process in getting government contracts?

Megatron!!

Im starting up a company and need to know the process of bidding on government builds. Where are they published and what does it entail?

CJhaughey

Megatron!! wrote: »

Im starting up a company and need to know the process of bidding on government builds. Where are they published and what does it entail?

Over €10k they have to go onto Etenders.gov.ie.
You will need to be tax compliant and have some demonstrated ability to carry out the tender.

Megatron!!

Ok cheers, One more thing. Trying to get my vat sorted. Im registering for it so I need clarification on a few points.

Doing a job for another business who claim vat back from me, 23% on materials and 13.5 on service. That part is straight forward but
doing a job for domestic persons who cant reclaim the vat is a little trickier. Do I charge them vat on materials but hold off on the service charge as they cant claim it back? Also the vat that was charged on materials will become profit so do most people take that from the labour charge and drop there quote?

I know these are basic questions but im trying to be as competitive as possible at startup so need to learn the norms.

cheers

CJhaughey

You would be better off asking over in here.

kkelliher

Megatron!! wrote: »

Doing a job for another business who claim vat back from me, 23% on materials and 13.5 on service.

This dose not make any sense. If you are providing a construction service (as you are posting in the construction forum) they can only claim back one value as you will only be charging one value which I would think is 13.5% on the basis you are supplying materials.

In respect to government contracts it will be very difficult to prequalify for any project unless you have a stockpile of previous projects similar to those you are going to tender for. There is a lot of red tape and paperwork on most projects before you even get to submit a price

Megatron!!

kkelliher wrote: »

This dose not make any sense. If you are providing a construction service (as you are posting in the construction forum) they can only claim back one value as you will only be charging one value which I would think is 13.5% on the basis you are supplying materials.

In respect to government contracts it will be very difficult to prequalify for any project unless you have a stockpile of previous projects similar to those you are going to tender for. There is a lot of red tape and paperwork on most projects before you even get to submit a price

I feel a bit of an idiot now after phrasing it like that. As far as the Vat thing goes im gonna do a 3 day course so im 100% on it. As far as the government tenders go, well I suppose that will be down the line somewhere. So I guess my next question is should I register for VAT in the first 2 years of business as I will fall under the threshold for supply and fit (think its 87ish thousand)

Basically Will I not fit the criteria for some jobs if im not vat registered or whats the path most others take starting up?

Sorry for the fairly stupid questions but with the amount of things im organizing at the moment the pressure is building and I need to guarantee myself a good start out of the traps.

archtech

Best advise I would give you is do a start your own business course. Most county enterprisE boards run them. And do a business plan .

Megatron!!

archtech wrote: »

Best advise I would give you is do a start your own business course. Most county enterprisE boards run them. And do a business plan .

I am about to be approved for a business grant hopefully in a week. Just trying to educate myself more so I can do up my own strategy to partner the plan. I am doing the start your own business course in November as well as an accounting and marketing courses. Not sure these will give me more information into my desired field but hopefully they do. Cheers for the replies

Ned78

Megatron

I work in the Local Authority sector and am dealing with contracts quite often, regards the experience, we usually look for evidence that you have completed three similar contracts, which are also similar in size also.

Look out for advertisements on eTenders for frameworks in your sector, these essentially pre-qualify you onto a list which is then distributed among LA'a who when the need arises will ask for quotations for specific works/services. these are typically run at the end of the year.

Best of luck

kkelliher

Ned78 wrote: »

Megatron

I work in the Local Authority sector and am dealing with contracts quite often, regards the experience, we usually look for evidence that you have completed three similar contracts, which are also similar in size also.

Look out for advertisements on eTenders for frameworks in your sector, these essentially pre-qualify you onto a list which is then distributed among LA'a who when the need arises will ask for quotations for specific works/services. these are typically run at the end of the year.

Best of luck

Is there any chance you could give the rational for minimum turnover levels on government contracts? I cannot tender for any of the quantity surveying service contracts as I don't have a turnover of greater than €200k per year (some are even higher). I am more qualified than most in my profession that end up actually doing the work and it has never made any sense but to be anti competitive and pro "big firm". the same goes for most tenders on offer by government departments

Ned78

When a contract is signed with a service provider it could be for up to ten years, some form of assurance is needed that the company you have signed a contract with will be still operating in ten years. Its not pro or anti anything! The more competition there is in a certain market the better from a buyers side.

kkelliher

Ned78 wrote: »

When a contract is signed with a service provider it could be for up to ten years, some form of assurance is needed that the company you have signed a contract with will be still operating in ten years. Its not pro or anti anything! The more competition there is in a certain market the better from a buyers side.

Amazing how many of the large professional practices, building contractors and others in possession of contracts with the state have gone bust in recent years and yet here I am like many other small business (who do not meet turnover requirements for state contracts) still working away......Somehow your answer (which I accept is the government position on this issue) just goes to show how poorly the taxpayers money is being spent with more emphases on red tape than quality and ability of service.