Choose a first contract you can actually deliver
A practical decision path for beginners: turn your existing capability into a reasoned decision to bid.
After this guide, you can …
- Match size and scope to capacity
- Make a simple bid decision
- Use experience without inventing credentials
1. Start with capability you already have
Write down the service you already deliver reliably, the people available and the area you cover. Add spare capacity, relevant licences, typical job sizes and funds available to start delivery. A good first tender often concerns a clearly bounded task. If a procedure offers lots, meaning separate contract portions, check whether one fits your business and how many you are permitted to bid for.
2. Answer four questions before writing
Can we deliver the service? Do we meet the required suitability criteria? Can we prepare a complete bid by the deadline? Does the contract make commercial sense? Answer yes, no or unresolved and record the evidence. An unresolved point becomes a task. A decisive no is a good reason to invest your time in a better fit. Not bidding is preferable to taking on an obligation you cannot fulfil.
3. Use genuine experience
A first public tender does not necessarily mean your business has no relevant experience. Compare genuine customer projects with the reference characteristics requested. The documents and any official clarification determine whether private-sector references, particular team members’ experience or partner evidence are sufficient. Describe your own contribution accurately. A former employer’s project does not automatically become a reference for your new company.
4. Plan a manageable learning project
Set a realistic preparation budget. Assign evidence, pricing, technical response and final review tasks. Use the Vergabezone shortlist and bid workspace to record the decision and unresolved points. After the result, identify lessons you can reuse. Winning is possible, but no honest guide can promise it. A first bid prepared with a clear audit trail already improves your working process.
The best first contract fits what you can evidence and deliver reliably.
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Go to the original source
Editorially checked on 27 October 2026. The current original documents of your procedure govern.
- GWB § 122 — EignungBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet
- VgV § 42 — Auswahl geeigneter UnternehmenBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet
- VgV § 48 — EignungsnachweiseBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet