What types of tenders exist, what are their features, and how can beginners participate in them?

Many beginning businessmen have no idea how to participate in tenders. Due to the fact that a considerable part of goods and services in various sectors of the economy are sold through tenders, this issue is relevant and requires clarification. What do beginners need to know about participating in tenders, what kind of documentation will be needed in this case, what are the positive and negative aspects of such a procedure.

Types of tenders

The word “tender” translated into Russian means “offer”. However, before we begin to list the existing types of these “offers,” it is necessary to clarify some details. In the legislative framework of our country, the term “tender” is absent; instead, the terms “bidding”, “competition”, “auction” are used. Nevertheless, the word has taken root in business circles.

A tender is an event during which, on the basis of free competition, contractors are selected for the purpose of purchasing goods, services or works.

The peculiarity of all types of takinder selections is that such events contribute to the conclusion of a contract on conditions that are attractive to the customer and the contractor.

Table: legislative framework regulating the procedure for participation in public procurement tenders and electronic auctions

The type of tender depends on the following factors:

• on the purpose of holding (tenders for sales and tenders for purchase);
• on the nature of the procedure being carried out (tender, two-stage tender, auction, request for proposals, request for quotations, competitive negotiations);
• on the form of conduct (open and closed tenders);
• by customer category (state and commercial tenders, purchases with certain legal entities);
• on the type of documentation used (competitions are held on paper and in electronic form).

Table: specifics of conducting main types of tenders

Each of the listed tenders is organized according to its own rules. The determining factor when choosing the method by which the contractor will be installed is the will of the customer.

The winners of the auctions are the companies offering the lowest cost of order execution.

Benefits from participating in tenders

The procedure for participating in tenders has its own characteristics, each type of such competition has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The benefits of participating in such events are as follows:

• a fair fight between competitors is implied, since the selection of a performer on a competitive basis encourages this;
• the likelihood of concluding a profitable contract;
• the opportunity to make the organization’s name more recognizable on the market (it should be noted that if the organization participates in interesting tenders, then its contact information will remain with the customer);
• expanding the sphere of influence and cooperation;
• likelihood of receiving government orders in the future;
• transparency of open tenders;
• the opportunity to take part in the event through electronic platforms.

It is worth remembering that not only winning a tender is important for business development. Participation in the procedure itself can serve as an incentive for contestants to further development.

Disadvantages and pitfalls of the procedure

Any phenomenon and process has its drawbacks, this also applies to participation in tenders.

So among the disadvantages of tenders are the following:

1. The complexity of the procedure (the more serious the request, the less chance of winning). Unfortunately, there are examples of documentation being compiled for the favored organizer.
2. Sometimes participants have to significantly reduce the cost of their services (for example, when requesting prices). Victory in the tender goes to the one who agrees to make significant concessions on price, i.e., is forced to give up the net profit from the tender.
3. There are risks of order non-fulfillment.
4. Conspiracy of potential suppliers for the purpose of dumping, i.e., maximum reduction of the contract price.

Common myths about tenders

Due to the fact that holding tenders (and participation in such events) is becoming an increasingly popular procedure for economic entities, the amount of information about this procedure is also growing. Participants in this procedure, consciously or not, give rise to various kinds of myths about tender selection, some of which have become widespread.

The most common myths about tenders:

1. In Russia, “everything is for sale,” which means fraud is possible when organizing tenders. Of course, this myth did not appear out of nowhere. However, recently the antimonopoly service has been functioning more actively in this direction, and therefore it has become more difficult to carry out illegal actions.
2. There is no one to seek protection from if illegal actions did take place. In fact, the FAS may revise the results of the tender if there is evidence of the customer’s dishonesty.
3. Newcomers' proposals will not be considered or accepted. If a novice contractor can offer conditions that are “appetizing” for the customer and all the documentation is in order, then he will be able to compete with well-known companies.
4. The customer often delays payment of the contract. If this really happened, the contractor has the right to contact the FAS to resolve the controversial situation.

Conditions and rules of participation in the tender selection

Tenders can be held not only by government customers and commercial organizations, but also by owners of property rights. Both legal entities and individuals who have the ability to fulfill their obligations have the right to take part in such events. But as life shows, large companies become participants in tender selections on the part of performers.

Can an individual take part?

As noted above, an individual has the right to participate in a tender that interests him. The legislation does not prohibit this, presenting uniform rules for all performers.

In addition, the legislation of the Russian Federation insists on respecting the rights of participants of any status when summing up the results of tenders.

However, the reality is that individuals rarely prevail in such proceedings. In addition, the organizer has the right to limit the number of applicants for participation in the tender. The only exception may be low-budget purchases that are not of interest to large companies.

According to the law, only those tenders that relate to:

• to the development, content of websites and other projects on the network;
• to tutoring and other educational services;
• for the production of handmade souvenirs and jewelry;
• at the service of notaries, translators, photographers;
• for repairs (from equipment to premises);
• to supply products of our own production.

In this regard, individuals face risks of participating in tenders, among which the following can be identified:

• impossibility of posting security under the contract;
• rejection of an application due to the need to license certain types of activities, which is not available to an ordinary citizen;
• prohibition from participation in procurement related to hazardous work.

Can an individual entrepreneur take part?

The supply of goods is considered by law as a business activity, therefore a person with the status of an individual entrepreneur can participate in tenders.

