How a tender becomes a bid

You bring the tender and what your business has done. BidShortlist does the reading, the drafting and the checking, and asks you about anything it can’t back up.

Before your first bid: your evidence

Set up your evidence once: upload certificates, insurance and policies as PDF or Word, paste your capability statement, or build one with us. You check the facts it pulls out, and the files are deleted.

  • Upload up to 10 PDF or Word documents at a time: certificates of currency, accreditations, policies, past tenders
  • Or paste your capability statement and it’s sorted into projects, staff, insurances and certifications
  • No capability statement? Answer a few questions and one gets written for you

Then three steps, in the same order, every time

  1. Step 1: Plan

    Upload the whole tender pack, up to 10 PDF or Word files: conditions of tender, response schedules, pricing schedule, addenda. BidShortlist reads them together and builds the compliance matrix: every selection criterion, mandatory requirement, word limit, weighting and the closing date. If the tender refers to a document you didn’t upload, it says so. Then three quick checks, run in order with one click: an evidence gap check, an honest bid or no-bid, and a bid strategy with win themes tied to your real proof.

  2. Step 2: Answers

    Draft every answer at once, or one at a time. Each is written from your evidence, follows the strategy and stays inside the word limit. When your evidence doesn’t cover something, the answer waits for you: it shows what’s needed, you type it in or save it to your evidence for next time, and it redrafts. Or ask for a starter answer with the gaps marked [ADD: …] so you can fill them in yourself. Declarations, like conflicts of interest or past litigation, are never answered for you unless your evidence states them. As each answer is drafted, an AI evaluation panel scores it and checks every claim against your evidence (the score is an AI assessment, not a prediction that you’ll win). If a written answer has a claim your evidence doesn’t back or part of the question left unanswered, it is fixed and scored again before you see it. The fix is kept only if it scores higher, and every change comes with its reason.

  3. Step 3: Final checks

    Answers you edit can be scored again the same way. Anything left that only you can supply is listed, with a one-click fix wherever the writer can do it. A whole-bid review then reads the submission as one document for contradictions, repetition and promises you can’t keep. You finish with one list of what to fix, a lodgement checklist and a Word export.

A card at the top of every bid always shows the one thing to do next.

Five AI specialists take your bid through six stages

A general chatbot does every job in one go and marks its own work. BidShortlist hands your tender from one specialist to the next, like a parcel through its scans, and each one checks what came before. In the last stage the bid writer and the evaluation panel work together. This is the sample tender, stage by stage.

  1. Tender read

    Tender reader · Step 1 of 6

    Done

    Reads the whole tender pack, PDF and Word, and lists every requirement, word limit and attachment.

    On the sample tender: 9 requirements found: 3 mandatory, 4 weighted criteria (40%, 30%, 20%, 10%) and 2 attachments to lodge.

    Requirements found in the sample tender
    #RequirementAnswer
    1Public liability insuranceYes or no
    2Workers compensationYes or no
    3AcknowledgementAcknowledge
    4Relevant experience40% · 500 words
    5Methodology and quality30% · 400 words
    6Workforce and capability20% · 300 words
    7Value for money10% · 200 words
    8Completed pricing schedule (Attachment 1)Attach
    9Certificate of currency for public liability insuranceAttach

  2. Evidence checked

    Evidence checker · Step 2 of 6

    Done

    Checks your evidence against every requirement before a word is written, and marks what only you can supply.

    On the sample tender: 4 requirements strongly backed, 1 moderate, 1 needs your input (value for money). No disqualifying gaps.

    • StrongPublic liability insuranceCover of $20,000,000 any one occurrence meets the $20 million minimum and is current. Have the certificate of currency ready to attach.
    • StrongWorkers compensationCurrent workers compensation cover under the Workers Compensation Act 1987, renewed annually. Confirm the current renewal date when responding.
    • StrongRelevant experienceTwo government projects give site scale, contract value and outcomes, and there is a named referee. The health district contract ran 2019 to 2024, so only part of it falls within the last three years. Make the recency explicit in the response.
    • ModerateMethodology and qualityThe approach elements are present: QA certification, supervisor model, digital scheduling and issue response time. There is no detailed documented QA, scheduling or escalation process, so these will need to be written up in the response.
    • StrongWorkforce and capabilityEvidence covers recruitment checks, induction, training and retention. Coverage and relief arrangements for absences are not described, so add a short explanation of them.
    • Needs your inputValue for moneyPricing for this tender is supplier-specific and must come from the supplier. Past contract values and outcomes can support a value-for-money narrative, but there is no pricing model or rate evidence yet.

