UK supplier guide
Find a Tender integration:
read notices without confusing publication and submission
Find a Tender integration reads published procurement records from the official service. Its public OCDS data and its authenticated notice-submission API serve different jobs.
Find an opportunity to assess →Checked against primary sources5 sources linked below
- Name the integration's job
- Choose the relevant interface
- Retain provenance and updates
- Check the rendered result
A notice is a record
Preserve identifiers, dates, status and value basis.The buyer sets the submission route
Follow the actual tender instructions.
What does a Find a Tender integration actually connect?
A reader consumes published notice data; an eSender submits notices for publication.
RFP Quest reads published records from Find a Tender and Contracts Finder.
The buyer’s submission portal and instructions determine where the supplier sends its actual bid.
- Public OCDS data supplies structured published records.
- The eSender API is a separate notice-submission interface.
- Use official notice links to check the source.
- Publication is not a supplier’s tender-response submission.
Which fields matter when you consume notice data?
Keep identifiers, dates, status and value basis together.
| Field | Why it matters | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Notice and procurement identifiers | Link releases without merging different procurements | Keep the official source URL |
| Notice type and status | Distinguish plans, competitions and awards | Read the notice’s purpose |
| Deadline | Different stages can have different dates | Keep stage and timezone |
| Value | Estimate, contract and framework totals differ | Keep VAT and value basis |
How do you scope a Find a Tender integration without mixing up its APIs?
Separate public notice reading from authenticated publication and the buyer's submission service.
- Start with the source01
Name the integration's job
Decide whether it reads public records or submits notices for an authorised publisher. - Define the scope02
Choose the relevant interface
Read the official documentation for that interface and its access requirements. - Read the evidence03
Retain provenance and updates
Keep identifiers, original sources and revisions with the ingested notice. - Make the decision04
Check the rendered result
Compare buyer, stage, value basis and dates with the original publication. - Name the next action05
Own ingestion and recovery
Give freshness, failures and later updates an operator; reading notices does not submit supplier bids.
A supplier’s review sequence, based on the primary sources below. It is not a measured outcome or a prescribed buyer timetable.
How does an API reader interpret Northumbrian Water’s notice?
Read its framework estimate and expression-of-interest deadline as separate facts, not a ready-made bid recommendation.
Northumbrian Water’s Commercial Services record is linked to the official notice and its OCDS publication.
An integration must preserve that the value is a framework estimate and that the listed deadline is for expressions of interest.
The supplier still needs the tender documents and current updates before acting.
This is a published procurement example, not a customer story or evidence that any supplier won.
The £120 million figure is an estimated framework value excluding VAT, not guaranteed spend or a single contract award.
Notice published
FA08-31 Commercial Services sets out separate lots.Express interest
This is the expression-of-interest deadline, not the final bid deadline.Planned start
The published lot periods start here; check the latest notice for changes.
How much time will the team spend checking the opportunities?
Estimate your own review and preparation cost instead of assuming every record is worth a bid.
Your bid effort
Starting figures are an illustration, not a measured average or a saving promised by RFP Quest.
£4,000 and 80 team hours each month if you prepare every bid.
Use the estimate to decide how much work to authorise before drafting starts.
It excludes software fees and external costs.
- This bid£2,000
- Other bids this month£2,000
What should an integration retain for an audit trail?
Keep the source, its identifiers, the retrieved record and when it was checked.
Structured data helps consistent processing but does not make every field complete.
A changed deadline, correction or award record should not silently overwrite the history used for an earlier decision.
- Retain the notice and procurement references.
- Keep releases and corrections distinguishable.
- Link to the publisher, not just an internal summary.
- Record when the source was read; later notices may change it.
What should an engineer do first?
Choose the reading endpoint, inspect the schema and test records before adding automation.
- Before you start01
Use the current documents
Check the primary publication and later changes before using the sequence below. - Check 202
Choose the job
Separate read-only OCDS consumption from eSender publishing. - Check 303
Inspect the schema
Read the official API documentation and representative records. - Check 404
Keep provenance
Retain IDs, release information and source links. - Follow through05
Test changes
Verify corrections, missing fields, pagination and date handling.
An editorial order of work, not a buyer's fixed timetable. The current notice and documents determine participation and submission.
What coverage should a supplier expect?
State which registers and records are actually read; do not infer universal or instant coverage.
RFP Quest’s public search covers the two registers it reads.
This page promises no ingest interval, complete UK coverage, supplier submission API or live alert delivery.
- Check the source’s published data and API documentation.
- It has a separate OCDS search API.
- A notice may point to another portal for the tender pack.
- Check the current source before using a snapshot for a decision.
Keep the source record behind every procurement decision.
Reading and publishing differ
Select the correct API for the job.A notice is a record
Preserve identifiers, dates, status and value basis.The buyer sets the submission route
Follow the actual tender instructions.
Search public notices, then read the source and the buyer’s documents before preparing a response.
What else should you know about Find a Tender integration?
Check these points before committing your team’s time.
Is Find a Tender free to use?
How often is Find a Tender updated?
Does the public API let me submit a supplier’s bid?
Can I search RFP Quest without signing in?
Where can you check the evidence?
Read the primary publication and the buyer’s current documents before acting.
| Source | What it supports |
|---|---|
| Find a Tender API ↗ | Structured published notice data. |
| eSender documentation ↗ | Separate authenticated notice-publication interface. |
| Contracts Finder OCDS ↗ | Separate public notice search. |
| Cabinet Office procedures ↗ | Tender documents and supplier response instructions. |
| Northumbrian Water ↗ | Real fields, value basis and dates. |
Which guide answers your next question?
Follow the part of the bid you need to work on next.
