How to analyze a SEAO tender: the 10-point method

1. Start with the notice, not the first PDF

The notice published on SEAO sets the framework: reference number, organization, subject, deadline, submission method and, above all, the list of addenda. Read that record first. It also states whether submission is electronic and which documents must be sent separately.

2. Download every document, then check the list

A SEAO dossier often combines specifications, plans, technical annexes, administrative forms and a price schedule. Viewing a notice is free, but downloading documents may be charged. Download everything before you start: a forgotten annex can change a requirement or a price.

3. Read the addenda before anything else

An addendum can move the deadline, replace a clause or correct a price schedule. If you analyze the original version without the addenda, you are working on a dossier that no longer exists. Note the date of each addendum and check that none was published after your last read.

4. Identify the disqualifying requirements

These are the documents whose absence causes rejection, regardless of the quality of the offer. They are signalled by words such as “must”, “mandatory”, “failing which” or “under penalty of rejection”. They generally concern:

• company eligibility: RBQ licence, tax attestations, CNESST, authorization to contract where the notice requires it;
• guarantees: bid bond, declarations, insurance;
• signed and dated forms, in the requested format;
• references and the required minimum experience.

5. Separate compliance from scoring

Not everything is disqualifying. A compliance requirement is met yes or no; a scoring criterion is met by answering better than competitors. Mixing the two leads either to an avoidable rejection or to a compliant but weak offer. Sort every requirement into one of the two columns.

6. Understand the weighting before writing

The award method and weighting determine where to put the effort. A grid weighted 70% technical and 30% price is not prepared like a lowest-compliant-price award. Identify the sub-criteria, the minimum thresholds and how points are calculated.

7. Check the price schedule line by line

The price schedule is the most frequently mishandled document: inconsistent units, missing lines, quantities copied without verification, incorrectly applied taxes. Check every line, the subtotals and the total. An arithmetic error can invalidate the offer or distort your margin.

8. Build a dated checklist

Turn every document into a line with an owner and an internal deadline set before the real deadline. The checklist must include documents to be signed, attestations to request from third parties and addenda to recheck. A checklist without dates is a wish list.

9. Decide go/no-go before writing

The decision rests on four questions: are we eligible, do we have the required references, is the price sustainable, and is the contractual risk acceptable? Answer in writing. A bid prepared out of habit costs more than a deliberate withdrawal.

10. Re-read cold before submission

Re-read the dossier with the evaluator's grid, not with your writing notes. Check that every disqualifying requirement has a matching document, that the price schedule is signed, that the submitted version is the latest one, and that submission is possible before the deadline. A second reader catches what the author can no longer see.