There is no such thing as a “Tendering Business”!
By Werner van Rooyen, Director of HowToTender (Pty) Ltd which specializes in tender consulting and tender training.
On our website, www.howtotender.co.za, we have a contact us page where entrepreneurs and companies can ask questions with regards to our products and services. However, we do get a lot of questions and requests through this page on “How to start a tendering business”. We have noted that a common thread through these enquiries is the misperception that to tender is a business.
Do not think that once you have registered a company, got a Tax Clearance Certificate as well as a B-BBEE Certificate you are ready to tender, thinking that these three documents will ensure that you will be successful in your bidding efforts. The truth of the matter is that unfortunately you would be lucky if your tender response makes it through the first round of evaluation.
To tender, you must have a business! Even if it is a start-up business, you must have the intention to do business, irrespective of winning a tender or not.
You cannot say that you have registered this business and now you are ready to tender for security services, cleaning services, building bridges, or supplying canons to the army. It just does not work that way. Five or ten years ago these business operations and tender responses were acceptable, but nowadays you will not get far with these kinds of tricks of you do not already have a business. Remember that to have a registered company and to have a business, is not the same thing.
There are several checks and balances in place to ensure that the whole tender process is transparent. Gone are the days that you could respond to a tender and be awarded the tender and not even had a business premises where you operated from.
So, to summarize:
- Ensure that you have a legitimate business operation;
- If you have a startup business, ensure that there is evidence of business transactions other than that of the tender that you are responding to;
- Establish a business address and/or an office where your business operates from.
To tender is not a business but if you have a business and you respond to tenders it can be extremely rewarding.
To learn more about this and many other tender conditions attend our “Become a Tender Expert” 2-Day workshops presented in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town. Book and pay online at https://howtotender.co.za/tender-expert-form/
Contact us at wernervr@howtotender.co.za should you require more information.
You can also purchase a Tender Manual (Handbook) on our website https://howtotender.co.za/ which is a step by step guide how to respond to a South African Tender. It includes examples of completed SBD forms.
