One of the most coveted business opportunities for any business person is winning a tender to supply goods and services in a government tender. The tenders are lucrative and a major boost to any business that wins the tender opportunity. The government sources goods and services from the public through tender. A tender is floated and an invitation is sent out for businesses to bid thereby enhancing quality competition for the best bidder to get the tender. The tendering process is very competitive, to win a tender, a tenderpreneur has to prepare several documents that will give his/her business an upper hand against other bidders. In this article, we dive into a checklist of tender bidding documentation tips for your business to increase your chances of winning a tender.
A tender is a formal invitation by the government to suppliers and/or contractors for the supply of goods, services, and works. The government issues tenders in many sectors, including but not limited to:
The Public Procurement and Disposal Act gives a guideline on the procurement process for public institutions in Kenya
The tendering process is similar across most public instructions since they are done in accordance with the Public Procurement and Disposal Act. The act aims at promoting competition among bidders and ensuring that competitors are treated fairly. It also promotes the integrity and fairness of those procurement procedures, increases transparency and accountability, and public confidence in them.
The private sector and private companies also have a tendering process where they are very similar to the Law. The adoption of these procedures in the private sector business is also aimed at having a smooth procurement process that is guided by procedures.
Across both public and Private procurement that is done through a Tendering Process involve the following Stages:
Tender Stages
There is a certain minimum set as the threshold for a business or a person seeking to bid and participate in government tenders.
The Public Procurement laws outline people who are qualified to participate in bidding for Government tenders. This includes a person (business) that satisfies the following:
A business whether sole proprietorship, partnership or company that has a Spouse or children of a procuring entity officer where they have a substantial and controlling interest are considered ineligible to participate in public tenders.
However, such a business where a procuring officer has a family relationship can be eligible to bid the tenders if they declare a conflict of interest and the information of such tenders is not considered to be sourced from them.
A person or business whether private company or partnership whose spouse, children or sub-contractor of a procuring entity that has a substantial and controlling interest
While bidding for any Tender the commonly requested documents that are requested for while submitting include:
We can help you with the preparation of the requirements for a tender, click on that whats app icon to get in touch with our team of experts. We will also give free tender bidding documentation tips to increase your success rates.
You can only bid for the tender if you have a legally registered business. In Kenya a business can be registered as either; Sole Proprietorship, Partnership or a Limited Company
The identification document for the business will be:
a.Business Name Registration Certificate for Sole Proprietorship and Partnerships business models registered under the Registration of Business Names Act.
b.Certificate of Incorporation for Companies incorporates under the Companies Act
Is your business registered as a Company? If not, get the Service here
Are you operating a Solo proprietorship registered business name? Upgrade to a Limited Company and enjoy all the benefits that come with having a Limited Company over a business name today!
Business Permits are also a requirement as you bid for a Tender, the business permit/trading license is issued by the county governments where the business is operating. As the tenders are being evaluated the permit shows the business has a real physical address and it’s not a briefcase company.
The government collects revenue from its citizens through the taxation of incomes. As you will be expecting to win the tender and earn income, a fair share of that income should be accounted for and taxes paid.
To participate in a Tender, you will be required to submit Tax identification documents. This includes the KRA PIN for your business. For a business name, the Sole proprietor’s KRA PIN Certificate will be used, while for a Partnership or Company their KRA PIN Certificates.
A Tax Compliance Certificate is also another required document while biding for a Tender. The documents show that a taxpayer is compliant in terms of filing and paying KRA Taxes. If you do not have Tax Compliance for your personal Pin or your business, get it here today.
In terms of Tax Obligation, your KRA Pin must also be registered for Value Added Tax (VAT). This is the tax that should be charged on all vatable supplies by registered suppliers.
You should also have an Electronic Tax Register (ETR) that is TIMS compliant and in a position to generate a Fiscal Receipt as per the guidelines provided by the Law.
Currently, almost all government tenders are evaluating a business capability by also checking on the bidder’s compliance to all statutory requirements not only payment of KRA taxes, but also compliance to NHIF and NSSF.
A business that has engaged employees should be registered with National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and it is required to remit the employee NHIF contribution monthly without failure.
A compliance certificate can only be issued by NHIF where the business is registered as an Employer with NHIF and has been filing the NHIF remittances.
National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is also a statutory requirement where the business should contribute to the Retirement Security for its employees.
A business can only be issued with the NSSF Compliance Certificate if it is registered and issued with an NSSF employer code and has been compliant with filing and paying the NSSF returns on time.
Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) is a program that aims to promote the business that is run either by Youth, Women and Persons with Disabilities by giving them access to the reserved 30% government tenders.
If you are a business with a 70% majority being either Youth, Women or Persons with Disabilities, you should get AGPO Certificate to participate in the tenders reserved for AGPO.
If you are conducting business in a regulated sector, you will be required to submit the certification for conducting business in the regulated sector.
For instance, a business that is dealing with Construction related activities should be registered and have Certificates from the National Construction Authority (NCA), those dealing with Communications should have a Certificate from the Communications Authority etc.
You can see a List of different regulated industries and the regulators here so that you have tender bidding documentation tips specifically attached to such regulated business activities.
Some tenders require tender security, with an exemption of those that are reserved for AGPO certificate holders. Tender Security or a bid bond is a guarantee or bond from a tenderer’s bank or an insurance company which should be provided by the tenderer as part of its bid with the aim of protecting the procuring entity against the risk such as when the tenderer withdraws from the tendering process.
The Tender Security can be either be:
(a)Cash
(b) Letter of Credit
(c) Bank Guarantee obtained from commercial banks or
(d) Insurance Guarantee from Insurance companies.
You can check some of the providers of tender security from the PPRA website https://ppra.go.ke/tender-security-providers/
IFMIS is an Integrated Financial Management System, which is a portal that was introduced by the government to enhance an efficient and transparent manner of government procurement both at the national and county government level.
A business looking forward to bidding for government tenders should have an IFMIS account. The account can be created online from the Kenya Suppliers Portal
Tendering paperwork is quite a task. There are many papers that will need to be filled with accurate information provision of wrong information will definitely lead to automatic disqualification. When doing the paperwork, take your time and;
Besides having the required documents, your business will be evaluated against non-cost assessment strategies involving the following areas;
You can get tender bidding documentation tips by reading the tender documents. Tender notices are circulated and advertised in a wide range of print and electronic media. You can find information on government tender from the following sources:
Winning a government tender is the dream of every business person, it is not a walk in the park and as a business person, you must arm yourself with all necessary requirements and tender bidding documentation tips to increase the chances of winning the tender.
The basic requirement is to have a business registered as a legal entity, such as a Limited Company and have all the required documents including the compliance certificates. With the business having all the basic documents, you can get tender information from various sources and bid for the tenders.
To get more insights or help in the tendering process contact us via Email: info@anzianoconsultants.com or Mobile: +254706600875
Spread the loveEvery year as we approach June you will get those KRA emails posted…
To register a business name or a company in Kenya one of the requirements is…
A company is an entity formed by a group of shareholders who appoint directors to…
One of the main goals for all businesses is to generate revenue and make money;…
The government through the office of the Attorney General Business registry department registers business entities…
There are many existing businesses in the market some offering the same services, one of…
This website uses cookies.