How to Write a Tender in 14 Days: A Day by Day Plan

Glaxtons Consulting

How to write a tender in 14 days: the day by day plan

By Jean-Pascal Olivier, Co-Founder and Director, Glaxtons Consulting. Published 9 October 2026.

A tender with 14 days to run is winnable when the evidence already exists and one person on your side can answer questions the same day. Spend day one on a go or no-go decision, days two to eight on drafting the heaviest-scoring questions, days nine to eleven on review against the scoring criteria, and keep the last three days for pricing, compliance and a portal submission with a buffer.

Day 1: decide, do not start writing

Read the whole tender pack and mark every pass/fail gate: insurance levels, accreditations, financial thresholds, references.
Check each gate against what you hold today. A gate you cannot clear in 14 days is a no-bid, and the honest answer on day one saves a fortnight.
List the scored questions with their weightings and word limits, and sort them by marks available.

Days 2 to 3: build the evidence file

Case studies mapped to the scored questions, with figures for outcomes, programme, cost and client
Policies and certificates, in date
CVs and organisation charts for the people who would deliver the contract
Social value commitments tied to measures the buyer scores

Days 4 to 8: draft, highest weighting first

Write the biggest-scoring questions first, while energy is high and there is room for a second draft. Answer the question as asked, in the order asked, and put the evidence in the first third of each answer. One named reviewer should read every answer for a missing fact before it goes to scoring review.

Days 9 to 11: review against the criteria

Score each answer yourself against the published criteria and mark the weakest. A pink team on day nine and a red team on day eleven is realistic in two weeks if the drafts are done. Fix the lowest scores first. A uniformly good response beats one great answer and two weak ones.

Days 12 to 14: price, comply, submit

Day 12: price sign-off and the commercial narrative, because the price and the method statement must agree
Day 13: compliance check of every pass/fail item and every attachment, with file names and sizes matched to the portal rules
Day 14: submit at least one working day before the deadline. Portals fail at 14:55 on closing day more often than anyone plans for.

When we will tell you to walk away

No go means a pass/fail gate you cannot meet, no comparable references where the buyer requires them, or nobody on your side with authority to answer questions the same day. If any of those apply we will say so in the first conversation, before any fee is agreed. See what we need to start a tender due this week and our 14 day tender plan situation page.

Questions suppliers ask

Can you write a tender in two weeks?

Usually yes, if your evidence exists and someone on your side can answer questions the same day. We respond the same day you call and regularly deliver complete responses on 24 to 48 hour timescales for shorter submissions.

How much of the 14 days should be writing?

About half. The rest goes on the go or no-go decision, the evidence file, review against the scoring criteria, pricing, compliance and a submission buffer.

A tender due inside two weeks?

Send us your availability for a Microsoft Teams call. Bring your assessment summary or your tender pack and we will tell you, in that first conversation, what the data says about your position and which route is worth your time. If a deadline cannot be met we will say so before any fee is agreed.

Send us your availability 020 3668 5488

Our record: a 93 per cent success rate across 500 plus submissions, 2022 to 2025, against an industry average of 60 to 75 per cent (APMP and Bid Solutions).

Send us your assessment summary or your deadline

Tell us which framework or tender, the date that matters and what you have. A director replies the same working day with a straight view.