askTender Partners · United Kingdom

Tender work in United Kingdom. Signed by you.

Companies bidding on United Kingdom’s public tenders need registrations, attested documents and filings that only a licensed professional may do. As an askTender Partner, that work comes to you as priced job offers, done under your own name and registration.

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For accountants, lawyers, notaries and licensed specialists licensed in United Kingdom · no joining fee · your fee is yours in full

7Partner roles

17Services for Partners

18Done by the askTender Desk

40Steps mapped in United Kingdom

How filing works in United Kingdom

You work on the portal under your own login. In United Kingdom, the client adds you as a named user on its account on Find a Tender (Central Digital Platform) and the buyers' portals: you prepare, upload and, on the client's written go-ahead, submit under your own login.

The client keeps its own login, the administrator role and every signature only it may give. You never use its credentials.

Who we work with in United Kingdom

Bid writers

Bid writer / bid manager (independent or bid consultancy; APMP membership is voluntary)

Maintain the client's Central Digital Platform (CDP) supplier information as a named Editor; Prepare the exclusions and connected-person answers for the client to confirm; Generate the CDP share code after client sign-off; Register as a named user on buyer…

3 services on the DeskBid writers

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ICAEW / ACCA / ICAS

Chartered or certified accountant (ICAEW, ACCA or ICAS member); may also be a Companies…

Prepare or certify the financial-standing evidence: accounts, management accounts and the alternative evidence s.22(3) allows; Answer the buyer's economic and financial standing (EFS/FVRA) queries; Register the client for UK VAT as its tax agent, including…

4 services on the DeskAccountants

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Solicitors Regulation Authority (E&W)

Solicitor (England & Wales: SRA-regulated; Scotland: Law Society of Scotland; NI: Law…

Advise on contract terms, the treaty-state status of overseas suppliers and exclusion or self-cleansing questions; Draft and execute deeds: powers of attorney, parent company guarantees, deed-form framework agreements; Administer oaths and take sworn…

1 service on the DeskLawyers

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Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury (E&W)

Notary public (England & Wales: regulated by the Faculty Office; in Scotland notaries…

Notarise copies, signatures and corporate documents for use abroad or where a buyer asks for notarised copies; Prepare documents for FCDO apostille

1 service on the DeskNotaries

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UKAS

UKAS-accredited certification body (ISO 9001/14001/45001/27001); IASME-licensed Cyber…

Audit and certify management systems to ISO standards; Assess and certify Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus; Run the SSIP health-and-safety assessments and Common Assessment Standard prequalification

5 services on the DeskCertification bodies

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Financial Conduct Authority

Insurance broker (FCA-authorised)

Arrange Employers' Liability, Public Liability and Professional Indemnity cover; Issue broker letters confirming the cover will be in place at award

2 services on the DeskLicensed specialists

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PRA / FCA

Surety (insurer) or bank issuing performance bonds; parent company for a parent company…

Issue conditional performance bonds at contract stage (typically construction); Issue bank guarantees or counter-guarantees for overseas parents

1 service on the DeskBanks and sureties

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Work the Desk sends Partners

Each service, with the official cost and usual lead time where they’re published (— where none is). Your own fee is set per job, on top.

Bid writer / bid manager (independent or bid consultancy; APMP membership is voluntary)

CDP core supplier information

Basic information, qualifications, trade assurances, SME/VCSE status and financial information (latest accounts), which buyers receive through the share code.
Procurement portal registrations

Free1–3 hours; up to 1–2…

Framework / dynamic market admission (GCA, formerly CCS, e.g. G-Cloud, Technology Services; and other buyers' frameworks)

Many public buyers call off from frameworks or dynamic markets, which replaced DPSs. Getting on one is itself a tender, and only listed suppliers can win the call-offs.
Procurement portal registrations

Free to applyFramework windows are…

Social value commitments (PPN 002)

Measurable commitments over and above the core deliverable (jobs, skills, SMEs, net zero, etc.), weighted at least 10% in central-government awards. They become contract terms or KPIs.
Other

