The Find a Tender Service (FTS) tendering process

Procurement run the tender process online through Proactis, an externally hosted tendering portal.

Procurement run the tender process online through Proactis, an externally hosted tendering portal. Suppliers can download advertised tender documents free of charge for tenders over the FTS Threshold (£213,477 for goods, services and £5,336,937 for works, including VAT).

The tender process stages are:

  • contract advertised on the Proactis portal, the Find a Tender service (FTS) and Contracts Finder providing the supplier (selection) questionnaire (SQ)[1], Invitation to Tender (ITT), Pricing Schedule and contractual documents for review
  • suppliers fill out the SQ and submit it on Proactis[2]
  • the Bank scores the completed SQs following a defined selection criteria[3]
  • selected1 suppliers are invited to respond to our tender, by completing the ITT
  • supplier interviews and presentations are undertaken, if required
  • a panel of Bank officers evaluate and score the tenders against set award criteria
  • the evaluation panel make a recommendation for the contract to be awarded to a supplier
  • the contract is finalised and signed
  • the tender result is published on the FTS portal and Contracts Finder

These are general guidelines and the specific process might be slightly different for each contract.

Supplier (selection) Questionnaire[4]

A Supplier (selection) Questionnaire (SQ) is a document suppliers have to complete at the beginning of the tendering process. The SQ makes sure only suppliers who meet the minimum requirements are invited to submit a tender.

The SQ document will give you:

  • an overview of the contract, including contract length and value
  • an explanation on how the questionnaire will be evaluated
  • the deadline by which to return the questionnaire.

To fill in the SQ, you must answer the following questions:

  • information about your business or organisation
  • previous contracts and experience
  • relevant qualifications and accreditations
  • financial information and accounts
  • health and safety policies
  • equality policies
  • insurance levels
  • project-specific questions.

We mark all the SQs against pre-set scoring to get a shortlist of suppliers to invite to tender. We also give feedback on scores to unsuccessful candidates at the end of the tender process.

Invitation to Tender An Invitation to Tender (ITT) is an invitation for a potential supplier to bid on a particular contract.

The ITT contains:

  • instructions on how to complete your response
  • criteria against which the tender will be evaluated, for example price and quality
  • certificates to be signed confirming your agreement with our policies and terms
  • a specification providing details of the contract requirement
  • contract terms and conditions that will be used between the Bank of England and successful company
  • pricing schedule where you enter prices in a standard format so they can be compared with other bids
  • quality or technical questions.

Advice for preparing your tender

To give your company the best chance of success:

  • read all the instructions carefully, especially any ‘pass or fail’ questions
  • make sure you are answering the question clearly, as vague or irrelevant answers will not score highly
  • always give an answer, even if this is ‘not applicable’, as answers left blank may be scored 0 and can lead to your tender being rejected
  • ask for clarification on anything you are not clear about, as early as possible before the deadline so that the Bank has adequate time to respond and for you to assimilate the additional data received
  • make it clear which questions your answers are referring to
  • be clear and accurate in your pricing, the more detail the better
  • explain any assumptions you have made to reach your price
  • do not include any marketing or publicity materials unless requested, as attachments will not be scored unless they have been specifically referenced in the answer to one of the questions asked
  • proofread your submission and double-check you have attached all the documents • allow yourself plenty of time to upload your response to the portal, do not leave it until the last minute. Multiple documents can slow the upload process on and we cannot accept submissions after the deadline
  • ensure you have reviewed the contract and, if there are elements you need to discuss, please ask for clarification before the deadline
  • if you are unsuccessful, you will be sent feedback at the end of the whole process

  1. If following a two-stage process

  2. If following a two-stage process

  3. If following a two-stage process

  4. If following a two-stage process

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This page was last updated 04 April 2024