Bid readiness checklist

A printable checklist that gets an organisation ready to bid for public contracts, and to decide which ones are worth bidding for.

SMEs, charities, CICs and social enterprises selling to councils, the NHS, central government and other public bodies, and anyone who has lost bids without knowing why.

Registrations, policies, an evidence library, social value, a go or no-go scorecard, a bid timeline, a quality check, submission steps, what to do after the result, and notes for grants.

• The Procurement Act 2023 has applied to new procurements since 24 February 2025
• Contracts below the thresholds become notifiable at £12,000 including VAT for central government and £30,000 including VAT for other contracting authorities, and are published on the Central Digital Platform
• For below-threshold contracts, buyers cannot run a separate suitability stage before tenders to cut the number of suppliers
• For central government contracts in scope, PPN 002 requires a minimum 10% weighting for social value where relevant and proportionate

• Registered on the Central Digital Platform, with your unique identifier to hand
• Company or charity number, VAT number and registered address ready
• Alerts set for your categories and regions
• Registered on the buyer portals of the organisations you target most

• Last two years' accounts
• Insurance certificates: employer's liability, public liability, professional indemnity, product liability where relevant
• Health and safety policy
• Equality, diversity and inclusion policy
• Data protection policy and privacy notice
• Information security approach
• Safeguarding policy, if you work with children or adults at risk
• Environmental or carbon reduction approach
• Modern slavery and supply chain approach
• Business continuity plan
• Every policy signed, dated and reviewed in the last year

• Three to five case studies, each with the client's need, what you did and measured outcomes
• A referee for each case study who has agreed to be contacted
• CVs or profiles for the people who will deliver
• Approved answers to common questions: quality, mobilisation, risk, complaints, continuous improvement
• Organisation chart and delivery capacity

• Commitments relevant to the contract and the place: local jobs, apprenticeships, small suppliers, environment, community
• Each commitment has a number, a date and a way to report it
• Nothing promised that you cannot deliver and evidence

Score 0 to 3 on each line. Below 12, walk away.

• Every question answered, in the order asked
• Answers structured around the scoring criteria
• Word and page limits kept
• Every claim backed by evidence
• The buyer's name and needs used, not a template
• Pricing matches the method statement
• Mandatory forms and declarations complete
• Scored by someone who did not write it

• Ask for feedback, win or lose
• Update the answer library with what scored well
• Record the result and the reasons
• If you won: plan mobilisation and contract reporting from day one

• Eligibility checked line by line before writing
• Costs eligible and not already spent
• Match funding in place
• Previous public subsidy counted: minimal financial assistance is capped at £315,000 per enterprise across three financial years
• Outcomes measurable, with a plan to evidence them
• Cash flow planned for payment in arrears

Free to use and adapt. Commercial use allowed. Do not resell it as your own. Please credit HAM Agency (ham.agency). This checklist is general information, not legal advice.

1. GOV.UK: Transforming Public Procurement
2. GOV.UK: PPN 023, 2026 threshold amounts
3. GOV.UK: Procurement Act 2023 guidance, below-threshold contracts
4. GOV.UK: PPN 002, taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts
5. GOV.UK: Find a grant