It is worth mentioning two main conditions for the participation of individual entrepreneurs in tenders:

This is a unique list

• the requested documentation must comply with the requirements in this case;
• The individual entrepreneur must confirm his financial solvency.

The entrepreneur (like other participants in the procedure) should prepare for the event in advance. It is not enough to simply announce your intention to participate in the tender, since in this case it is unlikely to receive a positive response from the customer.

Documents for participation

To participate in the tender, a number of documents must be prepared. However, those organizations or individual entrepreneurs that are planning their participation in such an event for the first time do not always have an idea of ​​what type of paperwork needs to be collected. However, there is nothing to worry about, since all requirements for the submitted documents are indicated in the tender (competition) documentation.

Tender documentation is developed by the organizer or tender committee. Its content is influenced by the nature of the event.

Ways to notify about an event:

• if the tender is open to everyone who wants to take part in it, all documents from the customer (along with the notice) are placed in the Unified Information System (UIS).
• in the event that a closed form of the event is organized, the competition documentation is sent by the customer directly to potential participants.

The tender documentation contains the following information:

• requirements for the procurement object;
• requirements for competitors;
• requirements for applications and their support;
• application evaluation criteria;
• terms and procedure for the tender;
• draft contract.

Obtaining an important government order through winning a tender is important for every entrepreneur. This not only increases his reputation, but also provides an opportunity to make good money.

But for such a victory, it is not enough to have an offer that is more attractive than that of competitors. It is important to understand well how to participate in tenders and on what principles their work is based.

Tender - what is it and how does it work?

Placing orders for work or for purchasing goods on a competitive basis is called a tender. This is how government procurement is organized.

There are also tenders through which private firms place orders. Most often, tenders occur in the construction or cargo transportation sectors.

In order to participate in them, you must strictly comply with the established tender conditions. If they are violated, the participant who committed them will not participate in this procedure in the future.

What kind of tenders are there?

Bidding must be organized taking into account the tasks facing customers. Several different methods are used for this.

Open

A distinctive feature of this procedure is that the announcement of the event is published in the open press and anyone can take part in the tender.

Closed

In this case, invitations are distributed to a limited circle of participants. In this case, the organizer is obliged to convincingly justify why the tender is closed, and also state his choice of participants.

Two-stage

In this situation, at the first stage the circle of participants is narrowed, and subsequently the competition takes place between them. In this case, the organizer is obliged to justify why he chose this bidding option, and on what principles the selection for participation in the second stage takes place.

Request for proposals

Here a preliminary assessment of participants takes place. As a result of consideration, they are assigned a certain number of points.

The one who scores the maximum is considered the winner of the tender. In some cases, bargaining (additional bidding) may be scheduled in order to bring down the contract price.

Request for quotation

In this case, the customer receives the contract price in the application from each participant and selects the minimum among them. The one who proposed such a deal becomes the winner.

Who can take part in tenders

Often representatives of small and medium-sized businesses believe that participation in tenders is a complex and tedious bureaucratic procedure that leaves no chance of getting a contract.

However, receiving a profitable order will not only provide an opportunity to earn money, but will also allow a growing business to loudly express itself.

Government tenders provide information free of charge on specialized platforms. If you review them regularly, you can find something that may be suitable for a given company.

Usually, the announcement indicates who can take part in a particular tender. In this case, the application must be submitted no later than the deadline.

If we are talking about any private tenders, then their rules may differ significantly from state ones.

How to participate in electronic trading - step-by-step instructions

Although at first glance this procedure may seem difficult and very complicated, in fact everything is quite clear.

We can offer step-by-step instructions “for dummies”:

1. First, you need to collect information about which tenders are currently being held. To do this, you need to browse specialized sites and follow relevant news.
2. Usually announcements are made 7-20 days before the deadline for accepting applications. If you do not have time to submit it, then the application will not be considered at all.
3. It is necessary to create an electronic digital signature from scratch. To do this, you need to contact a specialized company that is accredited on this electronic trading platform. You will need to pay for the receipt process. The processing time will be two to three days.
4. Now you need to get accredited. To do this, you will have to fill out a special form on the trading platform website and open an account to participate in the auction.
5. An integral part of the accreditation algorithm is the provision of a prepared package of documents.
6. The application review period is five days. If a refusal follows, a specific reason will be indicated. Repeated applications are permitted, but each such attempt will also last five days.
7. After receiving a positive response, the applicant is given access to his Personal Account, from which bidding will be conducted in the future.
8. Now you need to deposit a certain amount into your account. Typically it is 5% of the application amount. For small entrepreneurs, the amount may be limited to two percent.
9. Now you need to submit your application directly. It consists of two parts. The first of them confirms consent to provide the required service. At the same time, it must be described in detail. The second part provides detailed information about the participant. In this case, if necessary, information about the necessary licenses and certificates is provided.

In the submitted application, you must additionally provide cost estimates to justify the proposed price.

Note: this application, if accepted, constitutes an irrevocable acceptance of the relevant obligations. Revocation of this document is permitted only until a certain date.

What documents are needed to participate in tenders?