FreeDays, within the tender…

Chartered or certified accountant (ICAEW, ACCA or ICAS member); may also be a Companies…

UK subsidiary or UK establishment (optional for overseas bidders)

A UK company or a registered UK establishment of an overseas company. It is not needed to bid, but is often used to deliver with UK staff or premises.
Company identity

Incorporation £100 online; UK…Typically within 24…

UK VAT registration

VAT number shown in CDP basic information and on invoices. UK businesses register above the turnover threshold. Overseas businesses with no UK establishment (NETPs) have no threshold and must register for any UK…
Tax registration

FreeNETPs must register…

Economic and financial standing evidence (accounts, EFS/FVRA checks)

Accounts and financial evidence for the legal-and-financial-capacity condition of participation. Buyers may not demand audited accounts from suppliers not required to audit, and must accept alternative evidence.
Accountant-attested financial certificates

Free (own accounts); accountant…Days

Payment-performance evidence (PPN 018: 45-day average)

Bidders for central-government contracts over £5m a year must show they pay their own supply chain within a 45-day average, or provide an action plan.
Accountant-attested financial certificates

FreeDays

Solicitor (England & Wales: SRA-regulated; Scotland: Law Society of Scotland; NI: Law…

Power of attorney (deed) — only where a non-director must execute contracts or deeds

A power of attorney must be executed as a deed (Powers of Attorney Act 1971 s.1). It is rarely needed for tendering, but is used when, for example, an overseas client with no UK-based directors needs someone to execute…
Legal documents

—Days

Notary public (England & Wales: regulated by the Faculty Office; in Scotland notaries…

Notarisation, sworn statements and apostille

Notarised or certified copies, sworn statements or statutory declarations, and apostilles. UK buyers seldom ask for them; they arise for overseas documents or for UK documents used abroad.
Legal documents

UK apostille £45 standard paper,…e-Apostille up to 2…

UKAS-accredited certification body (ISO 9001/14001/45001/27001); IASME-licensed Cyber…

ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001 / 27001 certification (UKAS-accredited)

Management-system certificates that buyers ask for as quality, environmental, health-and-safety or information-security evidence. Buyers must accept equivalents, and verify UKAS certificates on CertCheck.
Quality and management-system certifications

£2,000–£6,000 per standard for…3–6 months (9001/14001);…

Cyber Essentials

Government-backed baseline cyber certificate (self-assessment verified by a certification body). Required under PPN 014 for central-government and NHS contracts handling personal data, OFFICIAL ICT or government…
Security and cyber certifications

£320 + VAT (0–9 employees), £440…Days to about 2 weeks

Cyber Essentials Plus

Cyber Essentials plus an independent hands-on technical audit; PPN 014 says Plus should be used where cyber risk is higher.
Security and cyber certifications

No published official fee;…1–4 weeks after basic;…

SSIP health-and-safety accreditation (CHAS, SafeContractor, SMAS, Constructionline Gold via Acclaim, etc.)

Health-and-safety competence assessment by an SSIP member scheme. Under 'Deem to Satisfy' mutual recognition, one assessment is accepted across all member schemes.
Tax, social-security and labour compliance certificates

CHAS Standard from £429/yr…Weeks

Construction prequalification: Common Assessment Standard (Constructionline Gold / CHAS Elite / Acclaim) — PAS 91 withdrawn

PPN 03/24 tells public construction buyers to use Build UK's Common Assessment Standard (CAS). PAS 91 was withdrawn by BSI in April 2023. Constructionline also acts as a buyer-searchable supplier register.
Quality and management-system certifications

Constructionline from £489 a…Weeks

Insurance broker (FCA-authorised)

Employers' Liability insurance (legal minimum £5m)

Compulsory insurance for UK employers covering injury or illness to employees, from an authorised insurer, with at least £5m cover; the penalty is up to £2,500 per day uninsured.
Insurance

—1–3 days for a broker…

Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance (at award, not before)

Contract-performance insurance that buyers specify (commonly PL £5m–£10m, PI £1m–£5m). Under s.22(3) they may NOT require it to be in place before award; bidders confirm they will hold it.
Insurance

