Electrical Tender Submission Checklist: Final Checks Before You Submit
The price is built, the deadline is close, and this is when small mistakes slip through. Use this electrical tender submission checklist as your final tender check. Work through the 12 checks in order and it should take about an hour. Each check has a quick test so you can confirm it fast.
The last 60 minutes: your electrical tender submission checklist
1. Confirm how and when the tender must be lodged
Re-read the lodgement instructions: the deadline, the portal or email address, and any file limits. Don’t rely on memory. Check the tender documents and confirm requirements with the client if anything is unclear.
Quick test: Can you state the deadline and lodgement method aloud without looking?
2. Lock your document set
Confirm you have priced from the latest drawings, specifications and any issued updates. If a late change slipped past you, it can quietly break your price. Our guide on handling tender addenda without missing cost changes covers the detail, so here you are only confirming nothing was missed.
Quick test: Does the revision list in your estimate match the latest set from the client?
3. Do one last scope-versus-price pass
This is a quick sanity check, not a full review. Skim the scope and make sure each major area has a price against it. If you suspect a gap in scope, flag it now and decide how to treat it.
Quick test: Can you point to a line in your price for every major scope heading?
4. Re-add every total
Arithmetic is one of the most common electrical tender mistakes, and it is easy to fix. Check that section totals feed into the summary and that nothing is counted twice or left out. Add the figures a second way, such as a calculator against the spreadsheet.
Quick test: Do the section totals add up to the final price by two different methods?
5. Check your qualifications and exclusions read clearly
Make sure any qualifications are written plainly and match what you actually priced. Vague wording invites disputes later. For help wording these properly, see our post on what contractors should include in their tender exclusions.
Quick test: Would a stranger understand each qualification without calling you?
6. Sense-check the big numbers
Step back and look at the overall shape of the price. Do labour, materials and allowances look reasonable against similar jobs you have done? Anything that looks oddly high or low deserves another look before you submit.
Quick test: Which three line items are biggest, and can you justify each one?
7. Review subcontractor and supplier quotes
Confirm each quote is the one you intended to use, covers what you think it covers, and is still current. Check that the figures in your estimate match the quotes exactly. Look at what each quote says is included and left out.
Quick test: Does every quoted figure in your estimate trace back to a document you can open?
8. Check file format and naming
Files should open, be in the format the client asked for, and be named sensibly. A corrupted or oversized file can sink a good tender. If you are submitting through an online portal and want general tendering information, business.gov.au is a reasonable place to start, but always follow the tender documents for this job.
Quick test: Have you opened the final files from the folder you are about to upload?
9. Gather every attachment and form
Check what the tender documents ask you to include, such as forms, declarations, schedules or supporting documents. Tick each one off against the list. Confirm requirements with the client if the instructions are unclear.
Quick test: Can you tick off every requested attachment against the client’s list?
10. Verify the cover details
Check the project name, client name, company details, contact person and date on the cover page and the price form. Copy-and-paste errors from older tenders are common. A wrong project name looks careless.
Quick test: Search your files for the previous project’s name. Does it appear anywhere?
11. Get a sign-off from a second person
A fresh pair of eyes catches what you stopped seeing hours ago. If your team is small, a second reviewer might be a colleague, a mate in the trade or outsourced electrical estimating support. Give them a short list of what to check, and ask whoever has authority to approve the tender.
Quick test: Has someone other than the estimator read the summary and the qualifications?
12. Lodge, then confirm receipt
Submit with some buffer before the deadline, not at the last minute. Once it is sent, check for a confirmation or receipt. Save a copy of exactly what you lodged.
Quick test: Do you have proof of lodgement and a saved copy of the final package?
Common last-minute slips
Most problems on submission day are not big technical errors. They are small, avoidable things. Tenderers submit the wrong version of a file, leave a placeholder note in a qualification, or forget to update a total after a late price change. Others upload the right document to the wrong field, or run out of time because the portal was slower than expected. A short tender review checklist, used every time, catches most of these. The habit matters as much as the list: leave the last hour for checking, not for pricing.
Need a second review before your next deadline?
A calm final tender check is easier when someone else has looked at the numbers. If you want a second review before your next deadline, get in touch with our team and tell us about the tender.