To do this, you need to prepare a package of documents:

1. The head of the enterprise fills out an application for participation in the tender.
2. It is necessary to prepare a tender application in which this company will be represented and the experience of contract work performed by it will be highlighted.
3. It is necessary to include in the package copies of the constituent documents on the basis of which the legal entity operates.
4. Copies of TIN and registration certificate with notarization are provided.
5. Extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. It is necessary that this document be received no earlier than 15 days before submitting papers for the public procurement tender.
6. A separate document must indicate a list of those who have the legal right to represent the organization without presenting a power of attorney.
7. An order is provided to appoint the chief accountant of the company.
8. A document from the tax office is presented stating that the company currently has no tax arrears.
9. Copies of the financial statements of the enterprise that were submitted for the last three reporting periods are submitted. They must be certified by the tax office.

A list of all provided documents is attached to the package.

Rules for participation in tenders

During the trading process, a certain price will be offered. It will remain unchanged for a certain time.

The amount will then be reduced by the step amount. After this, the procedure will be repeated until only one applicant remains.

This company will be the winner of the auction.

One step is usually 0.5% of the offered price, and the time until the price remains unchanged is usually 10 minutes.

Please note: Proposals whose price is greater than or equal to the announced amount cannot be submitted. It is also prohibited to use a zero price.

Only entrant numbers are used in the winner selection process. After the end of the auction, the winning company will be known. In this case, the customer will receive the second part of the application, and the winner will be sent a contract for signing.

The winner is now obliged to provide the customer with financial resources in the amount of 30% of the transaction amount. They will guarantee the fulfillment of their obligations.

If the company does not have the opportunity to deposit this money, for beginners it is allowed to do this using a special tender loan.

How to participate in a tender for a beginner

When searching for suitable tenders, it makes sense to initially concentrate on areas where there is a division into topics and areas of activity. In this case, it will be easier to select the most suitable options for a particular company.

You should not take the first suitable offer. It is necessary to carefully study the details of the contract.

If you have questions, it makes sense to contact the customer and clarify the points of interest. Only after careful study does it make sense to decide to participate in the relevant tender.

At first, it will be more reasonable, for training purposes, to start with a small order. In this case, it is better, if possible, to turn to a professional and take advantage of his advice in this area.

Conclusion

The opportunity to win the tender is quite real. But to do this, you not only need to have a good understanding of how it is organized, but also to correctly assess your capabilities, and then complete the required work efficiently and on time.

How to participate in tenders: general information about tenders + overview of the public procurement market and analysis of promising segments, as well as step-by-step instructions for business in 6 stages.

Business is constantly looking for customers, because, as you know, any enterprise either expands (scales) or contracts. And what client is better than the state?

The authorities have powerful administrative resources, access to the treasury, and enormous needs. Especially when it comes to the humanitarian and social spheres. However, entrepreneurs are not particularly eager to cooperate with the state, fearing bureaucracy and legal difficulties.

So how to participate in the tender so as to come out of this initiative profitably and without unnecessary hassle?

To answer this question, you need to study the government procurement market, consider the tender itself - how to participate in it, and also highlight the most promising industries in which the state buys a lot and often from small businesses.

What is a tender?

Yes, we all understand that “tender” is a synonym for the term “government procurement,” but ordinary people rarely think about what exactly is hidden behind it.

A tender involves a special procedure for purchasing goods or services for public money and is a key instrument of public administration.

Without tenders, the state as such would hardly have existed for long. This procedure in different countries has its own specifics, but, in general, it comes down to two main schemes: competitive tenders and tenders from one participant.

We are most interested in the first ones, since the second ones are considered an exception, are held relatively rarely, and a limited number of firms admitted to them can participate in them. In practice, everything is not quite like this, but tender fraud is beyond our scope.

But competitive bidding is a completely different matter. Almost everyone can participate here if they have a sufficient amount of the necessary goods or are able to provide the service required by the customer. Moreover, large tenders are often divided into relatively small lots, which makes it possible for small businesses to participate in tenders.

Competitive tenders are conducted according to the principles of reverse auction or reduction. If at a regular auction the one who offers the maximum price wins, then here it’s the other way around - the one who offers the lowest price while maintaining the required quality wins. The quality and other characteristics of the product must be confirmed by appropriate certificates and conclusions.

Is the “game worth the candle” - a brief overview of the government procurement market of the Russian Federation

• by the amount of contracts,
• by the number of purchases,
• at the maximum lot price.

At the same time, again according to the law, 10% of all tenders must go to small businesses. True, “small” in this case are rather medium-sized companies, but truly small businesses can choose something interesting for themselves and participate.

If you consider that the amount of government orders per year exceeds 32,000,000,000,000 rubles (that’s 32 trillion rubles, if you lost your count of zeros), then there will certainly be something for your industry.

However, the government distinguishes two systems for calculating tender procedures - according to the number of basic laws. That’s why there are always two numbers: 25.7 trillion rubles (223-FZ) and 6.4 trillion rubles (44-FZ). In total they give the same 32 trillion.

Moreover, from the point of view of international rating organizations (those that issue financial ratings), the main source of business enrichment in Russia is not oil or metal, contrary to the prevailing stereotype, but the state treasury. relies on government tenders.

In other words, in the USA or Western Europe they are betting on the development of innovation and enrichment through trade in a free market.

But in the Russian Federation, according to a number of foreign financial observers, businesses should focus on government tenders, since this is the easiest and simplest way to get rich without investing in know-how, etc. And the larger the company, the higher the need to participate in tenders becomes.

