Tendering is undoubtedly a risky business on many levels. There are pitfalls at every stage of the process both for bidders and those seeking a service provider.

On this blog we have often talked about making sure that you are able to meet your end of the deal when either bidding, or offering a contract. You shouldn't bid on something that you're seriously not equipped to deal with and you shouldn't offer contracts which you can't yourself honour monetarily etc.

Aside from being discredited as a business and losing out on valuable work you can also be taken to court for breach of contract if you don't hold up every single aspect of your contractual agreement, which can result in big damages payouts and legal costs, both for you and your opponent. 

The regulations that are in place to govern public sector procurement are very stringent in terms of making sure that a multitude of checks have to be done to ensure that each party can meet their end of the bargain, but as with all contracts, things can go wrong.

Make sure that you manage the risks as best you can. Make sure that you have top level insurance cover in place that protects you if you are taken to court and that ensures that you don't get stuck with a bill that could effectively bankrupt your business.