The importance of a tender checklist
Callie Tripodi, Tender Specialist (Sydney)
A tender checklist is an important document which helps ensure all tasks have been completed throughout the duration of a bid. It can be used as a pre-tender checklist, tender management checklist or as a production close-out checklist.
The main reason for utilising a checklist whilst tender writing is to keep yourself and your team on track. Anyone who has participated in a tender will understand that with so many moving parts, it can be easy to miss some key details when completing the final review. With a tender checklist, you can take the ‘think work’ out of what is needed and get on with the task at hand.
How to create an effective tender checklist:
It is vital to keep the checklist easy to follow, whilst still including key items. Your team will most likely have differing levels of experience so keep in mind, the simpler the checklist, the easier it will be for your team to follow. The best way to do this is to incorporate bullet points which are no longer than one sentence. ‘Clear and concise’ should be at the forefront of your mind when creating the tender checklist.
The importance of getting the information right prior to providing copies of the checklist to your team is crucial. Don’t forget, the measure of a tender is how you begin. It can become incredibly disruptive to the team if items on the checklist keep changing, especially when conducting the production close-out checklist and nearing the deadline of a tender.
This is particularly relevant when recruiting team members to assist with the close out, who have not been a part of the entire bid. By ensuring the information is correct and easy to follow, your team members can get right into finalising the documents without requiring clarification.
Another thing to consider when creating and implementing a tender checklist is ‘does this mention all key points?’ A good way to test this out is to ask a colleague who has not been involved with the process to utilise the checklist. This will give you an opportunity to see whether it is truly effective.
Examples of what to include within the tender checklist:
Prior to creating the tender checklist, it is a good idea to prepare some notes on what should be included. This will save you time and give you an indication if anything important is missing.
Below is a breakdown of what you could include in the pre-tender, tender management and production close-out checklists.
Pre-Tender Checklist:
Execute any agreements or documents prior to commencing the project
Set up folders for the project on a shared site such as SharePoint or Google Workspace, and
Confirm the roles and responsibilities for your team members.
Tender Management Checklist:
Upload tender documents to the shared site
Create a clear and well-structured template for your Returnable Schedules
Attend a briefing or ‘kick-off’ meeting
Develop a style guide, and
Manage design elements if relevant to the bid.
Production Close-Out Checklist:
Create a table outlining key words or acronyms to look out for
Do a search for and replace any words that have US spelling e.g. color to colour/organisation to organisation
Run a spell check
Update Table of Contents, including the Table and Figure lists if used
Remove any coloured highlighting in the document, and
Check that all header and footer details are correct.
By implementing the above, you can ensure all tendering tasks have been completed in a smooth and easy to follow process. Utilise one or all of the mentioned tender checklists for your next bid and develop it to suit your tender writing needs.
Contact the Tender Plus team for your tender writing services and tender support needs. For more tender insights and information on our services, please visit our website.