FKINP Use the questionnaire in the live tender pack
The procurement regime matters before commissioning a writer. Cabinet Office guidance distinguishes procurements started before 24 February 2025 under the previous rules from those under the Procurement Act 2023.[6] PAS 91 has been withdrawn; it should not be bought as a generic current qualification route.[7] For Procurement Act procedures, the official procurement-specific questionnaire performs a similar supplier-information role to the earlier Standard Selection Questionnaire.[8]
Give the writer the actual tender documents, clarification notices, evaluation criteria and portal deadlines. Confirm which questionnaire, declarations and evidence the buyer requires. Older terminology on a provider’s marketing page does not settle the requirements of this procurement.
How the five providers compare
For a UK SME with an internal draft, Thornton & Lowe specifies review outputs[3] while BWS identifies review criteria.[1] For fuller outsourcing, BWS and Thornton & Lowe describe support through submission, and Kittle Group describes support through final sign-off, but none of them says who authorises the final submission.[1][2][3]
BWS
- Review-only help: Analysis and feedback cover clarity, structure and compliance, with suggestions aligned to evaluation criteria.[1]
- Full response writing: BWS offers compliant proposal writing as a separate service.[1]
- Ownership through completion or submission: Bid management runs from opportunity to submission; who approves and submits the final response is a point to agree.[1]
Kittle Group
- Review-only help: Bid reviews are available as targeted assistance or within broader support.[2]
- Full response writing: Bid writing is included in its service range.[2]
- Ownership through completion or submission: Support can run from first contact through final sign-off; agree who handles the portal and the final submission.[2]
Thornton & Lowe
- Review-only help: “Read, Review and Comment” assesses compliance, structure, unique selling points and added value, then supplies Microsoft Word comments, a recommendations report and a Teams or Zoom call.[3]
- Full response writing: Outsourced writing is available, including for organisations without an in-house bid team.[3]
- Ownership through completion or submission: Bid management can run from planning to submission. Review-and-improve support includes gathering information, research, rewriting and checking portal clarifications; agree who has final authority to approve submission.[3]
Executive Compass
- Review-only help: A Bid Review Service is listed alongside its writing services.[4]
- Full response writing: Bid and tender writing, supplier-questionnaire support, pre-bid consultancy and interim bid support. It says it does not use associates or freelance writers.[4]
- Ownership through completion or submission: Bid management is offered; who approves and uploads the final submission is a point to agree in writing.[4]
Bid & Tender Support
- Review-only help: Bid Review is listed, but detailed outputs are not defined.[5]
- Full response writing: Bid Writing is offered as part of its tender-support services.[5]
- Ownership through completion or submission: Bid Management can cover all or selected tendering tasks; agree who completes, approves and submits the response.[5]
Choose the appropriate support level
When an internal team can draft
Thornton & Lowe gives the most detailed description of its review deliverables: document comments, a recommendations report and a follow-up call. Its separate review-and-improve service extends to research, evidence and rewriting.[3] BWS describes review against clarity, structure, compliance and evaluation criteria, with full writing listed separately.[1]
Kittle Group, Executive Compass and Bid & Tender Support all list a bid review service, but their main pages do not define the outputs or how much rewriting is included, so ask for a sample deliverable.[2][4][5]
When the response needs outsourcing
BWS describes full writing and management from opportunity to submission.[1] Thornton & Lowe describes planning-to-submission support, including information gathering, research, rewriting, compliance work and portal clarifications.[3] Kittle Group offers comprehensive or targeted writing and management through final sign-off.[2]
Bid & Tender Support offers writing and management across all or selected tasks, but does not define the endpoint.[5] Executive Compass offers full bid writing and bid management for owner-managed businesses, SMEs and multinationals bidding for public- and private-sector contracts.[4]
Sector and client positioning
- BWS: Positions its services for SMEs and micro-SMEs pursuing public- or private-sector work.[1]
- Kittle Group: Specialises in UK public-sector tenders and serves organisations ranging from small family-run firms to global businesses.[2]
- Thornton & Lowe: Focuses on UK public-sector tenders and identifies SMEs as core clients.[3]
- Executive Compass: Names owner-managed businesses, SMEs and multinationals seeking public- or private-sector contracts.[4]
- Bid & Tender Support: Covers public, private and third-sector opportunities with support tailored to client requirements.[5]
Submission support versus final responsibility
A service described as running “to submission” does not settle who makes every decision. Allocate six responsibilities before work begins:
- gathering evidence from the client team;
- checking compliance against the tender requirements;
- monitoring portal clarifications;
- obtaining final sign-off;
- uploading documents; and
- authorising the submission.
BWS describes management from opportunity through submission.[1] Thornton & Lowe offers planning-to-submission support and portal management, including compliance checks and clarification monitoring.[3] Kittle Group refers to final sign-off, but does not assign portal-submission responsibility.[2]
None of the five main pages says who holds final approval authority. Thornton & Lowe goes furthest, describing portal and submission support.[3] Record the answer in the engagement letter.
Pricing models
- BWS: Reviews each tender pack before providing a fixed-fee quotation. It may reduce the fee in exchange for a win bonus and says there are no “added extras”.[1]
- Thornton & Lowe: Describes its quotations as tailored and obligation-free.[3]
- Executive Compass: Gives a no-obligation, fixed-fee quotation once a tender is uploaded, and offers a free 30-minute consultation.[4]
- Bid & Tender Support: Offers bespoke quotations and a free one-hour consultation.[5]
None of the five main pages publishes numerical service fees, and BWS does not state its win-bonus percentage.
What to confirm with each provider
Contract terms are not set out on the providers’ main pages, so ask each one for the following in writing:
- Scope: Ask for named deliverables, review rounds, response deadlines, evidence-gathering duties and arrangements for late clarifications. Distinguish comments, editing, rewriting, full writing and bid management.
- Submission: Record who controls portal access, uploads files, checks attachments, approves the response and submits it.
- Charges: Request the total fee, VAT position, payment milestones, minimum engagement, cancellation and refund provisions, revision costs and any win-bonus calculation.
- Delays and outcomes: Confirm the financial position if the procurement is delayed, cancelled or unsuccessful.
- Content and information: Agree ownership and permitted reuse of written material, confidentiality duties, data handling and access controls.
Making the final choice
- Choose between independent review, review with rewriting, full response writing and management through completion.
- Send shortlisted providers the same tender pack, deadline and responsibility list.
- Compare proposals by deliverables, ownership, timetable, total price and contractual clarity.
- Name the internal and external owners for evidence gathering, approval, portal upload and submission.
Treat success rates, contract values and testimonials on provider websites as the provider’s own claims; Executive Compass, for example, publishes a success rate it describes as auditable.[4] If results affect the appointment, ask for independent supporting evidence.
References
- Professional Bid Writing Services | Tender Writing Services | BWS (bidwritingservice.com)
- Professional Bid Writers UK – Bid Writing Services | Kittle Group (kittle-group.com)
- Bid Writing Services | Professional Tender Writers UK (thorntonandlowe.com)
- Bid Writers & Tender Consultants in the UK | Executive Compass (executivecompass.co.uk)
- Bid & Tender Writing Services | Bid Support | Bid Writers UK (bidandtendersupport.co.uk)
- Procurement policy notes — Cabinet Office (gov.uk)
- PPN 03/24: Standard Selection Questionnaire (gov.uk)
- Procurement Act 2023 procurement-specific questionnaire (civilservice.gov.uk)
