A
- Abnormally low tenderAn abnormally low tender is priced so low that delivery is in doubt. How UK and Irish buyers must investigate it, and how to justify your price convincingly.
- Above-threshold procurementAbove the thresholds a UK contract follows the full Procurement Act regime: notices on Find a Tender, standstill, assessment summaries. Rules and SME advice.
- Advance paymentUK public buyers rarely pay in advance. What the Procurement Act 2023 gives you instead is a 30-day payment term. Bonds, exceptions and cash-flow advice.
- Amendment to a tender noticeAn amendment changes a live procurement: documents, deadline or criteria. How UK and Irish buyers must publish one, and how to make sure you never miss it.
- Award criteria and weightingsAward criteria and their weightings decide how a public buyer ranks bids: price, quality, delivery, social value. How to read them and where to put your effort.
C
- Call-off contract under a frameworkA call-off contract is awarded under a framework, usually after a mini-competition between the appointed suppliers. Rules, timescales and tips for SMEs.
- Call-off orders under a frameworkWhere a framework fixes all the terms, the buyer simply issues orders as it needs them. How call-offs work, how the rates are compared and what to check.
- Client, design team and client adviserClient, design team and client adviser are the three roles behind every public building project. Who decides, who designs, who advises, and how to bid.
- Competitive dialogueCompetitive dialogue lets a public buyer develop the solution with shortlisted bidders before final tenders. How it works in the UK and Ireland, and SME advice.
- Competitive flexible procedureThe competitive flexible procedure lets a UK buyer design its own multi-stage tender, with shortlisting, dialogue or negotiation. How it runs and how to bid.
- Competitive flexible procedureThe competitive flexible procedure lets a UK buyer design its own above-threshold process, with negotiation, dialogue or demonstrations. Rules and advice.
- Competitive tenderingCompetitive tendering is how UK public buyers award contracts to the most advantageous tender. Routes, 2026 thresholds and advice for smaller suppliers.
- ConcessionA concession lets a company build or run a public asset and be paid by exploiting it, carrying the operating risk. UK and Irish rules, thresholds, SME advice.
- Consortium bidding and joint bidsA consortium lets several firms bid together for a public contract without forming a company. Joint and several liability, the lead member and SME advantages.
- Contract award noticeThe contract award notice names the winner of a UK public contract and starts the standstill period. What it contains and how to use it for competitor research.
- Contract conditions and special termsThe contract conditions of a UK tender set price, payment, retention, liability and termination. The clauses to check before you price and submit a bid.
- Contracting authority and utilityContracting authorities and utilities are the two families of public buyer. Who belongs to each, which rules and thresholds apply, and why it matters.
- CPV codesCPV codes classify what a public contract is for, using a standard European list. Code structure, use in UK and Irish notices, and how to build alerts.
D
- Design contestA design contest asks architects and engineers to submit proposals judged by a panel, usually before a design services contract is awarded. UK and Irish rules.
- Digital procurementPublic procurement in the UK and Ireland runs end to end online: notices, tender packs, bids and invoices. The platforms involved and what an SME must set up.
E
- Electronic signatureHow bids and public contracts are signed electronically in the UK and Ireland: portal submission, e-signature platforms, deeds and authority to sign.
- eTendering portal and buyer profileThe eTendering portal is where a public buyer advertises, issues tender documents and receives bids. How UK and Irish portals work and how to use them well.
F
- Find a Tender and the national portalsFind a Tender is the UK central digital platform where public contract notices are published. How it works, what it misses, and the devolved and Irish portals.
- Find a Tender, the OJEU and TEDSince Brexit UK notices go to Find a Tender, not the OJEU. Irish notices still go to TED. Thresholds, what the notices contain and how to use both for alerts.
- Form of tender and contract signatureThere is no UK acte d'engagement: the form of tender binds your offer and the signed contract or order form creates the deal. What to check before you sign.
- Framework agreementA framework agreement sets the terms for a UK buyer's orders over several years, filled by direct award or mini-competition. Terms, limits and SME advice.
G
- Government Commercial Agency and central purchasing bodiesCentral purchasing bodies buy for other public organisations, which then order without running a tender. How they work in the UK and Ireland, and how to get on.
