A bid or no-bid decision asks whether a particular tender is a suitable opportunity and whether the business can prepare a credible response and deliver the work. Make that decision before committing substantial time to writing the submission.
Use the actual invitation and current documents. A general business opportunity, market announcement or registration form should not be assumed to be an open tender with a contract available to win.
Read the mandatory requirements first
Identify the buyer, procurement stage, scope, eligibility conditions, submission method and deadline. Check the correct time zone and how amendments or clarifications are issued.
Business Queensland’s tender-analysis guidance discusses deciding whether an opportunity fits the business and warrants investment in a response. Follow the actual invitation rather than relying on a generic checklist alone.
If a mandatory condition is unclear, use the permitted enquiry process. Do not assume the buyer will waive it after submission because the rest of the proposal is strong.
Use a practical decision worksheet
Record:
- Fit: the work and its connection to the business’s demonstrated capability.
- Eligibility: mandatory conditions and supporting evidence.
- Capacity: people, resources, timing and delivery dependencies.
- Commercial review: terms, costs and risks requiring professional input.
- Response effort: work needed to prepare a complete submission.
- Evidence: relevant examples and permissions to use them.
- Uncertainty: clarifications or decisions still outstanding.
- Outcome: bid, decline or investigate further, with an authorised owner.
Label assumptions and distinguish existing capability from a proposal to develop or subcontract it. Do not claim another business’s resources are committed without an actual arrangement.
A fictional capacity decision
In this invented example, a small business finds a tender aligned with its service, but delivery would overlap an existing confirmed project. The owner checks the workload and whether a credible resourcing arrangement can be established.
The decision may be to decline rather than submit a promise the business cannot substantiate. Alternatively, a permitted and verified delivery approach may support proceeding. The worksheet records the actual decision and its basis, not an assumed winning outcome.
No real tender, Games contract or supplier relationship is described in this example.
Check the cost of preparing and delivering
Consider the time needed for specifications, pricing, evidence, reviews and submission checks. Keep the cost of bidding separate from the commercial assessment of delivering the contract if successful.
Obtain appropriate advice on contract terms, insurance, licensing, financial or other specialist requirements. A decision worksheet should expose those questions rather than present the preparer as qualified to settle them all.
Carry the decision into the response plan
If proceeding, assign owners to requirements, clarifications, review and submission. Allow time for technical access and final checking under the invitation’s rules.
If declining, record the reason and any development action worth considering for a later opportunity. Reassess if an amendment materially changes the requirement. A useful no-bid decision can protect capacity, while a useful bid decision creates a truthful, resourced plan for responding to a defined opportunity.
Before selecting individual tenders, review the broader business preparation for contractor opportunities and identify capability gaps that may need work first.