—1–3 days for a broker…

Surety (insurer) or bank issuing performance bonds; parent company for a parent company…

No bid security; parent company guarantee or performance bond at contract stage

UK tenders do not ask for bid bonds. Buyers may ask for a parent company guarantee or a conditional performance bond (typically about 10% of contract value in construction) as a financial-risk mitigation.
Bid security

Bond premium about 1–3% of bond…1–4 weeks

How work reaches you

Offer. A client’s bid needs work only your profession may do. You get the requirement, the tender’s format, the deadline and your fee.
Accept. Accept within 4 hours and confirm you have no conflict. The client sees your firm’s name and shares what you need.
Do the work. Ask the client for anything missing, right on the job. Sign under your own name and registration, and upload.
Checked. askTender checks every deliverable against the tender before the client sees it. If something’s off, you hear exactly what.
Paid. The client approves, it goes into their bid, and your fee is released.

Who does what

Partners17 askTender Desk18 The bidding company itself5

The company keeps only what the law reserves to it: its identity checks, its own digital signature, and signing its declarations and bid. We never use a client’s signature, PIN or portal login.

Portals

Buyer e-tendering system↗Buyer e-tendering system (Atamis, Jaggaer/GCA eSourcing,…↗Buyer e-tendering system / Find a Tender notices↗Find a Tender / Central Digital Platform↗GOV.UK One Login↗Offline / e-signature↗askTender Bid Desk↗

Open tenders in United Kingdom

Bidding in United Kingdom?

Every step to bid in United Kingdom↗How askTender bids for you↗

Rules we follow in United Kingdom

Bid writer / bid manager (independent or bid consultancy; APMP…. Bid writing, portal operation and declaration preparation are not reserved legal activities, so no licence is needed. The partner works only under their OWN GOV.UK One Login and their own named portal user, never the client's credentials. One Login terms and ProContract/Supplier Registration Service terms make credentials personal and non-transferable. The partner is added as CDP Editor; the client keeps…
Chartered or certified accountant (ICAEW, ACCA or ICAS member); may…. Bound by the ICAEW/ACCA codes on conflicts (ICAEW Code s.310). Serving competing clients is allowed only with safeguards and disclosure; askTender's default of one partner per bidder per tender is stricter and applies. Partners act under their own identity. Companies House identity verification for directors and PSCs is personal: an ACSP can do the check, but the individual must take part.
Solicitor (England & Wales: SRA-regulated; Scotland: Law Society of…. Reserved legal activities need an authorised person: rights of audience, conduct of litigation, reserved instruments, probate, notarial activities and administration of oaths. Everything else in bidding is unreserved, and askTender must not present its own bid work as legal advice. A solicitor may act for clients competing in the same tender only under SRA Code para 6.2(b): informed written consent from every…
Notary public (England & Wales: regulated by the Faculty Office; in…. Notarial activities are reserved under the Legal Services Act 2007 Sch 2. Only a notary may do them, and askTender or non-notary partners never can. The client's signatory must appear before the notary in person or by the notary's accepted remote process.
UKAS-accredited certification body (ISO 9001/14001/45001/27001);…. The certification body must stay independent of any consultant who built the management system. The client's own staff must take part in audits and technical tests. Buyers can check ISO certificates on UKAS CertCheck, so only UKAS-accredited certificates should be offered.
Insurance broker (FCA-authorised). Insurance distribution is FCA-regulated, so askTender must not arrange or advise on cover itself. It refers the client to an authorised broker. Check the insurer on the FCA register.
Surety (insurer) or bank issuing performance bonds; parent company…. Bonds and guarantees are executed by the client's directors or the parent's directors, usually as deeds. Partners can only coordinate them. UK tenders do not ask for bid security.

askTender Partners

Licensed in United Kingdom?

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Partners in other countries

Sources gov.uk · icaew.com · sra.org.uk · legislation.gov.uk · ukas.com · assets.publishing.service.gov.uk · finance-ni.gov.uk · signin.account.gov.uk · gov.wales · procontract.due-north.com