The BidSquirrel guides
Win UK public contracts
Practical, current guides to finding and winning public sector work - written for time-poor small businesses, grounded in the Procurement Act 2023 regime.
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How to win public sector contracts
The cornerstone guide: finding the right tenders, qualifying fast, and writing answers that score - end to end.
Read the guideSmall and local work
Council Contracts Under £30k: How to Find Them
Where small council contracts really hide, why most never reach the national portals, and how UK small businesses can find and win sub-£30k public work.
ReadQuick Quotes Explained: Win Small Council Work
What a Quick Quote is, why most are invitation-only, how to get on the invite list, and how to win low-value UK council and public-sector work.
ReadProContract for Suppliers: A Practical Guide
How the ProContract (Due North) portals work, how to register well, and how UK suppliers win the council contracts and Quick Quotes published there.
ReadGetting set up to find work
How to Register on Find a Tender as a Supplier
A step-by-step guide to registering on Find a Tender and the Central Digital Platform using GOV.UK One Login - what suppliers need, and the common snags.
ReadHow to Set Up Contracts Finder Alerts Properly
Set up Contracts Finder alerts that actually catch your work: the right keywords, CPV codes and filters - and the gaps no Contracts Finder alert will ever cover.
ReadCPV Codes Explained: Find Yours, Win More Alerts
What CPV codes are, how to find the right ones for your business, and why they decide whether tender alerts actually reach you. A plain guide for UK SMEs.
ReadThe rules of the game
The Procurement Act 2023: A Small Business Guide
What the Procurement Act 2023 changed for UK SMEs: thresholds, SME protections, conditions of participation, standstill, and how to use the new regime to win.
ReadNHS Tenders and the Provider Selection Regime
How the NHS Provider Selection Regime works, when it applies instead of the Procurement Act, and how providers win NHS healthcare contracts.
ReadContracts Finder vs Find a Tender: Which to Use
The difference between Contracts Finder and Find a Tender after the Procurement Act 2023, what each portal contains, and what neither shows you.
ReadFramework vs Dynamic Market: Which and When
Frameworks and dynamic markets under the Procurement Act 2023, explained for UK SMEs: how each works, the closed-door problem, and which to pursue and when.
ReadThe Standstill Period Explained (and What to Do)
What the standstill period is under the Procurement Act 2023, how long it lasts, what your assessment summary tells you, and what to do in those eight working days.
ReadWriting to win
How Tenders Are Scored: Inside the Evaluation
How UK public tender evaluation really works: scoring scales, weightings, moderation, word limits - and how to write answers that earn marks.
ReadSocial Value in Tenders: How to Score the 10%
Social value is worth at least 10% of central government tenders. What evaluators reward, what scores zero, and how small firms build a credible offer.
ReadBid or No-Bid: A Simple Framework for SMEs
A practical bid or no-bid decision framework for UK SMEs: the questions that filter winnable tenders from time-wasters, so you stop bidding on the wrong work.
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