Tender and subcontractors

[Jamie Miller]

Hi, I currently own my own roofing business specialising in tiling and slating. My business was established in 2014 yet I have 17 years site experience but the business side of things is where I am striving to grow.
I am a member to numerous organisations and also have my own website and am proud of all I have achieved so far. However, I want more!
Today I received a call from tender and subcontractors offering me the opportunity to join their organisation with the promise of hundreds if not thousands of jobs in the public sector . After looking at the site (which I earlier joined without hesitation) I'm left feeling a little confused as to what I've paid for. The small fee I paid is not really my concern but how to get my foot in the door, so to speak, and start earning some 'proper' money with bigger opportunities is what I want.
I am still in the early stages of business and have learned from some big mistakes when it comes to pricing however I'm more confident now just not entirely sure how to present myself to such 'tenders' or even what/who they are. Some of the contracts I have found on the dotgov sites are worth hundreds of thousands + and it all seems a little daunting. I don't have massive credit facilities and am a sole trading company with only a handful of good subcontractors at my disposal.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Jamie

 

[MorrisChesterfield]

Hi Jamie,

Welcome to the forum..

Where in the country are you? A good place is 'source derbyshire' website, ( if your in the derbyshire or midlands area ) its free to use and all the local council work is put on there.

I am always wary of upfront payments and promises of ' loads of work ' but if it hasnt cost you alot, then its worth ago.

Good luck, ben.

 

[Karllacey]

Its absolute crap mate. I work for a number of contractors up and down the country. The same applies to all of them.

The guys who are selling you access to the portals/tenders etc are people that are simply building on your inexperience of the online market. All they do is pool information which is out there and re-skin it on a website portal, build the links/directs to a government website and charge you for the priveledge.

Simply go to government procurement sites, dependent on where you are, there are separate ones for the government, NHS, historical sites and so on - there is also building relationships with core principle contractors and property developers as well and many different avenues.

To differentiate the difference:

Quotes/Estimates - are more akin to jobs secured or commited to be done
Tenders - they are jobs that may go ahead. If you are tendering through a principle contractor who is also tendering, then the principle contractor has a CHANCE of winning the job and you have a CHANCE from winning the job from the principle contractor. A ballpark success rate would be 1/10.

My recommendations is to go for contracts you are comfortable with - if you over-extend yourself you are not going to be supported by your suppliers and then you would be unable to complete the job. Of course a point of consideration too would be if you are picking up a big job - you are also putting all of your eggs into one basket.

Furthermore, the risk element. If you manage to complete a big job and the customer does not pay you / goes down - as you are not protected by limited liability (ltd company), you are liable for the debt 100%.

If you cannot pay that debt you might be forced into bankruptcy.

I know it is a little scaremongering there and obviously a worse case scenario

More often than not a tender goes to price but quite often it can be divided in terms of price v quality assurance (other factors).

My advice is simple, with all relationships - you start slowly whether it is your partner, a friend or business. Relationships and trust take time to build, follow the same rules.

Anybody who promises you work is lying - there is no such thing as promises of work.

If you want a chat mate, you are welcome to give me a buzz/message.

 

[TylerJay]

Its absolute crap mate. I work for a number of contractors up and down the country. The same applies to all of them.

The guys who are selling you access to the portals/tenders etc are people that are simply building on your inexperience of the online market. All they do is pool information which is out there and re-skin it on a website portal, build the links/directs to a government website and charge you for the priveledge.

Simply go to government procurement sites, dependent on where you are, there are separate ones for the government, NHS, historical sites and so on - there is also building relationships with core principle contractors and property developers as well and many different avenues.

To differentiate the difference:

Quotes/Estimates - are more akin to jobs secured or commited to be done
Tenders - they are jobs that may go ahead. If you are tendering through a principle contractor who is also tendering, then the principle contractor has a CHANCE of winning the job and you have a CHANCE from winning the job from the principle contractor. A ballpark success rate would be 1/10.

My recommendations is to go for contracts you are comfortable with - if you over-extend yourself you are not going to be supported by your suppliers and then you would be unable to complete the job. Of course a point of consideration too would be if you are picking up a big job - you are also putting all of your eggs into one basket.

Furthermore, the risk element. If you manage to complete a big job and the customer does not pay you / goes down - as you are not protected by limited liability (ltd company), you are liable for the debt 100%.

If you cannot pay that debt you might be forced into bankruptcy.

I know it is a little scaremongering there and obviously a worse case scenario

More often than not a tender goes to price but quite often it can be divided in terms of price v quality assurance (other factors).

My advice is simple, with all relationships - you start slowly whether it is your partner, a friend or business. Relationships and trust take time to build, follow the same rules.

Anybody who promises you work is lying - there is no such thing as promises of work.

If you want a chat mate, you are welcome to give me a buzz/message.

I think this is great advice and would recommend this. Great post Karl