E-Tendering, 2nd edition

This document was reissued in September 2025 as practice information. It had previously been published in December 2010 as a guidance note. The regulatory requirements remain the same and no material changes have been made to the document, except for removal of references to the RICS eTendering system, which is no longer available. For more information on the document category changes, see Upholding professional standards.

Care has been taken not to update the technical content of the material because of the considerable extent of change that has taken place in the 15 years since the original publication in 2010. This also includes leaving unchanged references to bodies or organisations that no longer exist and/or have changed their name.

As this practice information is part of the RICS Quantity Surveying & Construction Standards (the Black Book), it will be comprehensively updated as part of the forthcoming Black Book review.

Concerned with the tender process and procedure rather than procurement, this practice information provides guidance on perceived barriers to the wide-scale adoption of e-tendering in the construction industry.

E-tendering provides a framework where both clients and tenderers can reduce their costs, remove unnecessary administration and streamline the overall tendering process. It relates to the management of the contractor selection and price setting processes as part of the procurement of construction work.

This practice information addresses the complete process, from the preliminary enquiry through to tender acceptance and withdrawal, and considers the practical and legal implications of e-tendering in relation to:

• tender methodologies, different electronic formats and their impact upon information exchange
• the benefits and constraints that different technologies provide
• security issues, tendering procedures and workflow
• assessment of tenders and notification of results.
   

It includes a glossary of terms, sample materials, checklists and information on further resources.