Most advantageous tender
Under the Procurement Act 2023, contracts are awarded to the most advantageous tender (replacing "most economically advantageous tender"), judged against award criteria that must relate to the subject matter of the contract and be published in the tender notice or documents, with their relative importance.
The quality and price split
Tender documents usually state a split such as 60% quality and 40% price, with quality broken into weighted questions, and social value often scored separately. Central government buyers in scope of PPN 002 must apply a minimum 10% weighting to social value.
Typical scoring scale
| Score | Typical descriptor |
|---|---|
| 5 | Excellent: fully meets the requirement, detailed and specific evidence, adds value with no weaknesses |
| 4 | Good: meets the requirement with good evidence and minor weaknesses |
| 3 | Satisfactory: meets the requirement with some gaps in detail or evidence |
| 2 | Weak: partially meets the requirement, significant gaps |
| 1 | Poor: limited response, major concerns |
| 0 | Unacceptable or no response |
Always use the buyer's own descriptors: they tell you exactly what a top mark looks like.
Worked example
A question worth 15% of the total, scored 4 out of 5, earns 15 × 4 ÷ 5 = 12 points. Moving that answer from a 3 to a 4 is worth 3 points, often more than a small price cut.
How price becomes points
- Relative to the lowest price: points = price weighting × (lowest price ÷ your price). The most common formula.
- Relative to the average or a budget: points fall as you move away from a reference figure.
- Price per quality point: total price divided by quality score; lowest wins.
Read the formula before you price: under the lowest-price formula, being 10% more expensive than the cheapest bidder costs you roughly 9% of the price marks.
Thresholds and pass/fail
Many tenders set a minimum score (for example at least 2 on every question, or 60% of quality marks) below which a bid is excluded, plus pass/fail questions. One weak answer can remove an otherwise strong bid.
After the evaluation
Each supplier that submitted an assessed tender receives an assessment summary explaining how its tender scored against the criteria compared with the most advantageous tender, before the contract award notice and standstill period. See after submission. Try our tender score estimator to model your own bid.
Frequently asked questions
Is the cheapest bid always the winner?
No. Unless the buyer has said price is the only criterion, quality, social value and price are combined. A higher-priced bid with better quality scores often wins.
Can I find out how other bidders scored?
Your assessment summary compares your tender with the most advantageous tender. Information about other bidders is limited by commercial confidentiality.
Sources
General information, not legal advice. Always follow the tender documents and take legal advice where needed.