Procurement glossary · Notices and finding work
Below threshold procurement
Public sector buying below the value at which the full statutory regime applies. Processes are lighter and faster, often a request for quotation rather than a full tender, and competition is usually thinner. It is where most suppliers realistically win their first public contract.
Also called Low value procurement.
What it means in practice
Below threshold work is unglamorous and it is the most reliable entry point into public sector revenue. The documents are shorter, the decisions are quicker, and the field is smaller because larger suppliers are not looking.
The strategic value is the reference. Public buyers discount private sector experience when assessing comparable contracts, and the only way out of that is to hold public contracts. Two or three small ones convert a supplier from ineligible to credible on the framework bids that actually matter.
Treat it accordingly. A £40,000 contract that unlocks a £4m framework application two years later is not a £40,000 decision. Price it to win, deliver it visibly well, and ask for the reference in writing while the client is still pleased.
Where suppliers get caught
Refusing low value work on margin grounds while simultaneously failing framework applications for want of comparable public contracts. The two facts are connected and suppliers rarely connect them.
Common questions
Is below threshold work worth bidding?
For a supplier without public sector references, almost always. The contract itself may be marginal; the reference it produces is what makes the next three bids possible.
How do I find below threshold opportunities?
Contracts Finder, the authority's own procurement portal, and regional buying organisations. Register on the portals of the specific buyers you want to work with, because a good deal of this work is advertised only there.
Related terms
If a tender in front of you turns on this, send us the documents and the deadline and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth bidding. Call 020 3668 5488, or read the rest of the UK procurement glossary.