How to participate in tenders - step-by-step instructions

Formally, any willing supplier of services and goods (if they have the required quality) can participate in public procurement both under contracts and under agreements.

In practice, however, it is easier for small and medium-sized businesses to work with the contract system. It is more flexible and varied, and the tenders themselves are often smaller in scale. However, each individual case needs to be studied.

Oddly enough, on the website of the Unified Electronic System there are no clear and simple step-by-step instructions on how a business can work with tenders. It is assumed that everyone already knows everything well or can hire those who understand it.

Thus, large enterprises have entire departments that specialize exclusively in monitoring the scope of public procurement according to the profile of their company.

There is more information about procurements and how to participate in them on the websites of electronic platforms, but it is more technical - how to set up a secure connection, what an electronic signature is, how to log into an electronic account, etc.

So our step-by-step instructions on how to participate in tenders will come in handy for many.

Step 1. What do you need to know before participating in tenders?

Any more or less reasonable entrepreneur understands that before developing a new market, it is necessary to conduct marketing research, even if this “research” is very superficial and based solely on official materials.

In fact, even official data from the Unified System is more than enough to participate in tenders from the state, because now all processes are automated, which means they are displayed online on the website.

Let's assume that you are already familiar with the legislation (two basic laws) that regulates how to participate in tenders. So, let’s move on directly to a brief marketing research.

We previously wrote that by law, customers are required to make 10% of all purchases from small businesses. Therefore, state-owned enterprises and organizations are forced to break huge lots into small ones. This is inconvenient for them, but for individual entrepreneurs and small LLCs at government tenders it is just right.

But how can you find exactly those that are suitable among these thousands of tenders?

There are two ways here:

• end-to-end search with filters, which is available on the main page of the Unified System;
• special section for SMP ( https://zakupki.gov.ru/epz/gws/quicksearch/search.html)

The second point in practice turns out to be the same end-to-end search, but with pre-installed and configured filters for searching government tenders. You can find this option on the left in the general menu of the Unified System.

*Section on tenders for small and medium-sized businesses

Information about tenders from the state can also be found on the websites of electronic platforms, where the tenders will be held directly.

Perhaps this section is best developed by Sberbank. To participate in tenders, you will need an electronic signature, which the sites themselves can issue, as well as a personal account. These are practical steps that we will look at in more detail later.

Analyzing sites

According to the website of the Unified Information System, five electronic platforms are allowed to tender from the state, each of which has its own disadvantages and advantages, but they often lie in technical details or the activity of the support service.

Everyone has the same basic functionality, otherwise they would not have been certified in tenders so that they could participate as key players.

*Electronic platforms from the list on the website of the Unified Information System

Let’s say right away that most tender procedures are carried out through Sberbank - it is considered to be more reliable.

General online statistics tell us that the majority of tenders are carried out through this platform:

When choosing a site where you will participate, it is better to look not at the name of the site itself, but at what area you work in and what sites your potential customers cooperate with most often.

Register for tenders where there is demand for your goods/services. These indicators can also be checked through the main website of the system, through an end-to-end search.

In general, the situation for the lots looks like this:

When is the best time to start working with public procurement?

Marketing research involves not only reviewing sites that are adapted for holding tenders, but also determining when there is the greatest demand for your products.

We will not look at individual goods and services, since there are too many of them, but we must study the general indicators even before participating in tenders. The same website of the Unified System will help us in assessing data on government tenders ( https://zakupki.gov.ru).

The first and most important difference between government tenders and commercial ones is that the seasonal factor here has a completely different nature. So, if you sell winter clothes, then among ordinary buyers the greatest demand for it will be in the fall and early winter.

But if you are an official, then you must allocate budget funds for winter clothing to some employees at the end of the current period for the next.

Therefore, most often the peak of tender procedures occurs at the end of the year (in extreme cases, the end of the quarter), and the most important decline occurs immediately after the new year, when everyone is out for a walk and there is no time for tenders.

We see the same in the procurement statistics by the number of lots under 44-FZ:

But here is a similar indicator for government tenders for 223-FZ:

Even more indicative is the seasonality factor in terms of prices for government tenders under 223-FZ:

Here we see a strong surge in activity in government tenders precisely at the end of 2016 and almost a decline in activity at the beginning of 2017. But it is worth considering that the largest transactions are carried out under 223-FZ, implementing them according to the contractual system.

For small businesses, statistics on contract tenders (44-FZ) are much more relevant:

Here we see a strong increase in the activity of tender procedures at the very end of the year and a sharp decline at the beginning. But what is more interesting is the gradual increase in activity from month to month with a new surge in March.

The fact is that the first quarter ends in March, and, as we already wrote, officials always buy everything in advance. The quarter is ending, which means it’s time to stock up on fuel and food for the canteens for the next reporting period. Therefore, it’s time to remember government tenders.

The smallest “step” is 1 month. But there are also unscheduled tenders, so it’s impossible to predict everything.

Having analyzed the indicators for government tenders over the past year, we can also see that customer activity gradually decreases from May to August, starting to increase in early autumn, and reaching a peak in November-December.

This is due to the fact that officials have a vacation period in the summer and, in general, business activity in Russia dies down - few people are ready to participate in such tender procedures. It is dying down, but not dying, so this is not a reason to despair, but at the same time you should prepare to reduce prices, because competition will increase.

