is a deadline. 5pm on a
specified date is just that. Late submissions will be
eliminated - even if you request an extension. In this
era of anti-corruption, an extension request could be
interpreted as favouritism by your competition.
Mistake 7:Submissionof finaldocument
Contractors need to make sure your business is
registered with the range of authorities in your area so
that you can receive upcoming tender opportunity
notifications.
You may need to submit an Expression of Interest to
be considered for future tenders.