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Plain guides to bidding, public or private.
A free tool that lists what a tender asks for, short guides to winning public and private work, and a glossary that explains the words buyers use.
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Free tools and guides
Search open UK and EU tenders, read back what a tender requires the same way Velstrian Bid does, and learn the rules in plain words. No account, no email gate, no credit card. Use them, then start Velstrian Bid if you want alerts, fit scores and the full audit trail.
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Free tool
Tender Compliance Matrix
Paste the text of a tender and read back the requirements its wording states, each one shown with the line it came from. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is generated.
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Free tool
Tender Finder
Search open notices from Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland and EU TED, published in the last 30 days. Filter by keyword, region, value and closing date, and follow each result to its official source.
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PPN 026
PPN 026 social value: how the model is scored
A minimum 10% social value weighting applies from 1 million pounds inc VAT, rising to 20% at 5 million or above. How the National TOMs measures and National TOMs proxies turn into a defensible, bid-ready score.
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Guides
In-depth guides
Long-form analysis written in-house. Each article cites the policy note, Act or section it rests on, not somebody else's summary of it.
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Methodology
How the rules are sourced
Every figure on this site is published with the statute, policy note or framework it rests on. No black box.
PPN 026 in full
The 10% minimum weighting, the five missions and eight policy outcomes beneath them, the publication and mandatory dates, and where PPN 06/20 still applies.
- Procurement Act 2023, section 52
- A public contract over 5 million pounds must have at least 3 published targets.
- Procurement Act 2023, section 71
- The buyer checks the contract against those targets at least once every 12 months.
- National TOMs
- The measures our social value totals are aligned to. A way of counting, not a law.
Glossary
Glossary of procurement terms
Plain-English meanings of the words and acronyms you meet when you bid for public and private work.
- ITT (invitation to tender)
- The pack a buyer sends asking you to bid, with the questions to answer.
- Award criteria
- How the buyer marks your answers, for example on price, quality and social value.
- Framework agreement
- An approved list of suppliers. Once you are on it, you can win work without a full tender each time.
- PPN 026
- The government rules for scoring social value on central government contracts of 1 million pounds or more, from 1 January 2027.
- Selection Questionnaire (SQ)
- The first questions a buyer asks to check your business is suitable, before the main tender.
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