What is Contracts Finder?

Contracts Finder is a UK government portal allowing suppliers to find and apply for Low-value public sector contract opportunities published by central government departments, local authorities, NHS trusts, and more.

The portal is not a comprehensive source of all available notices, as many can be found on various other public sector websites. Notices published by devolved administrations can be found on Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI.

What are Low-value notices?

Low-value tenders are notices which fall below UK public procurement thresholds, but are worth more than £12,000 inc VAT. Typically these contracts have less red tape than High-value tenders, making them perfect for SMEs and companies who have limited to no experience working with the public sector.

Low-value tenders make up around 66% of all public sector contract opportunities in the UK, with Higher-value notices making the other 34%. Despite making up the majority f the public sector market, Low-value tenders are much harder to find than High-value contracts – which must be published on Find a Tender.

Limitations of Contracts Finder:

If you plan to search for tenders using Contracts Finder, you should be aware of the following constraints and challenges you will encounter.

• Not all public sector contracts are available on Contracts Finder. Low-value tenders are scattered across various sources, and for high-value contracts, you must also check Find a Tender.
• Contracts Finder offers only limited alert options for new or relevant opportunities. As a result, you might miss out on potential contracts and need to manually search for tenders frequently.
• The platform’s search filters are basic, which can make it challenging to narrow down results to the specific opportunities you’re interested in.
• Contracts Finder lacks additional market intelligence features, making it difficult to conduct thorough research on potential contracts.
• Unfortunately, the platform does not provide bid management tools, making it challenging to effectively track your opportunity pipeline.

Why use a tender alert service over Contracts Finder?

Tenders Direct goes beyond Contracts Finder and empowers your business to win public sector contracts.

• Tailored Alerts for companies in any industry or sector, customised to meet your business’ unique needs.
• Comprehensive Market Coverage gives you 100% visibility of both High and Low-value tenders, ensuring you have access to the right opportunities.
• Tenders Direct Guarantee lets you say goodbye to manual searches and rely completely on our tender alerts.
• Smart Matchmaking from our Peer-Review Process and advanced filters mean you only see tenders relevant to your business.
• Enhanced Features such as Competitor Tracker and Opportunity Manager help you to navigate the public sector marketplace effectively.
• Dedicated Support from our Account Managers, who will help set up your account and be available to offer assistance whenever you need it.