Business services tenders cover a lot of ground: consultancy, recruitment, security, marketing, legal, accountancy, printing, events, translation and facilities management all sit in the same group of notices, and the entry requirements differ a lot between them. This page helps you find your line of work, shows what buyers usually ask service providers for, and explains how a small firm can win. It also covers licences, data rules and the cover buyers check. Our tender eligibility checker is coming soon. Until then, tell us your trade and postcode to join the free weekly list of live tenders, starting soon.
Find your service
Business services is a catch-all group, and the requirements differ by line of work. Five lines have their own page with live notices:
- Consultancy: check the pack for named-team and professional indemnity requirements. See management consultancy tenders.
- Recruitment and staffing: employment agency conduct rules apply (see below). See recruitment and staffing tenders.
- Security: an SIA licence is the law, not the buyer’s preference (see below). See security guarding tenders.
- Marketing and creative: no sector licence applies that we can point to, so relevant case studies and your approach to the brief do the work. See marketing tenders.
- Facilities management: often several services in one contract, so look at the lots and any staff transfer. See facilities management tenders.
Other lines don’t have their own page yet, so their notices appear in the live list on this page:
- Legal services: check the scope, and any panel or lot structure, in the notice.
- Accountancy and audit: check the lots and the qualifications the pack asks for.
- Printing: check the volumes and delivery points in the specification.
- Events: check dates, venues and what you are expected to supply.
- Translation and interpreting: check the languages and volumes in the specification.
The sections below cover what all of these share.
What buyers usually ask service providers for
Data protection and Cyber Essentials when you handle personal or government data
If you handle personal data, the Data Protection Act 2018 applies, and the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018 set out the data protection fee, so check whether you must pay it. Separately, PPN 014 covers central government and NHS buyers, who need Cyber Essentials (or equivalent) evidence where a contract involves citizens’ or government staff personal data, ICT at OFFICIAL level, or government business information. Evidence is needed before award. Our page on Cyber Essentials has the detail.
Licences that are the law, not the buyer’s choice
For contract security, an SIA licence is needed when you supply licensable activity such as manned guarding under a contract for services, and directors and managers of the supplying company need licences too. For recruitment, the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 set rules on charges, terms and records.
Professional indemnity and other cover
Levels vary by contract and we can’t source typical figures, so check the pack before you decide whether to bid. If your cover is lower than the buyer asks for, find out early whether you can raise it before award. See professional indemnity insurance and turnover tests.
TUPE when you take over an outsourced service
When you take over an outsourced service, a service provision change can move staff to you. It only happens if the conditions in regulation 3(3) are met:
- immediately before the change, there is an organised grouping of employees in Great Britain whose principal purpose is carrying out the activities for the client
- the client intends the new supplier to carry out the activities other than in connection with a single specific event or task of short-term duration
- the activities do not consist wholly or mainly of supplying goods for the client’s use
So a one-off event, or a contract that is mainly about supplying goods such as printed materials, may fall outside it, while a continuing service run by a dedicated team is more likely to be caught. Ask the buyer for staffing information early and price for it.
Social value on central-government contracts (PPN 002)
Central government departments, their agencies and non-departmental public bodies must give social value at least a 10% weighting on above-threshold contracts where it is relevant (PPN 002). Other buyers may weight it differently.
In the week to 10 Oct 2026, 29 of 470 live notices in our data (about 6%) stated insurance requirements in the notice itself (as of 10 Oct 2026). The rest is in the pack.
How to win business services contracts
Use the smaller-contract advantage
From 1 January 2026, services contracts start at £135,018 including VAT for central government and £207,720 for other authorities before the full Procurement Act rules apply. Below those amounts, when tenders are invited the buyer can’t restrict who may tender by assessing suitability (Welsh devolved buyers follow their own rules, and call-offs from frameworks are excluded), and must consider barriers SMEs face.
If a buyer advertises a below-threshold contract worth £12,000 or more (central government, including NHS trusts) or £30,000 or more (other authorities), including VAT, it must first publish a below-threshold tender notice. Buyers can also invite quotes from chosen suppliers without advertising.
Across all sectors, 85 of the 366 live notices that stated a value were under £100,000 in the week to 10 Oct 2026 (as of 10 Oct 2026), so small contracts do come up. The value is shown on each notice in the live list on this page.
Frameworks run by the Government Commercial Agency (formerly Crown Commercial Service)
Some government frameworks are run by the Government Commercial Agency, which has replaced Crown Commercial Service, and by other buying bodies. A framework’s term is limited to four years in most cases, so the next opening is predictable. Miss it and you may wait years.
Look for lots
Buyers must consider splitting a contract into lots, or give reasons for not doing so. A large consultancy, recruitment or facilities contract may be split by service or area. Bid for the lot that matches your team and capacity, rather than stretching to the whole contract.
Write to the evaluation criteria
Contracts are awarded to the most advantageous tender (formerly most economically advantageous tender), which scores best against the buyer’s published criteria. Answer what is scored, in the order it’s scored, and choose case studies that match the buyer’s work. Name the people who will actually deliver it, with relevant experience, and keep every claim you make something you can back up in the contract. Our guide explains how tenders are scored.
Register on the Central Digital Platform
It is free, and buyers need your unique identifier before award.
Questions
What counts as a business services tender?
It is a broad group. Notices in this division cover consultancy, recruitment, security, marketing, legal, accountancy, printing, events, translation and facilities management, among others. Pick your own line of work, because the entry requirements differ a lot between them.
Do I need Cyber Essentials to supply services to government?
Only where PPN 014 applies. It covers central government and NHS bodies, for contracts involving things like citizens' personal data or government business information. Where it applies, Cyber Essentials (or equivalent) evidence is needed before award. Other buyers may ask for it too, so check the pack.
Are business services contracts small enough for a micro-business?
Some are. When tenders are invited for a below-threshold contract, buyers can't restrict who tenders by assessing suitability (Welsh devolved buyers and framework call-offs aside), and buyers must consider the barriers SMEs face. Whether a given notice is the right size depends on its value and any lots, so read the notice.
How do I get on a government consultancy or recruitment framework?
Watch for the framework's notice and apply when the buyer opens it. A framework's term is limited to four years in most cases, so openings come round on a predictable cycle. Register on the Central Digital Platform first, because buyers need your unique identifier before award.
What happens to existing staff when I win an outsourced service (TUPE)?
If the work is fundamentally the same and an organised group of staff mainly does it for the client, a service provision change under TUPE can transfer those staff to you. Ask the buyer for staffing information early and price for it.