Before you price a grounds-maintenance tender.

Read the latest scope

A contract headline rarely tells you how many visits, sites or supporting documents you need to price. Start with the current specification and its amendments. Record the version you read so the team works from the same scope.

Check the required evidence

Page 2 of this specification asks for the following with the tender:

• A completed pricing schedule.
• Contact details for two references, ideally local authorities.
• Public Liability Insurance with at least £5 million cover, and an Employer’s Liability Insurance certificate.
• A Health and Safety policy.

The appointed contractor must also supply risk assessments and relevant certification. Put each requirement beside the evidence, its owner and any unresolved question. Advertised service coverage alone does not establish eligibility.

Cost the visits, not just the grass

Make one line for each area and task: location, access, season, frequency, crew time, machinery, travel, setup and waste disposal. Copy the requirements from the specification before estimating.

The Willingham schedule mixes weekly, fortnightly, monthly, annual and year-two work. It also includes strimming, sweeping, weed-treatment records and removal of arisings. One standard mowing rate can miss those costs.

The download includes all 13 area names as a coverage checklist. Use the official maps and full task descriptions for boundaries and frequencies. Ask the buyer to clarify ambiguous wording before relying on an assumption.

Check when cash arrives

Compare your costs and proposed price on a consistent basis. The published value covers the whole term and includes VAT; it is not an annual fee, an award or profit.

For this example, page 11 asks for monthly invoices by the last Wednesday of each month, unless the clerk advises otherwise. Payment follows the monthly full-council meeting. Missing the agenda deadline can defer payment to the following month. Include that timing when checking working capital.

Record a decision and one next step

Bid when the requirements, delivery capacity and pricing have been checked. Clarify when an unanswered question could change the decision. No bid when you cannot meet a requirement or the work is not commercially viable.

Save the reason, the source version, an owner and a next-action date. Qualbid’s free worksheet helps organise that decision; it does not submit a bid or determine the buyer’s award.