Help with completing a PQQ

Competition for many tender opportunities is vast and certain contracts can attract literally hundreds of potential suppliers. Whilst many of these suppliers will be able to meet the buyer’s requirements, only a small number, usually between 6 and 12, will be invited to tender. Selection to participate in the next stage of the tendering process is based purely on the score each supplier achieves on their PQQ. Only those who meet the buyer’s benchmark during the evaluation process will be invited to participate in the next stage. It is therefore essential that your Pre-Qualification Questionnaire stands out for all the right reasons and that the answers you provide attract the highest possible scores from the buyer.

This document provides some useful tips on how to complete a PQQ in order to maximise your chances of success.

PQQs are normally divided into a number of sections:

• Company Details
• Financial Information
• Business Activities
• References
• Insurance
• Quality Assurance
• Health and Safety
• Equal Opportunities
• Environmental Management
• Business and Professional Standing
• Technical Capability
• Declaration

Company Details 

This section will ask for basic information about your organisation, such as:

• Name.
• Address.
• Contact details.
• Date of registration, registered address, registration number and legal status.
• VAT number.
• Website address.
• Names of directors, partners, or trustees.
• Details of any parent or subsidiary companies.
• Brief history of the organisation.

Although this information is not scored you must provide full and accurate responses to each of the buyer’s questions. back to top

Financial Information

This section of the PQQ enables buyers to assess your organisation’s financial stability and ensure that you have the financial resources to deliver the contract requirements. The type of information requested can include:

• 3 years accounts or, if you haven’t been trading for 3 years, accounts covering the period you have been trading.
• A letter from your Financial Director confirming the current trading position of the business – this is often requested if the accounts you are submitting are for a period ending more than 10 months ago.
• Banker's references.
• Cash flow forecasts and/or a business plan.
• Dun and Bradstreet Report.

Ensure you provide all relevant information and cross reference any attachments to the question to which they relate. As part of their assessment of the information provided in this section of the PQQ, buyers will assess whether they believe the contract is ‘too big’ for you to manage. They will conclude this by analysing your organisation’s turnover and comparing it to the annual value of the contract. back to top

Business Activities

In this section the buyer is looking for evidence that you are able to deliver the contract requirements. You should demonstrate that the goods, services or works, the buyer is procuring, form part of your day to day business activities. Take the opportunity in this section to ‘sell’ your experience and evidence to the buyer that you have a proven track record in this area. back to top

References

Buyers will normally ask you to provide details of at least 3 referees. They will almost always follow these up and as such, in order to achieve maximum points during the evaluation process, it is important to provide details of referees that will provide a strong reference. Where possible choose referees from organisations to whom you provide goods, services or works, similar to those required by the buyer.

Always inform your chosen referees that you have put them down to provide a reference. Advise them of the buyer and the type of contract for which you are tendering and ensure they are prepared for the buyer to make contact with them. back to top

Insurance

A PQQ will always contain questions about the level of insurance you hold. This will cover Public Liability Insurance, Employer’s Liability Insurance and, depending on the nature of your business, Professional Indemnity Insurance. Typically, public sector buyers will ask for the following levels of insurance cover:

• Public Liability – £10 million.
• Employers Liability – £5 million.
• Professional Indemnity (if applicable) – £2 million.

You will normally be asked to provide copies of insurance certificates and as such these should be attached and cross referenced to the appropriate question. As no certificate is issued for Public Liability Insurance it is worth providing a copy of your Insurance Summary or a letter from your insurance broker which confirms the level of cover which is in place.

If your current levels of insurance are less than those required by the buyer you should confirm that you are happy to increase cover should you be successful in the tendering process. It is worth speaking to your insurance broker to determine the cost associated with increasing the cover. They may also be able to provide you with a letter, confirming your ability to obtain the required level of cover, which can be submitted with your PQQ response. back to top

Quality Assurance

Buyers want to be assured that the supplier they choose will deliver the goods, services or works to an exceptional quality. In this section of the PQQ you will be asked to describe the quality management systems you have in place and how you will ensure adherence to these systems is maintained throughout the duration of the contract.

Buyers will often ask if you hold the ISO9001 accreditation; an internationally recognised quality management standard. If your company has been awarded ISO9001 you will normally be asked to provide evidence in the form of your certificate of accreditation.

