Tender gate screen

I read a public-sector solicitation pack and tell you which clause disqualifies you, within 24 hours.

Service offered by Han Kim, sole proprietor, Gatineau, Quebec. NEQ 2274778242.

CA$250 per solicitation.

Paid on delivery, after you have the page.

What you get

One page per solicitation:

• Every pass/fail condition in the pack, quoted, with the document name, the section number and the page it sits on.
• Which conditions are tested at submission and which only at preferred-tenderer stage. That difference is usually what decides whether you can bid at all, and the notice almost never states it.
• A bid / no-bid line with the clause it rests on.
• Anywhere the document pack contradicts the published notice.

Gates found this week

A running register of what these clauses look like, with document and section: handled.tools/tender/gates. Seven packs, week of 5-9 September 2026.

A worked example, from this week

City of Doncaster Council, DSA Phase II Website Design and Implementation, YORtender ref 3058, closing 15:00 on 5 October 2026. The notice reads as open work: website design and build, four years, no prior-implementation count, and Relevant Experience and References is worth 1.5% of the score rather than being a gate. Insurance is a yes/no declaration, with evidence only asked of the preferred tenderer.

The clause that decides eligibility is in Section 3 Part A, the supplier assessment form, under Accreditations Required: “Mandatory - Information Security ISO 27001:2022”. It is a yes/no declaration of accreditations described as a minimum requirement for delivery of the contract, and the same form states the Council may reject a submission in its entirety where false or misleading content is provided. Nothing on the notice page says this, and the pack is six documents long.

That row asks whether you hold the accreditation. It does not say the answer has to be yes on 5 October, and nothing else in the pack says so, so it is a declaration rather than a bar. The bid went in on 9 September at a four-year price of £188,490, with a No written in the supplier assessment form and again in the 55-question cyber schedule, and a clarification to the Council asking whether the accreditation is required at submission or at contract commencement. Clarifications close 24 September and the portal allows a withdraw-and-resend up to the deadline.

Scope

Any solicitation whose documents you send me, or that I can download without an account: UK Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, YORtender and other Mercell or CTM portals, CanadaBuys, BC Bid, Alberta Purchasing Connection, SaskTenders, MERX, bids and tenders, Bonfire, SEAO, NZ GETS.

Required from you

The document pack, or the notice URL if the pack is downloadable without an account.

Turnaround

24 hours from receipt, one solicitation at a time. Five or more in the same week: CA$200 each.

Not included

Writing the bid. This is the screen that runs before you decide to write one.

Send me one

Your address is stored so I can reply. It is not on a list and I do not send anything else with it.