What we ask you
Fifty questions.
Answered once, used everywhere.
The reason we can work at these prices is that most of the machinery runs without waiting on a person. That only works if it knows enough about you. So we ask properly, once, and then we stop asking — every bid, every grant and every partnering after that reuses the same answers. We publish the whole list here, before you give us anything, so you can see exactly what we ask and why.
Four things before you start.
- You can skip any question. Nothing here is mandatory. Each one you leave blank simply closes off the help it unlocks, and we will tell you which.
- You answer once. If we ask you the same thing twice, that is our failure, not your inconvenience.
- Nothing is verified without telling you. Where we check a credential at source we say so; anything we could not verify is recorded as an unverified claim and is never presented as more than that.
- You can withdraw it all. Your answers are yours. Ask and they are deleted, except the minimum we must keep for tax and for bids already submitted.
Section D and Section I are the two that matter most. D is what an evaluator scores. I is what disqualifies people who did not mention it.
A. Who you are
Identity and entity. Boring, and the reason bids get disqualified.
| We ask | Why |
|---|---|
| Legal name, and the trading name you use | They must match your registration exactly on a tender. They often do not. |
| Entity type: sole trader, limited company, partnership, or not yet formed | Decides which eligibility gates you can pass and whether you need a partner. |
| Registration number and country of registration | Verified at source against the register. Never taken on trust. |
| Registered office and principal place of business | Locality and establishment requirements appear in more tenders than people expect. |
| VAT registered, and the number | Changes your pricing and, in some calls, your eligibility. |
| Trading since (year) | Two and three year trading histories are a common hard gate. |
| People: employees and regular contractors | Capacity questions are scored, and SME status is defined by headcount. |
| Turnover, last two financial years, as a band | Used only against published financial thresholds. A band is enough; we do not need your accounts. |
| Website and public profiles | Evaluators look. We would rather look first. |
B. Where you can bid
Asked before anything else, because the answer changes the whole process.
| We ask | Why |
|---|---|
| Which countries do you want to bid in? | Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, the wider EU and the United States each run different rules, portals and exclusion grounds. |
| Are you established, or would you bid from abroad? | Cross-border bidding is legal and common, and it costs you marks if it is not handled deliberately. |
| Do you hold the right to work or trade there? | A licence or registration you do not hold is a disqualification, not a detail. |
| Any country or sector you will not work in? | Recorded once, respected always. We will not put an opportunity in front of you that you have ruled out. |
| Languages you can deliver in | Not the same as languages you can bid in. We need both. |
C. What you can actually do
Capability, in your words, scored in theirs.
| We ask | Why |
|---|---|
| In one sentence, what do you deliver? | This becomes the spine of every bid. If it takes three sentences, the bid will take thirty. |
| Your five strongest capabilities, most confident first | Ranked, not listed. The ranking is what we bid on. |
| Sectors you have actually delivered in | Sector experience is scored separately from technical skill in most frameworks. |
| Three contracts you have delivered: what, for whom, when, roughly what size | The single most valuable answer on this page. Most scoring is evidence of similar work. |
| The largest contract you could deliver today without hiring | Stops us putting you in front of something that would break you. |
| What would you turn down? | We will not waste your week on it. |
D. What you can prove
The scoring layer. A claim you cannot evidence is worth less than no claim.
| We ask | Why |
|---|---|
| Qualifications and certifications, with issuer and reference number | We verify at source. Anything we cannot verify is recorded as an unverified claim and never labelled otherwise. |
| Accreditations: ISO 9001, ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, sector schemes | Frequently a pass or fail gate rather than a scored item. |
| Insurance: professional indemnity, public liability, employer liability — insurer, limit, renewal date | Limits below the contract requirement are a common late surprise. We would rather find it in week one. |
| Two referees who will answer a structured reference | Structured, recorded and quoted accurately. We ask you before we approach anyone. |
| Policies you already hold: health and safety, equality, environmental, data protection, modern slavery, business continuity | Missing policies are the most predictable lost marks in public procurement, and the easiest to fix. |
| Anything that must be declared: conviction, exclusion, tax irregularity, terminated contract | Ask us before you decide it does not count. A declared issue is survivable; an undeclared one is not. |
E. What you want to win
Targeting, so the daily scan returns things worth reading.
| We ask | Why |
|---|---|
| Contract value band you are aiming for | Both ends. Too small wastes your time; too large loses you the bid and the year. |
| Buyer types: central government, local authority, health, education, utilities, private prime, EU institution | Different portals, different rules, different rhythms. |
| Keywords and CPV codes, if you know them | If you do not, we derive them from your capabilities and confirm with you. |
| How many bids can you realistically support in a quarter? | An honest number here is worth more than an ambitious one. Bidding badly is worse than not bidding. |
| Frameworks or dynamic purchasing systems you are already on | Often the fastest route to a first win, and frequently forgotten. |
F. Capacity and who signs
So a deadline never fails on an approval nobody scheduled.
| We ask | Why |
|---|---|
| Lead time before you could start delivering | Start dates are scored and are the most common real constraint. |
| Blackout periods: holidays, closures, busy seasons | We will not put a T-2 gate inside the week you are away. |
| Who is the named decision-maker who signs? | One name. Bids fail on committees more than on content. |
| Who else must approve before submission? | Named in advance and scheduled backwards from the deadline. |
G. Partnering
Only if you want it. It is opt-in, and free.
| We ask | Why |
|---|---|
| Would you bid as part of a consortium? | Yes, no, or tell me case by case. All three are fine answers. |
| Would you lead, partner, or either? | Different evidence is scored for each. |
| Anyone you would not partner with? | Recorded once and honoured without asking why. |
| In one line, what would you bring to a joint bid? | This is what a lead bidder reads first. |
H. Grants and funding
Different animal from tenders, different questions.
| We ask | Why |
|---|---|
| Are you doing anything that could count as research, development or innovation? | Describe it plainly. We will tell you whether a scheme sees it that way. |
| Public funding you have already had: scheme, amount, year | Most schemes limit how many awards you may hold or have held. |
| De minimis aid received in the last three fiscal years | A hard ceiling under EU State aid rules. Exceeding it invalidates the award. |
| Match funding: do you have it, and how much? | Most schemes are co-funded. No match, no application. |
| Are you working with a university or a state research body? | Some supports can only be spent with one. |
I. Disclosure and conflicts
Asked on every single opportunity, not once.
| We ask | Why |
|---|---|
| Any connection to the buyer: family, former employment, a current contract, a shared director | Declared early it is manageable. Found later it can exclude you. |
| Are you already using another adviser on this opportunity? | Two advisers on one bid is a real problem. Better known on day one. |
| Do you need our fee arrangement disclosed on this bid? | We supply the wording free, whenever you ask, whether or not you ask us to. |
| Does the buyer or funder require disclosure of AI-assisted preparation? | Rules differ by buyer and are changing. We keep a register and we default to disclosing. |
J. How you want to work with us
So we do not become another thing to manage.
| We ask | Why |
|---|---|
| Preferred contact channel and how fast you need a reply | We will hold to it or tell you we cannot. |
| May we name you publicly as a client, and on what? | Default is no. It only changes if you say so in writing. |
That is the whole list
No hidden section, no second form after you have paid. Start with Start Light — it uses about a dozen of these and gives you a one-page answer the same working day.