- Grant funding callsA grant funding call invites organisations to propose their own projects for public money. Why it is not procurement, who runs them in the UK, and how to apply.
I
- Innovation partnership and innovation procurementInnovation procurement lets a public buyer fund the development of a solution that does not yet exist, then buy it. UK and Irish routes for SMEs.
- Instructions to tenderers (ITT)The instructions to tenderers set the rules of a UK tender: documents to submit, deadline, award criteria. How to read them so your bid is not rejected.
P
- Phased contract with optional stagesA phased contract commits the buyer to a first stage and keeps later stages as priced options it may never exercise. How to price them and what to check.
- Planned procurement noticeA planned procurement notice announces a UK contract months before it is tendered, and can shorten the tendering period. Why it matters for advance preparation.
- Preliminary market engagementPreliminary market engagement is the market research a public buyer runs before a tender. The legal rules, the limits, and why suppliers should take part.
- Preliminary market engagement and expressions of interestBuyers may sound out the market before advertising and must publish a preliminary market engagement notice or say why not. What to send, and what it means.
- Price adjustment and indexationHow a UK public contract price follows costs: fixed prices, indexation clauses, NEC and JCT fluctuations, the indices used and the clauses to check.
- Priced schedule with notional quantitiesBuyers apply notional quantities to a bidder's rates to compare tenders on a measured contract. What the model tells you, its limits and how to price it.
- Pricing breakdown for a lump-sum contractA pricing breakdown splits a lump-sum tender price into priced items, mainly on works contracts. What it is for and the mistakes to avoid when filling it in.
- Procurement challenge before contract signatureAn unsuccessful bidder can challenge a public procurement in court before the contract is signed. Standstill, automatic suspension, the 30-day time limit.
- Procurement noticesProcurement notices are the announcements published across the life of a UK contract. The UK1 to UK17 family, what each one signals and where to find them.
- Procurement thresholdsUK procurement thresholds from 1 January 2026: the VAT-inclusive figures, the notification levels of ÂŁ12,000 and ÂŁ30,000, and the EU figures for Ireland.
- Public contractA public contract is an agreement between a public buyer and a supplier for goods, services or works, for a price. Definition, rules, UK and Irish thresholds.
- Public procurementPublic procurement covers the contracts and concessions UK and Irish public bodies award. Governing law, objectives, thresholds and what they mean for an SME.
- Public-private partnership (PPP)A PPP contract has a private consortium design, build, finance and maintain a public facility for a periodic payment. PFI, the devolved models and SME access.
S
- Schedule of ratesA schedule of rates fixes the unit price of each item in a UK public contract. How it is priced, how it links to notional quantities, and how to fill it in.
- Selection stage and conditions of participationIn a multi-stage UK tender, suppliers are first judged on capability against conditions of participation. What is asked, how shortlists work, and how to pass.
- Service concession (outsourced public service)A service concession lets a council hand the running of a public service to a company paid from user income. UK and Irish rules, thresholds and SME advice.
- Specification and statement of requirementsThe specification sets out what a UK public buyer actually wants: scope, materials, standards and service levels. How to read it and answer it in your tender.
- Standard contract termsUK public bodies buy on standard contract forms rather than one state code: the Cabinet Office suite, NEC4 and JCT. What they cover and how buyers amend them.
- SubcontractingSubcontracting lets the holder of a UK public contract pass part of the work to another firm. Naming subcontractors, payment rules and protections.
- Supplier information and the ESPDThe ESPD is the European self-declaration replacing certificates at bid stage. The UK now uses supplier registration on the central digital platform instead.
- Supplier, bidder and contractorSupplier, bidder, tenderer, contractor: the roles a company holds in a public procurement. Definitions, eligibility conditions and duties in the UK.
T
- Tender deadlineThe tender deadline is the moment after which a bid for a public contract is refused. How buyers set it, the minimum periods, and how not to miss it.
- Tender documentsThe tender documents are the full pack a public buyer issues so firms can bid: instructions, specification, contract terms, pricing schedule. How to use them.
- Tender exerciseA tender exercise is the competition a public buyer runs to pick a supplier, from notice to award. Stages, documents and practical advice for a small firm.
- Tender noticeThe tender notice opens a UK public competition. What it contains, where it is published under the 2026 thresholds, and how to read one in two minutes.