How to keep a tender clarification register
A tender clarification register is a single log of every question you raise with the tender issuer during a live bid, capturing the clause it relates to, the question asked, the response or addendum received, and how that answer changes your bid. It keeps two threads in one place: your own outbound clarifications (RFIs), and the issuer's published question-and-answer addenda that bind every tenderer. Set up the columns below, log each query as you raise it, and reconcile the issuer's published responses against it before you submit, so no binding answer is missed.
Using this guide
Keep each question, the issuer's response and the effect on your scope or price in one register. Use the tender's nominated channel and question deadline, and distinguish informal correspondence from issued addenda or directions that the tender makes authoritative. When preparing supplier enquiries or levelling returns, link each query to the package, source clause and current drawing revision.
Columns every register entry needs
- Entry ID (e.g. CLR-001) so each query can be referenced unambiguously
- Date raised, and the closing date for questions stated in the tender
- Clause / document reference the question relates to (document, section, revision)
- The question as submitted (specific section, specific ambiguity, one answerable question)
- Type: clarification of intent, scope query, commercial query, or a flagged conflict
- Channel used: the issuer's nominated point of contact or portal forum
- Response received, and the addendum / bulletin number that carries it
- Whether the answer changes scope, price, program or a compliance position
- Action on your bid: update a rate, a returnable, a qualification or the compliance matrix
- Status: drafted, submitted, answered, or superseded by a later addendum
Watch the issuer's published answers (probity cuts both ways)
- Record all issued addenda and determine their authority and precedence under the tender instructions
- Read the full published clarification log; it reveals requirements and risks other bidders have spotted
- Check the portal or nominated channel daily, because addenda often land close to the deadline
- Confirm each addendum's changes are traced into your bid, not just read and noted
- Remember that if the question deadline is extended, probity requires it to be extended for every tenderer
Write a clarification that gets a useful answer
- Reference the exact clause, drawing or schedule the question is about
- State the specific ambiguity or conflict, not a general concern
- Ask one specific, answerable question per entry, not a bundle of several
- Avoid revealing your commercial approach, since questions may be published to competitors
- Submit before the tender's stated question deadline; do not assume a standard number of days
Before the bid closes
- Every question you raised has a captured response, or a stated assumption if it went unanswered
- Every binding addendum is acknowledged where the tender requires acknowledgement
- Each answer that changed scope or price is reflected in the priced schedules and returnables
- Unanswered material questions are covered by a written qualification or assumption in the bid
After award (AU): the register hands over to the RFI process
- Carry unanswered or assumption-priced entries into the delivery-phase RFI log
- Use the contract's nominated representative and formal notice or RFI procedure after award
- Cite the dated tender-stage entry as the origin when a priced assumption later becomes a variation
- 01Set up the register before you read. Create the columns above in one shared log so every reviewer records questions in the same place and format, from the first read of the tender.
- 02Log each question as you draft it. Reference the exact clause, state the specific ambiguity, and ask one answerable question per entry rather than bundling several together.
- 03Submit through the nominated channel before the cut-off. Use the issuer's approved point of contact or portal forum, and record the question against the tender's stated closing date for clarifications.
- 04Capture every published answer. Record each published answer, its notice or addendum number and its status under the tender instructions, including material answers to other bidders' questions.
- 05Trace each answer into your bid. Where an answer changes scope, price or a compliance position, update the priced schedule, returnable or compliance matrix it affects, not just the register.
- 06Close out before the deadline. Confirm every entry is answered or covered by a stated assumption, and every binding addendum is reflected in your submission before you upload it.
Common questions
What is a tender clarification register?
A tender clarification register is a single log of every question a bidder raises with the tender issuer during a live bid, together with the response received and its effect on the bid. It captures the clause each question relates to, the answer or addendum that came back, and the action it forces on your pricing or returnables. It keeps clarifications from getting lost across email and portal threads before the deadline.
What is the difference between a clarification and an RFI?
An RFI requests information. A clarification explains an existing requirement or statement. Tender teams often use the labels loosely for questions during a bid, while post-award RFIs follow the contract procedure. Record the purpose, authority and effect of the response rather than assuming the label makes it binding.
Are tender clarification answers shared with other bidders?
Public buyers generally distribute information needed for fair competition through the nominated process, often without identifying the questioner. Read all issued notices and addenda, and check their status and precedence under the tender instructions. A private or informal answer is not automatically an amendment to the tender.
When is the deadline to submit tender clarification questions?
Use the date and time in the tender instructions and any issued amendment. There is no universal number of days before bid close. Allow enough time for an answer to reach your scope, drawings, supplier packages and final response.
Can managing tender clarifications be automated?
The tracking can be assisted. A tool can read the tender and each published addendum, extract every clarification and the clause it changes, and cite it to its source document and page, so the answer is traced into your compliance matrix and returnables rather than lost in a thread. Deciding what to ask, and how an answer changes your price or qualification, stays a judgment for your bid team.