The full bid lifecycle, in one place
KimonBids is AI-powered tender discovery and bid management software built for UK SMEs. It monitors Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Sell2Wales, and Public Contracts Scotland in real time, matches opportunities to your company profile, and generates first-draft bid responses using AI trained on winning proposals.
From finding the right tenders to writing compliant responses and tracking your win rate, KimonBids covers every stage of the government procurement cycle.
Real-Time Tender Discovery Across All UK Portals
Definition: CPV Code
A CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) code is a standardised numerical code used across all UK and European public procurement to classify the type of goods, services, or works being purchased. CPV codes are assigned by buyers when publishing tenders and are used to categorise contracts in procurement databases. Understanding which CPV codes apply to your services is essential for setting up accurate tender alerts.
KimonBids continuously monitors all four UK government procurement portals and indexes new tenders within minutes of publication. Whether a council in Wales publishes a facilities management contract on Sell2Wales or a central government department releases an IT services tender on Find a Tender, you see it immediately.
The four portals together account for substantially all UK public sector procurement activity. Contracts Finder covers low-value and post-award notices; Find a Tender covers above-threshold contracts under the Procurement Act 2023; Sell2Wales covers Welsh public bodies; Public Contracts Scotland covers Scottish contracting authorities.
Our full-text search covers tender titles, descriptions, buyer names, and CPV codes. You can filter by contract value range, closing date window, buyer type (central government, local authority, NHS, education), and geographic region. Save search configurations as named alerts to receive instant email notifications when matching tenders are published.
Portal Coverage
- ✓Find a Tender (FTS) -- above-threshold UK government contracts
- ✓Contracts Finder -- low-value and post-award notices
- ✓Sell2Wales -- Welsh public sector procurement
- ✓Public Contracts Scotland -- Scottish contracting authorities
Search and Alert Capabilities
- ✓Full-text search across titles, descriptions, and CPV codes
- ✓Filter by value, closing date, buyer type, and region
- ✓Save multiple named alert configurations
- ✓Instant email notification on new matches
Every tender in the KimonBids database includes the full specification text, buyer contact details, evaluation criteria weighting (where published), submission deadline, and estimated contract value. Relevant tenders are surfaced based on your company profile, so your daily digest contains opportunities you can actually win rather than an undifferentiated list of everything published.
AI-Powered Bid Writing and Response Generation
Definition: PQQ and SQ
A PQQ (Pre-Qualification Questionnaire) is a selection stage document buyers use to assess whether a supplier is financially stable, technically capable, and compliant before inviting them to tender. Under the Procurement Act 2023, PQQs have been largely replaced by Selection Questionnaires (SQ), a standardised Crown Commercial Service template. Both assess similar criteria: company financials, insurance levels, health and safety policies, equality policies, and relevant experience.
Writing a bid response from scratch for each tender is the single biggest time cost in government procurement. An average tender response takes 40-80 hours for an SME bid team. KimonBids reduces this to a fraction by generating structured first drafts tailored to the specific tender requirements.
Bid Workspace
Each tender you decide to pursue has a dedicated bid workspace. Upload the tender specification, any buyer-issued documents, and your own company materials. The workspace organises the tender questions, tracks your completion progress across sections, and stores all your draft versions.
The AI reads both the tender specification and your uploaded company documents to generate responses that are factually grounded in your actual capabilities. Responses reference your real case studies, certifications, and past project experience rather than generic placeholder text.
PSQ Response Bank
Selection questionnaire responses are reused across dozens of tenders. KimonBids maintains a PSQ response bank where you store your pre-approved answers to standard SQ sections: financial standing, insurance, health and safety policy, equality and diversity, environmental policy, and GDPR compliance.
When you bid on a new tender requiring an SQ, the relevant pre-approved answers are inserted automatically. Version history tracks when each answer was last updated, and the expiry tracking system alerts you when certificates or policies need renewal.
Social Value Generator
Social value is now a mandatory evaluation criterion in most UK public sector contracts, typically weighted at 10-20% of the total score. KimonBids includes a Social Value Generator that maps your planned commitments to the standard PPN 06/20 and PPN 002 outcome categories used by UK buyers.
The generator suggests relevant social value commitments based on your sector and contract type, drafts measurable KPI statements, and formats them for inclusion in bid responses. A coverage heatmap shows which outcome categories you are meeting and which need additional commitments.
All bid content is exported to Microsoft Word for final formatting and submission. The AI assists with structure and drafting; you apply commercial judgment and final sign-off. This division of labour keeps your bid team focused on the high-value strategic decisions rather than repetitive document production.
