The final week: how to submit without anything going wrong

Finished, days before the deadline

Plan your bid so that it is fully agreed three to four days before closing. Content, price, forms and signatures. You need those days to check, and as a buffer for what always gets in the way: a colleague off sick, a document that takes longer to arrive, a question from management.

Uploading on the last day is a risk you do not need to take. A slow connection, a file that is not accepted or a signature that fails, and your bid arrives late. Courts are strict about this: whoever submits after the closing time is out.

Upload on the last day, and your bid depends on your internet connection.

What to sort out technically, in time

• AccesseHerkenningOn TenderNed, the Dutch tender platform, Dutch companies log in with eHerkenning, a business login, at level EH2+ or higher. Foreign companies use a username and password. Sort it out well before your first bid. More in what is TenderNed.
• SignatureHow must you sign?Some buyers require a qualified electronic signature on each document, with a personal certificate. Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch roads and waterways agency, refuses group certificates. Check the tender documents, and test it.
• FilesWhich format?Often PDF only, sometimes with a maximum size per file. Convert your documents in time and check they still read well afterwards.

If TenderNed is down at closing time for a reason that is not yours, Rijkswaterstaat treats it as force majeure and moves the closing time by at least 24 hours. Do not count on it. A problem on your side does not qualify.

Check every quality question, part by part

The check that is skipped most often earns the most points. A quality question nearly always has parts: describe your approach, the risks, the planning, how you report. An evaluation panel goes through those parts one by one. Miss one, and it costs points, however good the rest is.

1. 1Cut the question into piecesList every part of the question and of the scoring criteria.
2. 2Find each piece in your textIs it there, recognisable, in the same order? A panel member who has to search will not find it. More in writing for points.
3. 3Check the format rulesPage limit, font size, images. What falls outside is often not read.

Small mistakes that cost everything

Weak content costs points. These mistakes cost you the whole bid.

• A mandatory document forgottenA statement, a certificate or a form the tender documents require, and it is missing. It happens more often than you would think, especially in experienced teams working on routine.
• A form not signed, or signed wronglyA missing signature, a signatory without authority and without a power of attorney, or a group certificate where a personal signature is required.
• Deviating from what is askedA reservation in your bid, your own price sheet instead of the required form, or an offer that does not meet a requirement. In doubt? Ask in time, in the clarification round.
• LateOne minute after closing is late. No exceptions.

A checklist for the last days

1. 1All mandatory documentsHold the list from the tender documents against what you are about to upload. Tick off every item, including the ones you send with every bid.
2. 2Every question answeredEvery quality question, every part, within the format rules.
3. 3Everything signedBy the right person, in the required way, including the ESPD.
4. 4Price and text agreeThe same quantities, the same names, the same contract term in your plan, your price sheet and your forms.
5. 5Uploaded and confirmedUpload on your internal deadline, and check you have a confirmation of receipt.