Be careful with officials

We must remember that the system, of course, is Unified, but it does not take into account everything. The slightest grammatical error in tenders and you will never find the desired advertisement.

This is one of the most popular schemes for manipulating government tenders in Russia. Officials, for example, have already chosen their matchmaker/brother/godfather, they want to give the order for a “kickback” from tenders to him (a share of payment for government orders), and do not want to complicate the life of their relatives with “extra” competition.

Then they make a minor mistake in government tenders, for example, in the title - they put an extra period or a comma instead of a period. Or, let’s say, they change the Russian letter “a” to the English “a”.

For a simple observer there is no difference, but for an electronic system these are completely different things: if you enter a search query with exclusively Russian letters, then with an English insert the system will not show the tender, and, as you know, out of sight, out of mind.

Such tenders will not be seen by either potential participants or regulatory authorities (they will only be able to check the final reports on tenders after the fact).

If no one except one person willing to participate (the same matchmaker-brother) wanted to take part in the auction, then officials can declare the tender through the competitive procedure unsuccessful. Then they have the right to approve the purchase from one participant or a closed competition altogether.

Thus, an unscrupulous entrepreneur will be able to sell goods to equally unscrupulous officials at a price sometimes several times higher than the market value. The government is fighting this phenomenon at government tenders, but somehow without much enthusiasm.

Note that similar schemes are used in almost all countries where electronic trading has already been introduced - from Portugal and Ukraine to Korea and Taiwan. There is no panacea here, because this is already a human factor. If an official wants to break the law, he will always find a way.

Why are we writing all this? Any businessman must be very, very careful both in searching for information about government tenders and directly in participating in them.

Do not forget that we are talking about public money, which means that responsibility for its waste will be more serious than a small fine. Nobody wants to get an article for embezzlement of public funds on an especially large scale, do they?

So in relations with officials it is better to play it safe several times: prevention is the best way to avoid serious headaches.

Having dealt with the information component, read the legislation on government tenders, mastered the search elements on the Unified System website and calculated the activity cycles and “critical days” of officials, you can move on to the next step – the preparatory one.

Step 2. How to properly prepare to participate in Russian tenders?

How to make them electronic for participation in tenders? That's right - digitize and “sign” with your electronic signature.

You will need a signature to register in your personal account of the selected electronic platform. If you register, then everything you enter into the system will already be considered certified by your electronic digital signature (EDS).

EDS gives legal status to all electronic copies of your documents, but most importantly, it gives you financial responsibility, without which you will not be able to participate in government tenders.

To obtain a signature to participate in tenders, you need to fill out a special online form on electronic platforms, provide the necessary documents and become the proud owner of your digital signature. For example, for Sberbank you will find all instructions here - https://www.sberkey.ru

The entire process of obtaining it is optimized and usually takes no more than 3 days. This service is not free, but the price depends on the company itself, on the field of activity and on the site.

Once you receive the electronic signature, you must receive site accreditation. Simply put, fill out a form with information about your company to participate in tenders. There will be, among other things, the data that potential customers will see.

Different sites have their own accreditation system, but in general the requirements are similar:

• in addition to the digital signature, you will also need to enter its details,
• also attach an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities,
• provide constituent documentation,
• confirm the identity of the manager/authorized person to work with the employee’s account, etc.

Your application will be reviewed within 5 days.

1. You will receive a notification that you are accredited and a “personal account” has been created for you.
2. You will receive a reasoned refusal, which will tell you why you were not accepted into the system and why you will not be able to participate in tenders.

You can resend corrected applications an infinite number of times, but after each submission you will still have to wait 5 days.

Step 3. How to use your personal account to participate in tenders?

This step can be called “practical” since you will finally be able to participate in tenders. But getting a personal account is actually not enough - you can view advertisements, but you cannot take part in tenders without a deposit.

To do this, you need to deposit into your account on this electronic platform an amount equivalent to 2% of the order from the selected advertisement. Only then will you be able to submit your application for participation in tenders. If you lose the auction, your money will be returned to you.

When you choose an advertisement for participation in tenders, we again urge you to be vigilant when studying customer requirements, deadlines, etc. Especially regarding the necessary licenses and certificates! By submitting an application, you agree that you already have the product you are looking for.

This part of your application is secret - you will not see how others apply, their details, etc., and others will not see you. The most important thing is that they will not see the amount of your first bet. But the application also has a public part - a list of licenses and certificates.

The application itself is completed electronically and is a standard application. The nuance is that in order to participate in tenders, when submitting an application, you are “removed” and assigned a serial number - the customer, in theory, cannot know who he is dealing with, since he only sees this number.

Please note that in order to participate in tenders, your application must be as complete as possible, including not only the cost of the product/service itself, but also logistics costs, taxes, etc. By submitting an application, you agree to all the terms and conditions of the customer.

If suddenly you see that you cannot complete something, then it is better to withdraw the application in advance without any losses. At the same time, you must understand that you will only be able to revoke it until a certain date - this must be indicated in the advertisement.

The result of all this activity should be a notification in the form of a protocol to the customer, which will indicate who is allowed to participate in tenders and who is not. You can appeal the decision (including in court) after the public procurement has been carried out.

Step 4. How to participate in the bidding stage?