Pre-Procurement Intelligence and Pipeline Monitoring
Definition: Pipeline Notice
Under the Procurement Act 2023, UK contracting authorities are required to publish Pipeline Notices for any planned procurement with an estimated value above £2 million. Pipeline Notices give at least 12 months advance warning that a contract is coming to market. Suppliers who monitor pipeline notices can engage with buyers during the market engagement phase, position their offering competitively, and prepare evidence well before the tender documents are published.
Most tender platforms only show you contracts that are currently open for bids. By then, your competitors who have been engaged with the buyer for months already have a significant advantage. KimonBids monitors the full procurement lifecycle including the pre-advertisement stage.
UK1 and UK3 Notices
The Procurement Act 2023 introduced new notice types. UK1 notices signal planned procurement; UK3 are transparency notices. KimonBids indexes both so you see incoming opportunities months before they go live.
Buyer History Analysis
Before bidding, see a buyer's complete award history: which suppliers won previous contracts, typical contract values, award frequency, and procurement patterns. Understand whether you are entering a market where incumbents are strongly entrenched.
Preparation Checklists
When a pipeline opportunity is identified, generate a preparation checklist covering relationship building activities, evidence gathering, accreditation renewals, and financial document preparation with recommended completion timelines.
The Pipeline tab in your KimonBids dashboard shows all identified upcoming opportunities alongside their estimated go-live dates and current preparation status. Filter by sector, value, and region to prioritise your pre-bid activities. For more on government procurement frameworks and how to position for them in advance, see our government frameworks guide.
Compliance and Readiness Tools
Definition: Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act 2023 (PA2023) replaced the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and came into force in February 2025. It introduced significant changes for suppliers: new Central Digitalisation Programme (CDP) requirements for digital capability, a revised exclusion grounds framework with mandatory and discretionary exclusions, new conditions of participation rules, mandatory pipeline notices above £2m, and an overarching requirement for contracting authorities to publish more transparency data throughout the procurement cycle.
PA2023 Readiness Checklist
KimonBids includes a built-in Procurement Act 2023 compliance checklist covering all three assessment areas that buyers evaluate during selection: CDP digital requirements, exclusion grounds self-certification, and conditions of participation. Each checklist item includes plain-English guidance explaining what evidence is required and typical documentation formats accepted by buyers.
Your overall readiness score is calculated across all three areas using weighted scoring that reflects how buyers prioritise these requirements. The dashboard shows your current score, which items are complete, and which require attention before your next bid submission.
Evidence Tracking and Expiry Alerts
Compliance evidence has expiry dates. ISO certifications, insurance policies, DBS checks, financial accounts, and health and safety policies all expire on different cycles. KimonBids tracks the expiry date of every uploaded evidence document and sends advance warnings 60 days before expiry.
Expired evidence items are excluded from your readiness score calculation and flagged prominently in the compliance dashboard. This prevents the situation where a bid fails at selection stage due to an overlooked expired certificate.
PSQ Response Versioning
Selection questionnaire responses need regular updates as your policies, certifications, and financial position evolve. Every PSQ response in KimonBids is versioned automatically. When you update an answer, the previous version is archived with a timestamp. A full audit trail shows every change to every answer, who made it, and when. This supports internal governance processes and provides evidence of due diligence when responding to buyer queries about your submission.
Procurement Intelligence Dashboard
Winning consistently in government procurement requires treating it as a data-driven discipline. KimonBids gives you the analytics infrastructure to understand your win rate, identify patterns in successful bids, and continuously improve your approach. For a breakdown of ROI, try our ROI calculator.
Track Record Management
Record every bid outcome: won, lost, withdrawn, or awaiting decision. For lost bids, document the feedback received and identify patterns. For won bids, record contract value, start date, and key deliverables for use as case study evidence in future bids.
Case Study Generation
Transform your completed contracts into formatted case studies for bid use. The AI generates a structured narrative covering the challenge, your solution, the outcomes achieved, and measurable results. Case studies are stored in your evidence library and automatically suggested when relevant tenders are identified.
Win Rate Analytics
Track your overall win rate and break it down by sector, buyer type, contract value band, and bid response type. Identify which types of contracts you win most often and focus your bid resources on higher-probability opportunities.
ROI Tracking
Calculate the revenue generated from government contracts against your bid team's time investment. Track cost per bid, revenue per bid win, and overall procurement ROI. Use these metrics to make the business case for investing more resources in high-value opportunities.
