1. Get the basics in place before a tender is advertised

Most tender requirements can be prepared well in advance. Doing this before you need it means you can focus on the actual bid when a suitable tender appears.

• Central Supplier Database (CSD): register your business on National Treasury’s CSD and keep your details current. Organs of state use the CSD to verify suppliers.
• Tax compliance: make sure your tax affairs are in order with SARS and that your tax compliance status is valid.
• B-BBEE: have a valid B-BBEE certificate from a SANAS-accredited verification agency, or a sworn affidavit if you qualify as an Exempted Micro Enterprise (EME) or Qualifying Small Enterprise (QSE).
• Company documents: keep your CIPC registration documents and director details up to date.
• Sector registrations: some work needs specific registrations, such as CIDB grading for construction or PSIRA registration for security services.

2. Find tenders that suit your business

National and provincial tenders are published on National Treasury’s eTender Publication Portal. Municipalities and state-owned entities also advertise on their own websites. Focus on tenders where you clearly meet the requirements and can deliver — a smaller number of strong bids beats many weak ones.

3. Read the whole tender document — twice

Before writing anything, note the details that can disqualify you:

• The exact closing date, time and submission address or method
• Whether there is a compulsory briefing session or site meeting
• The list of returnable documents and forms
• Functionality (technical) criteria and any minimum qualifying score
• The pricing schedule and how prices must be presented
• The preference point system and specific goals that will be used

4. Complete the standard bidding documents correctly

Government tenders use Standard Bidding Documents (SBD forms) — municipalities use the equivalent MBD forms. These typically include the invitation to bid, a declaration of interest and a preference points claim form. Every form must be completed in full, signed where required and returned in the order requested.

Tip: a single unsigned declaration or missing returnable document can disqualify an otherwise excellent bid. Build a checklist from the tender document and tick off every item before submitting.

5. Understand how bids are scored

Under the Preferential Procurement Regulations, bids are usually evaluated on price and on specific goals, using either the 80/20 or the 90/10 preference point system depending on the value of the tender. The tender document states which system applies and what the specific goals are. Some tenders also apply a functionality score first, and bids that fall below the minimum are not evaluated further.

6. Avoid the most common reasons for disqualification

• Submitting late — even by a few minutes
• Missing a compulsory briefing session
• Missing, incomplete or unsigned returnable documents
• Not being registered on the CSD, or not being tax compliant
• Pricing not completed exactly as the pricing schedule requires
• Failing to meet the minimum functionality score