Winston IntelligenceTender documents guide
Know the pack before you commit to the bid.
A UK tender pack starts with your registration and information on the central digital platform, then a set of documents that define the requirement, the response and the contract. This guide explains each one and how the current process differs from the older SQ and PQQ language.
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Start on the platform
The central digital platform and the PSQ.
Get this right once and the selection stage of every procurement becomes lighter.
- 1
Register on the central digital platform
Since the Procurement Act 2023 took effect on 24 February 2025, suppliers register once on the central digital platform. It replaced the previous Find a Tender account model as the place your organisation's details are held.
- 2
Maintain your core supplier information
Core supplier information covers four areas: basic details (name, identifier, address, VAT, legal form, registration date), financial standing from your most recent accounts, connected persons, and information about mandatory or discretionary exclusion grounds.
- 3
Choose who you share it with
Core supplier information is not public. It is available only to the contracting authorities you choose to share it with for a specific procurement.
- 4
Complete the Procurement Specific Questionnaire
Where a buyer uses one, the PSQ draws on your shared core supplier information and adds questions on additional exclusions and debarment and on the conditions of participation for that contract. It is a slimmed-down successor to the Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ) and the older pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), not a straight rename.
The documents themselves
Seven documents you will usually find.
Names vary between buyers and portals; the function of each document is stable.
| Document | What it defines |
|---|---|
| Tender or contract notice | The published advertisement. It carries the identifiers, buyer, scope, lots, estimated value, key dates and the route to everything else. |
| Specification or statement of requirements | What the buyer needs delivered, to what standard and over what period. Read this before deciding the opportunity is relevant. |
| Instructions to tenderers | How to respond: format, word limits, submission mechanics, the clarification process and deadlines. Missing an instruction can make an otherwise strong response non-compliant. |
| Award criteria and assessment methodology | How the response will be scored, whether any criterion is pass/fail, and the relative importance of quality, price and other factors. |
| Pricing schedule | The structure you must price against. Prices are usually compared on a defined basis; check whether figures include or exclude VAT. |
| Terms and conditions and the draft contract | The contract you would sign, including liabilities, KPIs, payment terms and change control. Commercial risk lives here as much as in the price. |
| Response templates and declarations | Method-statement templates, the PSQ or selection questions, and declarations such as conflicts of interest that must be returned exactly as asked. |
Old and current language
PSQ, SQ, PQQ and ITT.
Suppliers still search for the older terms. Map them to the current process rather than assuming they are interchangeable.
- PSQ (Procurement Specific Questionnaire)
- The current standardised selection questionnaire under the Procurement Act 2023, drawing on central digital platform data.
- SQ / SSQ (Standard Selection Questionnaire)
- The predecessor document under the 2015 regulations. Still a common search term; the process, not just the name, has changed.
- PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire)
- An older term for the selection stage. Readers may still use it, but no current UK document is called a PQQ.
- ITT (invitation to tender)
- The award-stage pack: specification, instructions, pricing and criteria. Sometimes issued in a single stage with the notice under the open procedure.
What Winston does here.
Scout helps you find the notice and reach the official documents, and keeps the source identifiers with the record. Completing your PSQ, writing method statements, building a compliance matrix and drafting responses are not Scout features; organisation-specific evidence and drafting are planned paid Winston bid-assistance work and are not available yet.
Primary sources
Check the current process at source.
Winston checked this official guidance on 1 September 2026. The central digital platform and PSQ process is current and can change; this page is reviewed on a short cycle.
Continue through the response.
See how the response is evaluated, or use the clarification window when a document is unclear.