The dashboard integrates data from your tender monitoring, bid submissions, and contract outcomes into a single view. You see your current pipeline of live opportunities alongside your win rate trend, upcoming compliance expiries, and pipeline notices that need pre-bid attention.
How KimonBids Compares to Other Tender Platforms
The UK procurement software market is dominated by legacy enterprise tools with opaque pricing and a focus on large buyers rather than SME suppliers. KimonBids was built from the ground up for small and medium-sized enterprises. For a full comparison, see our comparison of KimonBids to alternatives.
| Feature | KimonBids | Tracker Intelligence | Stotles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Published, from free | Quote only (~£5k+/yr) | Quote only |
| UK portal coverage | 4 portals | 1-2 portals | 2-3 portals |
| AI bid writing | Integrated | Not included | Not included |
| SME focus | Primary audience | Enterprise focused | Enterprise focused |
| PA2023 compliance tools | Built-in checklist | Not included | Limited |
| Pre-procurement intelligence | Pipeline notices + history | Limited | Award data only |
| Social value tools | Built-in generator | Not included | Not included |
KimonBids is the only platform that combines real-time monitoring of all four UK portals, integrated AI bid writing, PA2023 compliance tools, and pre-procurement intelligence in a single product with transparent published pricing. We serve the sectors that win the most government contracts -- see our sectors we serve page for sector-specific detail. For procurement terminology, visit our procurement glossary.
Frequently Asked Questions About Features
What government tender portals does KimonBids monitor?+
KimonBids monitors all four UK government procurement portals in real time: Find a Tender (FTS), Contracts Finder, Sell2Wales, and Public Contracts Scotland. Tenders published on any of these portals are indexed within minutes of publication, so you never miss a relevant opportunity regardless of which buying authority published it or which portal they used.
How does AI bid writing work?+
You upload your company capability statements, past proposals, case studies, and accreditation certificates. When you select a tender to bid on, our AI reads the tender specification and generates a structured first-draft response tailored to that tender's specific questions and evaluation criteria. The draft is generated in your company voice using your own documents as source material. You then edit, refine, and export the final document to Word for submission. The AI handles the repetitive structuring work; you apply commercial judgement and final polish.
Can KimonBids help with PA2023 compliance?+
Yes. KimonBids includes a Procurement Act 2023 readiness checklist covering the three key assessment areas: Central Digitalisation Programme (CDP) requirements, exclusion grounds self-certification, and conditions of participation evidence. Each item includes guidance on what evidence is required and by when. A readiness score shows your current percentage across all three areas, and expired evidence items are automatically flagged before they cause a failed submission.
What is pre-procurement intelligence?+
Pre-procurement intelligence refers to information about contracts that are planned or in early stages before they are formally advertised as tenders. Under the Procurement Act 2023, UK buyers must publish Pipeline Notices (for contracts over £2 million) and UK3 notices before a contract goes to market. KimonBids monitors these notices so you can identify opportunities 6-18 months before the tender is published, build relationships with buyers, prepare evidence, and position your company competitively before the competition clock starts.
How does tender matching work in KimonBids?+
When you set up your company profile, you describe your sector focus, service capabilities, geographic reach, typical contract values, and accreditations. Our matching algorithm reads every new tender and scores it across five dimensions: sector alignment, capability match, geographic fit, contract value fit, and certification requirements. Each tender receives an overall match score and a clear match recommendation (Strong Match, Match, Possible Match, or Not a Match) with a plain-English explanation of why. You see only the tenders that are genuinely relevant to your business.
What file formats can I export bids in?+
KimonBids exports bid responses to Microsoft Word (.docx) format, ready for final editing and submission. Word format is accepted by all UK procurement portals and allows you to apply your own corporate branding, headers, and formatting before submission. Future export formats including PDF are on the product roadmap.
Does KimonBids work for all public sector contracts?+
KimonBids covers the full range of UK public sector procurement: central government, local authorities, NHS trusts, housing associations, universities, schools, police, fire, and other contracting authorities. The four portals we monitor collectively publish substantially all UK public sector contracts above the relevant thresholds. We index contracts from goods, services, and works categories across all CPV code families.
How is KimonBids different from Tracker or Stotles?+
KimonBids is purpose-built for UK SMEs, while Tracker Intelligence and Stotles are primarily enterprise tools with quote-only pricing often exceeding £5,000 per year. KimonBids publishes all prices transparently, starting with a free tier, and focuses specifically on the four UK portals rather than trying to cover global procurement data. Our AI bid writing is integrated directly into the tender workflow rather than bolted on as a separate product. See our comparison page for a full side-by-side breakdown.
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