The Tender Process in South Africa — Stage by Stage

A South African government tender runs through the same sequence every time: the buyer advertises, sometimes holds a briefing, you prepare and submit before the closing time, the buyer runs a compliance check, only the bids that survive it are evaluated and scored, and then the contract is awarded and the outcome published. The stage that decides most bids is the compliance check — and it happens before anyone looks at your price.

The stages of the tender process

The buyer identifies a need and writes the tender — the specification, the conditions of bid and the list of documents you must return.
It is advertised on the National Treasury eTenders system and in the tender bulletin, and often on the department's or municipality's own site.
Some tenders hold a briefing session. Where the tender says the briefing is compulsory, attending and signing the register is a condition of bidding.
You prepare your bid — registrations proven, SBD forms completed, pricing schedule filled in, every returnable document gathered.
You submit before the closing date and time, by the method the tender specifies.
The compliance check. The buyer tests whether each bid is responsive. Bids that fail are set aside and never scored.
Evaluation. Surviving bids are scored — functionality first where it applies, then price and preference points.
Award and publication. The contract is awarded and the outcome published.

Stage 3 — the briefing session

Many tenders include a briefing (sometimes called a site meeting or clarification meeting) where the buyer walks through the requirement and takes questions. Where the tender states that the briefing is compulsory, attendance is a condition of bidding: you sign an attendance register, and a bid from anyone not on that register is rejected no matter how good it is.

Treat a compulsory briefing as a hard deadline in the same way you treat the closing time, and go even when it is inconvenient — it is also the cheapest way to find out whether the job is really for you.

Stage 5 — submission and the closing time

Closing time is absolute. A bid that arrives after it is not accepted — not late by an hour, not late by a minute, and "the email was sending" is not a defence. Submit well before the deadline rather than in the final hour, and use exactly the channel the tender specifies, whether that is a physical tender box at a named address or an electronic upload.

If the buyer issues an addendum or erratum before closing — a change or correction to the tender — you must apply it, and you are usually required to sign an acknowledgement and return it with your bid.

Stage 6 — the compliance gate, where most bids die

When bids close the buyer does not start comparing prices. It first runs an administrative or responsiveness check: is every returnable document present, current, signed and for the correct entity? Were the mandatory SBD forms completed? Were compulsory conditions met — the briefing attended, the required CIDB grade held?

A bid that fails any mandatory item is marked non-responsive and set aside. It is never scored. It does not matter that your price was lowest or your experience best, because nobody will read either.

This is mechanical and unforgiving by design — it is how the buyer stays fair and audit-proof. The upside for a small business is that getting through it needs no size and no track record, only completeness. Check whether you would survive the gate →

Stage 7 — how surviving bids are scored

Evaluation happens in up to two passes:

Functionality — a quality score for experience, capacity, personnel and method, applied where the tender says so and usually marked out of 100. Many tenders set a minimum threshold; miss it and you are out even though you were compliant.
Price and preference points — the price/preference split under the Preferential Procurement Regulations, either 80/20 or 90/10 depending on the value of the contract. The tender states which one applies. Price carries the larger share and the remainder goes to the tender's specific goals, most often your B-BBEE status.

One thing worth knowing, because a lot of published guidance still gets it wrong: under the current regulations there is no national table converting a B-BBEE level into a fixed number of preference points. The goals and the points attached to them are set per tender by the organ of state and printed in that tender's own document. Read them there rather than assuming a standard table applies.

Some tenders use a two-envelope method: your technical proposal and your price go in separately sealed envelopes, and the price is only opened if the technical score passes.

After you submit — validity, award and outcome

Your offer does not expire when bids close. The tender sets a bid validity period — commonly 90 or 120 days — during which your price must stay open and you cannot revise it. Price with that in mind: a quote that only works at today's input costs becomes a loss you are contractually bound to honour. Buyers sometimes ask bidders to extend validity when evaluation runs long, and you can agree or decline.

Once evaluation finishes the contract is awarded and the outcome is published. Unsuccessful bidders can request reasons, and there are objection and review avenues if you believe the process was not followed — though they are about process, not about disagreeing with the result.

A change is coming, but is not here yet

The Public Procurement Act 28 of 2024 was signed in July 2024 but has not been brought into force, and its regulations are still being finalised. It is expected to be switched on in phases and will eventually change some of the standard forms and the preference-point rules. Until that happens the process described on this page is the one that applies — and when it does happen, check the official sources rather than any guide, including this one.

Now find a tender to run through the process

Tell us where you work and we will email you matching government tenders as they open — free, and you can stop any time.

Knowing the rules isn't the same as winning

Understanding the paperwork is step one. Winning the bid is step two — and it's where most businesses lose. The Tender Ready SA toolkit hands you the exact system: the returnable-documents checklist that stops you being disqualified, how to price to win, and the dreaded SBD forms decoded in plain English. For R399, once.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the stages of the tender process in South Africa?

The buyer writes and advertises the tender; some tenders hold a briefing session; you prepare your bid and submit it before the closing date and time; the buyer runs a compliance or responsiveness check; bids that survive that check are evaluated on functionality where applicable and then on price and preference points; and finally the contract is awarded and the outcome published.

What does non-responsive mean on a tender?

A non-responsive bid is one that broke a submission rule — a missing or unsigned document, an expired certificate, a skipped mandatory form, or a compulsory briefing not attended. It is set aside at the compliance check and never scored, so it has nothing to do with your price or your ability to do the work.

How long is a tender valid after closing?

The tender sets a bid validity period, most often 90 or 120 days from the closing date, during which your offer and your prices must remain open. You cannot revise your price inside that period. When evaluation runs long the buyer sometimes asks bidders to extend the validity, and you can agree or decline.

What happens after you submit a tender?

Bids are opened and recorded, then checked for responsiveness — completeness and correctness of the required documents. Only compliant bids move on to evaluation, where they are scored on functionality (if the tender uses it) and then on price and preference points. The award is then made and published, and unsuccessful bidders may request reasons.

How long does it take for a tender to be awarded?

It varies widely by buyer and by the size and complexity of the contract, which is why tenders set a bid validity period of around 90 to 120 days rather than a promised decision date. Larger or contested tenders can run to the end of that period, and buyers sometimes ask bidders to extend it.

Is attending a tender briefing compulsory?

Only when the tender says so. Where a briefing is marked compulsory, attending and signing the attendance register is a condition of bidding, and a bid from a supplier who is not on the register is rejected. Where it is optional, it is still usually worth attending, because it is the clearest picture you will get of what the buyer actually wants.