And now your documents have been sent, the customer has accepted your application for participation in tenders. Now is the time to move on to the next step - bidding. Overall, there is nothing extraordinary here. If you know how an auction is held, then consider that you have already understood the essence of the process.

P.S. The only difference between an auction and tender purchases (reduction) is that the one who sets the price less, not more, wins.

As in a classic auction, government tenders have their own “steps” to lower the bid online. According to the law, the “step” size is fixed at 0.5% of the maximum starting price.

You are given 10 minutes for one “step”. During this time, you should consider how much further you can reduce the price and make your downside bet, or lose.

Remember that your task when participating in government tenders is to make money. This means that it is not advisable to reduce the price too much, with rare exceptions.

For example, you are participating in an auction, and you definitely need to win in order to receive the privileges specified in the law in the future. And these privileges, let us remind you, are granted only to those entrepreneurs who have already participated in government procurement, won them and successfully implemented the government order.

The most important advantage in tenders is that, other things being equal, the customer is obliged to choose the supplier who has the status of “conscientious”. If the step at government tenders is 0.5% of the price, then this is a serious advantage over competitors.

Also keep in mind that you most likely will not be allowed to lower the price excessively at government tenders before the start of bidding in order to further increase it.

However, there is a method of manipulation when the cost (not to be confused with the price!) of the goods is increased after signing the contract, bypassing the tori. This can be done by referring, for example, to the collapse of the ruble exchange rate or rising prices for raw materials and components.

The law requires that you benefit from the sale, but that benefit must be minimal. If you incur losses during tenders, you can compensate them after the fact.

Some use this rule for fraud: first they dump, lowering the price at tenders below cost, thereby eliminating all competitors, and then inflate the price after the conclusion of the contract.

But this is now extremely problematic (unless you are the already mentioned matchmaker of the head of the tender organizer, but this is extremely risky for both).

By the way, suspicions of underestimation of prices by a tender participant may become a reason for appealing the results of tender procedures. Moreover, you can even go to court if the price of the issue is high. This does not guarantee you victory in the next tenders, but it is still better than an inglorious defeat to a rogue.

Step 5. The tender is completed, congratulations to the winner

You made bids on tenders, your competitors made bids and - lo and behold! - suddenly it turned out that your bid was final - no one dared to set a price lower than yours at the tenders. Well, you are a winner! Hooray!

Although, we urge you to refrain from euphoria: firstly, the victory still needs to be formalized correctly, and secondly, now the real work of executing this tender begins.

In fact, all this is not so simple. Yes, if your word turned out to be the last, then you can already feel the taste of victory.

However, the formal procedure looks like this:

1. At first, the bidding is conducted taking into account your secret requests, and the customer supposedly does not look at the open part and does not study it at all while the tender game is going on.
2. Then, when the winner is determined, the customer of the tender opens the public part. There he studies certificates, licenses, logistics and other expenses.
3. Only after this does he make a decision about who won.

So it may happen that the winner of the tenders is not the one who offered the lowest price, but the one who is geographically closer. Plus, do not forget about the advantages of a “bona fide” participant over newcomers in tenders.

In the end, let us recall one more factor: local authorities have the right to give preference in tenders to those firms that pay taxes in their region, thus stimulating the preservation of jobs, etc.

Simply put, even after the tendering process itself there are a lot of variables, so it is better to wait until you receive notification of victory.

You should rejoice at the stage when you see the protocol on the results of the tender indicating yourself as the winner, and your personal account receives a government contract that needs to be endorsed with your brand new electronic digital signature. Then the implementation of the contract can begin.

Step 6. Is there life after the tender?

Once you have decided to participate in tenders and won them, everything is just beginning. Firstly, you must fulfill all obligations under the contract within the specified period, and secondly, officials are not obliged to make payments within the specified period.

That is, formally they are obliged to do this, but in practice it periodically happens that officials are late with payment. This is especially true for periods of crisis in the periphery, where budgets are filled with government subsidies, which means there is a lack of funding.

No subsidies means no money in the local treasury, which means you have nothing to pay with.

Yes, you can go to court, refer to winning tenders, to protocols. The court will decide that the official is wrong, oblige him, and maybe even award him some kind of fine. But the customer will say that no matter how many fines you impose, there is no more money: “we are forced people.”

And there’s nothing you can do about it – you’ll have to wait.

So you need to be prepared for the fact that payment for tenders will not always be made on time. But still, you work with the state, albeit through separate organizations - the state is obliged to pay its debts sooner or later, it is not going anywhere.

That is, the minus here is that you cannot violate your obligations to the state in any way (and if you do, you may seriously regret it), but officials may not be so conscientious.

Complaints

Complaints regarding tenders are also an important indicator of the integrity of a government organization, as well as its solvency, which should be taken into account before participating.

The complaints describe in detail specific cases of errors by both customers and service/product providers. Therefore, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with complaints based on the results of other people’s tenders in the Unified Information System itself in the appropriate section (you can also easily find it in the site menu on the left) before participating in the auction.

Complaints regarding tenders are searched through an end-to-end search with a whole set of filters:

Based on the complaints regarding tenders reviewed, we can note that most of them are returned without consideration. In second place in terms of number are complaints considered in favor of the customer of tenders, which implies confirmation of the results of tender procedures (the next authority is only the court).