  3. Bid planned

    Bid strategist · Step 3 of 6

    Done

    Gives an honest bid or no-bid, then sets the win themes and the angle for each criterion.

    On the sample tender: Worth bidding, high confidence. 7 win themes, led by “Proven government cleaning delivery at multi-site scale”.

    Worth bidding, high confidence

    Coastal Commercial Cleaning appears to meet all three mandatory conditions and has strong, directly relevant government cleaning experience, ISO-certified quality and WHS systems, and…

    Win themes

    1. 1Proven government cleaning delivery at multi-site scale
    2. 2Fixed supervisor model with digital scheduling and issue logging
    3. 3Independently certified quality and WHS systems
    4. 4Stable, vetted and trained workforce
    5. 5Demonstrated high-standard, controlled-environment cleaning
    6. 6Verified compliance and low mandatory-condition risk
    7. 7Value for money through quality, retention and fewer complaintsWeak, needs your pricing

  4. Answers drafted

    Bid writer · Step 4 of 6

    Done

    Drafts every criterion from your evidence alone, inside the word limit. If the evidence isn’t there, it asks you.

    On the sample tender: Criterion 4, relevant experience: 466 of 500 words.

    Criterion 4: Relevant experience (40%)

    466 / 500 words

    Coastal Commercial Cleaning Pty Ltd is an Australian-owned commercial cleaning company established in 2012. We employ 140 staff and service government, education and healthcare sites across NSW and the ACT. Our work centres on daily office cleaning, periodic deep cleans and infection-control cleaning in occupied government buildings, which is the type of service the Department of Regional Services is seeking. Our closest match to this requirement is the NSW Department…

  5. Panel review

    Evaluation panel · Step 5 of 6

    Done

    Checks each answer as soon as it’s written: marks it out of 100 the way a government panel would and checks every claim against your evidence. The mark is an AI assessment, not a prediction that you’ll win.

    On the sample tender: Scored 78. Flagged 2 claims the evidence doesn’t back.

    78/ 100, AI panel score

    Needs work: 2 claims flagged

    Not backed by the evidence

    We run it with a fixed supervisor model and digital issue logging, so each site has a consistent point of accountability and every issue is recorded and tracked.

    Panel note: Remove the unevidenced claims that issues are 'closed' and that 'every issue is recorded and tracked' (the evidence only shows digital issue logging).

  6. Fixed and re-scored

    Bid writer and evaluation panel · Step 6 of 6

    Done

    Fixes what the panel flagged before you see the answer, says why for each change, and has the panel score it again. A fix is kept only if it scores higher. Before you export, the panel also reads the whole bid as one.

    On the sample tender: Fixed automatically and re-scored 88, win-ready. 8 of 8 claims backed by the evidence.

    11 changes before you saw it. This one, with its reason:

    We run it with a fixed supervisor model and digital issue logging, so each site has a consistent point of accountability and every issue is recorded and tracked.logging.

    Why: Removed 'every issue is recorded and tracked' and the accountability claim, because your evidence only shows digital issue logging, not tracking or closure.

    Re-scored 78 → 88Win-ready8 of 8 claims backed by the evidence

What you take away

A Word document set out as a bid pack, ready for you to check and lodge.

  • Every answer, with its word count against the limit
  • What’s still outstanding, and who needs to do it
  • A compliance summary and a schedule of attachments
  • A lodgement checklist for the portal
  • A plain-text copy of each answer for pasting into portal fields
  • An internal log of the evidence behind each answer

What it won’t do

Over-claiming can cost you the contract, so these are hard rules.

  • Invent a project, a number, a staff member or a certificate
  • Answer a legal declaration your evidence doesn’t state
  • Call a pricing schedule finished when you haven’t done it
  • Lodge the bid for you. You check it and submit it in the portal

Try it on a real tender

Your first bid is free: the plan, every answer, the panel review and the Word export.

Start your free bidSee pricing

No credit card. Your first bid is free.