Submitting a bid online

The tender's instructions come first

Online submission works differently from portal to portal and from tender to tender. The instructions to tenderers say which portal to use, what to upload, in which format and in how many parts, and whether a hard copy is also needed. The portal's own user guide explains its screens. Where this checklist and the tender differ, the tender wins.

Set up the account early

• Register the firm on the portal the tender names long before the closing date. Registration or verification can take days, and it cannot be rushed on the last morning.
• Make sure the registered details (company name, directors, KRA PIN, contacts) match your certificates and your tender forms exactly.
• Know who in the firm holds the login, and whether the portal lets you add another user or a delegate. Do not share one password around the office or with outsiders.
• If the portal uses one-time codes by SMS or email, the phone or mailbox that receives them must be available on submission day.
• Log in a few days before the close and open the tender's submission page, so a forgotten password or a locked account is found in time.

Prepare the files

• Save documents as PDFs, text-searchable where you can: export from Word or Excel rather than photographing printouts.
• Scan signed and stamped pages clearly, in colour where the tender asks, at a resolution an evaluator can read. Check every signature, stamp and date is visible.
• Keep each file within the size limit the portal or tender states. Compress large scans rather than leaving pages out.
• Name files so an evaluator knows what they are, following any naming or numbering the tender sets.
• Follow the tender's order of documents and its required forms. A missing form is as fatal online as it is on paper.

The financial proposal

Upload the financial proposal exactly where and how the tender says. Some tenders want the technical and financial proposals in separate parts or envelopes, and opening the financial part early, or putting prices in the technical part, can disqualify the bid. Check that the tender sum in the form of tender matches the price schedule, in figures and in words.

Do not leave it to the last hour

• Aim to finish uploading at least a day before the close. Portals and internet connections are busiest on closing mornings.
• A submission that is not complete by the closing time is late, however close it came. The portal's clock decides, not yours.
• If the portal fails, record what happened (screenshots with the time showing) and contact the procuring entity before the deadline, in writing.
• After uploading, open each file from the portal to check it arrived whole and readable.

Keep the acknowledgement

Most portals issue a confirmation, receipt or acknowledgement when a submission is complete. Download it or screenshot it, with the date and time, and keep it with the bid. It is your proof that you submitted on time if anything is questioned later.

If you change or withdraw a submission before the close, keep the new acknowledgement too.