[izabela]

Hi
We have been ask to tender for a school cleaning contract and are keen on submitting the tender, but as it is our first tender for such clean we do not know where to start?
Could you help mainly in some pointers as to how to price such job ,ie. per M2?
It seems quite tricky to get it right, not to over or under price.
All help much appreciated.
i.

[Phild]

Hi Iza, can I suggest checking whether it's currently a contracted out service or being done by a local authority. If it's a LA contract ask for TUPE information now as you MUST find out if the staff have pensions being paid. If they do I would walk away as it costs a lot of money to set up a comparable scheme and the contributions will be circa 30% of the wages you are paying.

If it's not a LA job make sure you qualify any quote you give by saying that you reserve the right to adjust staff costs to ensure compliance with TUPE.

If this hasn't put you off you can e-mail me a few specific questions and I will try and advise. phil.dixon@newlifecleaning.com

[izabela]

Hi Phild,
From the invitation to tender documents we made out that the bid should be submitted on the basis that TUPE would apply, pension arrangements must be in place.
Too be honest it looks scary to me with all this paper work etc.

[Phild]

Hi Iza, e-mail me your number and I will call you back. By the sound of it, it may be out of your league at the moment but you have to start somewhere. Perhaps, depending where the job is, you could do it in partnership with someone?

[Mike Mahoney]

Hi,

In the north west there is a website called the chest, www.chest , this is the LA procurement web site and advertises all contracts up for tender, it also has a very good guide for how to tender. May be worth taking a look at.

MCM

[GeoffDerby]

Hi Izabela, don't be put off from your first tender, we all have to start somewhere and your moving in the right direction by seeking help.

I have completed many tenders in my time with some success

First off, if the tender is posted on the European Journal its likely to exceed £50K per annum, if its published you can expect between 20 and 50 suppliers to register interest, ranging from large nationals to local and regional providers. If it's a closed list there will be fewer responses and I would be keen to know if you were invited, or are replying to an advertised opportunity. Most Schools use a Tender Firm who have a set format for their tenders, having completed your first tender response most of the detail can be used for subsequent responses from the same author.

Regarding Qualification, have you completed a "Pre Qualification Questionnaire" and have you qualified the opportunity before you include the costs to reply.

The Tender Notification will normally say a price range, my experience is that the Tender document will include a "Preliminary Contract" and most bodies are not very flexible to change their contracts so read through the requirements and your commitments carefully to divide if the contract is appropriate.

As a guide, if the contract value is in excess of 20% of your turnover you may not qualify by the awarding authority, if the contract value exceeds 10% of your turnover you may struggle to manage your other contracts.

Assuming you have already completed and documented your policies, I would suggest circa 4/5 man days to complete a professional response to a tender, to include your value, missions and how you will continually deliver, and improve the service at a competitive cost.

Sorry to drone on and I hope that some of the information here is helpful

Kind regards
GeoffDerby

[allforstone]

Take Goeffderby' advice seriously. Make sure you have bank reserve to cover your expenses for 6 weeks. Getting paid in time for few months may be a problem. If it is LA contract KEEP AWAY. Best place to start school cleaning contract is with small private schools.

[izabela]

The school is renting from local council and actually shares the building with the council ( they have their own's cleaners). It is a newly built school.

We have been invited to tender by the school

Phild I will e-mail my details shortly.

[Phild]

That sounds positive Iza as they probably won't have pension obligations which is a major plus point. Phil D