Tenders explained: start with no prior knowledge
What a tender is, why smaller businesses can have real opportunities, and how a notice becomes a bid.
After this guide, you can …
- Understand buyer and bidder roles
- Recognise a realistic first opportunity
- See the journey to a contract
1. A contract starts with a need
A school needs cleaning, a business needs a website, a municipality needs vehicle maintenance. The buyer describes the purchase and invites businesses to bid. A bid explains the service, price and delivery. You are competing for a customer contract. A grant application, job vacancy or award notice announcing an already chosen supplier serves a different purpose.
2. You do not need to be a large company
Small, young and internationally led businesses can win suitable contracts. What matters is the specific procedure and your ability to deliver reliably. Within the scope of the VgV, buyers must consider the particular circumstances of young businesses and SMEs when choosing suitability criteria. This does not replace required evidence or a strong, compliant bid.
3. Learn the process one step at a time
A typical journey is to find a suitable opportunity, read the documents, check eligibility, clarify questions, prepare your bid and send it through the prescribed channel on time. The buyer then checks and evaluates bids. Some procedures first require a participation application; only selected businesses submit an offer. The applicable rules depend on factors such as subject, value, buyer and procedure.
4. Combine learning with an organised workspace
These guides are readable without signing in. Vergabezone then helps you review opportunities with their sources and organise bid work through tasks, evidence and team responsibilities. Official documents remain authoritative. Submit through the channel specified there; a draft saved in Vergabezone is not a submitted bid. Begin with one well-matched opportunity rather than the largest possible number of applications.
A good start needs fit, preparation and reliability. Business size alone does not determine the award.
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Go to the original source
Editorially checked on 27 October 2026. The current original documents of your procedure govern.
- GWB § 97 — Grundsätze der VergabeBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet
- GWB § 122 — EignungBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet
- VgV § 42 — Auswahl geeigneter UnternehmenBundesamt für Justiz / Gesetze im Internet
- Your Europe — Public tendering rulesEuropäische Union / Your Europe