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Decide, price, and respond · Guide 07 of 13

Decide whether to bid

Make a clear call before spending time on a response.

About 4 minutesAll routes · Business decision aidLook up a term

What you’ll leave with

A bid, clarify or pass decision backed by reasons.

The essentials

Check hard stops before attractive features.

Start with required eligibility, licenses, location, schedule and mandatory conditions. A high relevance score does not cancel a requirement you cannot meet. Write “unknown” beside a requirement you have not checked, then assign someone to find the answer.

Assess the whole job.

Name who would perform the work and who would prepare the response. Consider staffing, equipment, supplier commitments, insurance, cash flow and the obligations in the proposed contract. If the terms create unfamiliar risk, get qualified advice before committing.

Look for evidence of a credible offer.

Compare your relevant experience and delivery approach with the stated evaluation criteria. Ask why this buyer would choose your offer on those criteria. The answer should be more concrete than ‘we can probably do it.’

Use requirements as gates—not just points on a score.

  1. Pass

    A required condition cannot be met, or the delivery risk is not manageable.

  2. Clarify

    A material fact is unknown. Name the question, an owner and a deadline.

  3. Bid

    Requirements are addressed and you have a credible delivery and response plan.

What to do next

  1. 1

    Write down the gaps.

    Give each gap an owner and a deadline. Distinguish a missing document you already have from a capability or qualification you do not have.

  2. 2

    Estimate the effort.

    List the people and hours needed for the response, outside costs and work you would delay. Review delivery costs and payment timing separately. This is your internal decision, not a formula for a winning price.

  3. 3

    Make the call with a reason.

    Bid when the requirements and delivery plan are credible. Clarify when a material unknown could change the decision and there is time to resolve it. Pass when a hard requirement or delivery risk cannot be responsibly addressed.

Worked example · Fictional business

A good job arrives during a fully booked month

A fictional design firm meets the stated qualifications and has relevant work. Its production lead, however, is already committed to another customer during the required delivery period.

Make capacity a real check.

The owner asks the lead to map the required tasks against the calendar. There is a genuine overlap; “we’ll work harder” does not supply another production lead.

Test a realistic way to close the gap.

The team checks whether a qualified subcontractor is available, whether the proposed arrangement is allowed, and what it would cost. A possible name in a contact list is not a staffing commitment.

Put a decision date on it.

If the team cannot confirm coverage while there is still enough time to prepare a sound response, it passes and records the reason. If the coverage is confirmed, it reruns the cost and schedule review before bidding.

The practical move: A bid decision should identify what would make the job deliverable. When that condition cannot be met, a recorded pass keeps the business available for better work.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Letting a large headline value outweigh a requirement you cannot meet.
  • Calling a possible partner a committed team member before scope and availability are agreed.
  • Continuing only because you have already spent time reviewing the notice.

One useful next step

Complete the bid/no-bid worksheet and give the decision a named owner. A well-reasoned pass is useful work.

Get the bid / no-bid worksheet

Official sources & further help

Reviewed September 9, 2026. Practical examples and worksheets are Bid Rigor’s own. Check current requirements with the buyer; agency-specific rules or deviations may apply.