If your organisation does not have ISO9001 you can still score highly in this section by providing a comprehensive description of your internal quality management systems and procedures. Reassure the buyer that you have sufficient and appropriate quality controls in place and demonstrate how you ensure high quality standards are achieved across all aspects of your business. Additional points will normally be allocated to those companies who are also able to evidence a commitment to the continual improvement of quality standards. back to top

Health and Safety

In this section of the PQQ buyers are seeking reassurance that suppliers are committed to health and safety and that they comply with all relevant health and safety legislation. Accordingly you will often be asked for:

• A copy of your Health and Safety Policy.
• Details of how you communicate your health and safety arrangements to your personnel, customers and others.
• Copies of previously completed risk assessments.
• Details of your accident record for the last 3 years.
• Information on how you consult with your workforce on health and safety matters.

Some buyers will ask for details of your company’s health and safety accreditations e.g. The Contractor’s Health and Safety Scheme (CHAS), SafeContractor or ISO18001. If your company has been awarded ISO18001 you will normally be asked to provide evidence in the form of your certificate of accreditation.

If your organisation does not have ISO18001 you can still score highly in this section by providing a comprehensive description of your company’s health and safety systems and procedures. Reassure the buyer that you have appropriate health and safety arrangements in place. This should include, as a minimum, safe working procedures, risk management controls and accident reporting and investigation processes.

Additional points will normally be allocated to those companies who are also able to evidence a commitment to the continual improvement of their health and safety arrangements.

It is important to note that whilst a written Health and Safety Policy is only necessary if your organisation employs 5 or more people, having a detailed policy in place will help demonstrate to the buyer that you are committed to health and safety. back to top

Equal Opportunities

Buyers will seek evidence, in this section of the PQQ, of your commitment to the provision of equal opportunities. They will expect you to have in place a written Equal Opportunities/Equality and Diversity Policy, to explain how you implement the policy across your organisation and to be able to demonstrate your compliance with equality legislation.

You will also be asked to confirm that you have not been convicted of any offences in relation to equal opportunities. If you have been convicted of an offence of this nature it may be difficult to make it past the PQQ stage of the tendering process. If you still wish to proceed however, you should provide full details of the offence and the actions you have taken to ensure it is not repeated.

A buyer will often ask you to provide a wide range of documentation, to evidence your commitment in this area, such as:

• Equal Opportunities/Equality and Diversity Policy or Statement.
• Recruitment and Selection Policy.
• Training and Development Policy.
• Sample recruitment advertisements.
• Equality monitoring forms and/or statistics. 

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Environmental Management

Buyers, particularly those in the public sector, will expect suppliers to demonstrate that they take their environmental responsibilities very seriously. This section of the PQQ will provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate your commitment to safeguarding the environment; and will normally include questions through which a buyer can ascertain how you will minimise the environmental effects of providing the goods, services or works.

The type of information requested will depend on the buyer and the type of contract but is likely to include:

• Your Environmental Policy or Statement.
• Details of any actions you have taken to reduce the environmental impact of your business operations (within the last 12 months).
• Details of your environmental management system.

For free environmental guidance visit www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs or www.envirowise.gov.uk. 

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Business and Professional Standing

This section usually comprises a set of yes or no questions through which a buyer will be able to assess your organisation’s professional conduct. Be very careful when answering this section as sometimes the questions include double negatives and it is not always clear whether you should answer yes or no. If you have any doubt, ask the buyer for clarification as this is normally a pass or fail section. back to top

Technical Capability

The information provided in this section will enable the buyer to assess your ability to deliver the contract requirements. It is particular important to ‘sell yourself’ in this section as it is essential that the buyer understands:

• Your previous experience – demonstrate that you have a proven track record for delivering the goods, services or works being procured.
• Your organisation is capable of delivering all the contract requirements and to an exceptional standard.
• Your company has the required capacity and resources.
• You have the necessary skills and expertise.

It is important that the information you provide both demonstrates and evidences your ability to deliver all the buyer’s requirements. You should therefore consider including, where appropriate:

• Details of similar contracts you manage.
• Testimonials from satisfied customers.
• CVs of key members of staff.
• Details of your organisation’s professional memberships and accreditations.

This will normally be a high scoring section and as such you should provide as much information as possible whilst remaining ‘to the point’. back to top

Declaration

At the end of the PQQ you will normally find a declaration. It is essential that you complete and sign this declaration before the PQQ is submitted to the buyer. Failure to do so may result in your response being disqualified. back to top

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