The fewest decisions were made in favor of tender participants. However, this is not a reason to give up complaining - this tool works. But it only works where there are compelling reasons for revising the results of tenders.

Do not forget that by appealing tenders, you stop the process of acquiring something, and then the enterprise or organization will find itself without what it needs. For example, there are frequent cases of appeals against the supply of food to educational institutions or equipment to medical institutions.

This means that while you are arguing who is right with the customer and other participants, children may be left without food or patients without the necessary treatment.

Of course, your commercial interests are important, but you shouldn’t forget about social responsibility, even when it comes to tenders.

How to start participating in tenders from scratch?

5 necessary steps to get your first contract:

Brief summary of participation in tenders

The conclusion from the article will not be the most extensive, because the instructions were quite detailed.

The main thing that an entrepreneur should understand before participating in tenders is whether it is worth getting involved in all this bureaucratic history in order to sell goods at low prices?

Of course, a small income is still an income, not a loss, but there will also be a lot of paperwork. So evaluate your chances in advance, before how to participate in tenders, play in auctions and make money on government procurement, not forgetting about care and scrupulousness.

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The concept of tender is used in the world community and translated means “competition”. In Russia, this term is usually replaced by “government procurement” and “placement of an order.”

The tendering system has undergone great changes over the past decade. This has become especially noticeable in the last five years. Federal Law No. 94-FZ was replaced by Federal Law No. 44-FZ.

Legislatively, the tender system is designed to rid transactions concluded for the provision of services and the supply of goods from the corruption component; to give the opportunity to participate in business not for selected participants, but for everyone, and since the customers are government agencies and natural monopolies, thereby reducing costs.

Participation in tenders of commercial companies allows, in addition to monetary compensation, for the fulfillment of obligations under the contract establish yourself, increase your status and reputation. This, in turn, will lead to more contracts.

At the same time, the tendering system implies increased responsibility for the execution of the contract for both the contractor and the customer, forcing them to be attentive and responsible. If these conditions are not met, tender participants may be included in the Register of Unscrupulous Suppliers and lose the right to participate in tenders forever. Punishment for dishonesty is also provided for customers. It can be both administrative and criminal.

Having examined in the article the features of all procurements carried out in our country, both public and commercial, the procedure for conducting them and preparation for bidding, we will outline the formula for successful participation in tenders.

Based on Federal Law-44 dated 04/05/13. depending on the method of implementation government tenders divided into:

• Purchasing from a single supplier. Such a transaction cannot be fully called a tender, since there is no competition in it. This type of transaction is permitted when the service provider is recognized as a natural monopoly, for example, an agreement to conclude a contract for electricity supply;
• Open auctions in electronic form;
• Open competitions. Such a tender is usually held at a contract price of over half a million rubles. It is advisable to apply if price is not the main criterion for concluding a contract;
• Competition with limited participation. When conducting this type of competition, at the first stage it is possible to exclude from the list of participants who do not meet the conditions of the competition. For example, with insufficient qualifications;
• Two-stage competition can be carried out with a limited type of work. From the name itself it is clear that the competition is held in 2 stages. At the first stage, participants suitable for the competition are selected. At the second stage, when specifying specific types and volumes of work, the Customer recognizes the winner as the participant who offers the best conditions for the execution of the contract.

Open way conducting a tender is its transparency and openness. That is, you can familiarize yourself with the rules for procurement or provision of services in the public domain in the media. In recent years, this procedure has been simplified, and tender documentation can be viewed on the Internet on the government services website.

Closed tenders Auctions for which information is not publicly available are recognized as having state secrets. In this case, only a limited number of suppliers can submit applications.

In addition to government tenders, there are also commercial. Such purchases are carried out by commercial companies. Their main difference from state ones is that they are not carried out on the basis of any regulatory documents other than the Civil Code. The rules for holding competitions are set by the companies themselves, since each type of business has its own specifics.

Highlight two kinds commercial tenders - “by price”, “by decision”, in other words, a competition, auction, request for quotations. By conducting a tender “by price”, the customer knows what, how much and when he will need it. Therefore, when determining the winner, the most convenient terms and the best prices offered by the participants are taken into account.

When a customer places a “solutions” tender, he knows what he must ultimately receive, and the methods and methods by which the final product is formed must be presented by the participants. The proposal that most suits the customer in terms of methods, timing and, accordingly, price will be given priority.

In commercial tenders, as well as in government tenders, there is a division into open and closed. Their characteristics were indicated above.

Carrying out state tender begins with the preparation of documentation by the customer and posting a notice on the website no less than 20 days before the deadline for accepting applications.

To participate in an open tender, entrepreneurs or legal entities submit applications. If it is electronic, then the documents are submitted electronically, signed with an electronic signature.

If an open competition is held in the usual manner, documents are submitted to the address specified in the documentation.

Before holding the competition, serious intentions to participate Suppliers and performers must confirm by bank transfer to the customer’s bank account, as a guarantee of participation in the procedure. By law, it is five percent of the contract price. If the deposit is not paid, the application will not be accepted for consideration. The amount will be returned to the participants after concluding an agreement with the winner.

If participants have any clarifying questions regarding the conduct and organization of this type of event, the customer is obliged to answer everything. The procedure for accepting applications, conducting and selecting the winner - all these issues are indicated in the competition or auction documentation in strict accordance with the law.

