Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions concerning tender-service.co.uk, try our FAQs. This page is regularly updated and added to, however, if you do not find the answer you are looking for please email office@tender-service.co.uk or use our Contact form.

Why do I need a tender information service?
What are the advantages of tender-service.co.uk?
Can I try out the advantages of tender-service.co.uk?
Do I have to cancel the trial subscription?
How do I subscribe?
How much is the cost of a subscription?
Contract Terms and Conditions?
Are there tenders in my line of business?
There are rarely tenders in my line of business. How do I know if subscribing is cost effective?
There are no suitable standard profiles for my business. Can I still find relevant tenders?
Why are some tenders included more than once?
Which international tenders are included in your database?
How do I find tenders from Central and Eastern Europe in your database?
Where do I get translations of tenders and / or tendering documents?
What are CPV codes?

Why do I need a tender information service?
Tenders are an important economic factor and a chance to acquire new business. Researching the many sources can be very time consuming and therefore costly, as tenders are published in hundreds of newspapers and websites. Our service will do the searching for you and send notices specific to your business needs directly to you!

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What are the advantages of tender-service.co.uk?

A totally FREE, no obligation, 14 day trial of our FULL SERVICE
Excellent customer service standards. We are committed to finding relevant tenders for your business.
Europe's most comprehensive tender database researched from thousands of sources.
Contract opportunities sent automatically to your email address.
A choice of subscription to meet the size and needs of your company
Pre-defined standard profiles for simple tender searches.
An option to set up individually personalised profiles, with the assistance of our Service Support Team
The option to select winning bidders (awarded contracts), as a source of subcontracting opportunities.

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Can I try tender-service.co.uk before subscribing?
Yes, We offer a 14-day FREE trial of our full service! For further information click here.

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Do I have to cancel the free test subscription?
No, the test subscription expires automatically after 14 days. If you wish to continue to receive contract opportunities, choose from our subscriptions.

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How do I subscribe?
Log in using your test account and click on "Product change" or "Change Subscription". This will ensure all your search profiles remain unchanged. If you don't have a test account subscribe here.

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How much does it cost to subscribe?
Starting from £288 (only £24 per month), depending on the number of profiles you choose to receive tenders from. Click here for a detailed price list.
*All prices exclusive of VAT.

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Contract Terms and Conditions?
Subscriptions are valid for one year and are renewed automatically after this time for a further 12 months. Subscriptions are paid for in advance. For detailed information see our terms and conditions.

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Are there tenders in my line of business?
There are tenders in most business sectors including building, trade, consumer goods, service etc. To check if there are any (current) tenders in your line of business, enter an appropriate search term in "Quick Search" (top left on this page) or choose our 14-day FREE trial.

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There rarely are tenders in my line of business. How do I know if subscribing would be cost effective?
If you were unable to find matching tenders using Quick Search or during your free trial period, it might be due to seasonal fluctuation. We would be happy to investigate this in more detail for you by searching our archive files. Please contact us.

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There are no suitable standard profiles for my business. Can I still find relevant tenders?
The category profiles provided cover the areas of business requested most and are a good starting point for setting up individual search profiles. Choose one of the following two options to find tenders from your line of business:

a) Enter your own search terms:
During registration, enter all the terms (plus synonyms!) that best describe your business in "Select Profile". Use one term only per input field.

b) Choose and adapt a standard profile:
During registration, choose a standard profile that best fits your business in "Select Profile". When your subscription has been completed you can then adapt the profile to get improved results. We would be happy to help you with this process.

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Why are some tenders included more than once?
Some contracting authorities publish tenders in more than one place - either because of statutory obligation (national tendering plus the Official Journal of the European Union) or to reach as many businesses as possible. As we research a vast number of sources we can not always guarantee that a tender doesn't exist in our database.

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Which international tenders are included in your database?
At present tenders are available from Supplement S of the Official Journal of the European Union (Ted-data; Europe-wide tendering) as well as from different countries (tenders below the threshold): Tenders are available from, UK, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Serbia, Portugal, EU, Spain, Greece and Cyprus. If you are looking for even more international tenders, you could visit the following sites:

Tenders from the World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/

Dgmarket tender service: http://www.dgmarket.com

World Trade Organisation overview: http://www.wto.org/English/tratop_e/gproc_e/pronot_e.htm

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How do I find tenders from Central and Eastern Europe in your database?
Tenders published throughout the EU are available in English and you can find them using your search profile. To find tenders choose from these possibilities:

CVP-Codes: Enter the required CPV-Codes in search field "2.Description". Input as follows (example): 453*,454* (using the * will then include subgroups). Please note that not every tender has a CPV code! so entering search words will usually find more tenders.
Configure keyword profiles yourself: Enter the required search terms in the search fields. If you would like help with the syntax of search profiles - please contact us.
Having keyword profiles configured: We can arrange to have your English search profile translated into other languages. This service is carried out by a company specialising in this field, and is charged for separately. For more information please call 0844 779 0579 or email office@tender-service.co.uk.

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Where do I get translations of tenders or tendering documents?
We can arrange for translations to be carried out by companies who specialise in this field. We can organise the translation of tenders as well as acquisition of the tendering documents and their translation.

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What are CPV codes?
The CPV code consists of a main vocabulary for defining the subject of a contract, and a supplementary vocabulary for adding further qualitative information. The main vocabulary is based on a tree structure comprising codes of up to 9 digits (an 8 digit code plus a check digit) associated with wording that best describes the type of supplies, works or services requested in the contract.

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