The rules for conducting a competition and an auction (reduction) differ from each other. Their main difference lies in the evaluation criteria.

For auction An important component for winning a tender is price. If applications from participants are submitted in accordance with the law and documentation, the winner will be the participant who offers the lowest price for the service and product. Using the method of holding an electronic auction in our country, various goods are purchased for the needs of the state. institutions.

For competition In addition to the price, the criteria for selecting the winner are additional points, for example, delivery time, quality guarantee, etc.

When conducting a competition, the evaluation criteria for applications are indicated in points and at least two criteria must be present to determine the winner. The person with the most points will be declared the winner of the open competition. An agreement or contract will be concluded with him.

After the announcement of the tender results, which are also publicly published on the website, a contract is concluded.

There are often cases when the winner may avoid concluding a contract. In this case, the contract will be concluded with the supplier who took second place, and the negligent winner, upon the Customer’s complaint, may be deprived of the right to further participate in similar competitions and auctions.

The contract will be concluded on the basis of the tender held and on the terms specified in the documentation of the second participant.

Information for commercial tenders not placed on one site. There are several sites on the Internet for these purposes. The decision on which site to work on is made by the customers themselves. This choice is made based on financial situation and ease of use.
The procedure for conducting a commercial tender is similar to the state tender. The customer company posts information about the competition on one of the sites. The notice includes the criteria for evaluating applications, submission forms, deadlines and procedures for conducting the tender. As a rule, when conducting a tender “by price”, no more than 5 applications are considered; “by decision” - no more than 9 are submitted, no more than 3 applications go to the second stage.

At the next stage of the tender, participants who meet the requirements of the posted notice are selected. The quality of the presentation provided by the participating company is taken into account.
At the final stage, representatives of the customer company determine the winner. To do this, the rating of each submitted application is determined by voting and the corresponding points are assigned.

The winner is announced at a meeting or in the media.

Preparation for participation

Preparation for participation in a state tender includes:

1. Obtaining an electronic signature from authorized bodies. Without it, it is impossible to submit an application for participation in the tender or perform other actions on the electronic platform.
2. Obtain accreditation on the site where the relevant purchases are carried out.
3. Familiarize yourself with the requirements for bidders, with information about the purchase or provision of services.
4. Draw up an application for participation in the tender in strict accordance with the competition or auction documentation and with the requirements of the law.

When preparing to participate in a tender, the supplier or contractor must first of all familiarize itself with the tender documentation in detail.

Experience suggests that a frivolous attitude to the terms of the tender can negatively affect the reputation of the participants and the results of the tender.

To prepare applications and other documents, it is best to identify one specific employee of the company, who will study the tender or auction documentation in detail for the presence of any minor circumstances that could affect the result.

When preparing to participate in a commercial tender, the executing company must study in detail the documentation on the competition. The application for participation must be completed correctly, otherwise it will not be allowed to participate in the tender.

The next step will be to compile company presentations.

It indicates a commercial proposal on how to implement the contract, the advantages of the company, and differences from competing companies. Sometimes the presentation includes various graphs, information about companies with which the participant has worked and reviews. A competent and complete presentation gives the participating company a greater chance of winning.

In order to participation in the tender was successful you must follow the rules:

1. Carefully study the tender documentation. Be sure to read the contract and its terms and conditions. The conditions stated in it cannot be changed, and this must be taken into account when submitting an application. Only a balanced application will confirm your interest in this particular project.
2. Start taking part in tenders with a small contract price. So, you will gradually understand the process and will be able to prove yourself in more promising trades in the future.
3. Provide security for your application, i.e. pay a deposit for participation in the tender.
4. To successfully participate in a commercial tender, you need a properly composed presentation.
5. Don't despair if you didn't win the auction. In this case, carefully analyze the proposals of competitors who won the tender. This will help you avoid mistakes next time.

When making payments to the customer or contractors, you may need information about how to fill out the form correctly.
In case of failure to fulfill obligations under the contract, you will find useful information about calculating penalties at the refinancing rate, which can be obtained in the following.

Features of construction tenders

Construction tenders are usually held in the form of a competition or auction. Based on the results of the auction, the winner will be the participant who offers the lowest price for the execution of work under the contract. Based on the results of the competition, other criteria are taken into account in addition to price. This may be the deadline, the qualifications of specialists, etc.

To participate in a construction tender, a company needs to study the documentation and work estimates in more detail. Estimate the deadlines for the execution of work under the contract, volumes and amount. After analyzing the documentation, decide whether it is worth participating in the competition, and whether participation will be unprofitable for the performing company itself.

Only detailed analysis will be able to save contractors from possible errors during the execution of work.
Assess your financial capabilities. When submitting an application, it is mandatory to ensure its execution, i.e. contribute up to 5% of the initial cost of the contract, and subsequently the execution of work under the contract.

The search for commercial construction tenders has some differences from the state one. Thus, information about tenders is posted not on one site, but on several.

The contractor sometimes needs more time to find sites that contain such information. But in general, the procedure for holding a construction tender by commercial companies is similar to the procedure for holding a state competition. The main thing is the compliance of the participant’s application with the information posted by the Customer.

Remember! Anyone can win a tender, regardless of who conducts it. The main thing is to believe in yourself and realistically assess the possibilities.

A short tour of the stages of tenders, as well as answers to common questions, can be found in the following video lecture: