What to clarify before selecting a contractor

By AKTE · 16 September 2026

The most useful clarification questions resolve a specific uncertainty in a bid. They point to the relevant document, explain the information needed and allow the evaluation team to record how the answer affects the comparison.

Start with the matters that could materially change scope, cost, delivery or the interpretation of the submission. Follow the project’s established clarification process and evaluation rules, especially where communications or changes to a bid are restricted.

Confirm the inclusion basis

Check whether important work is included, excluded or not clearly addressed. Identify assumptions that another party will supply materials, provide access, obtain approvals or complete enabling works.

Example question: “Your commercial submission excludes structural steel fabrication. Please confirm the scope covered by this exclusion and provide the requested pricing information through the permitted clarification process.”

Tie the question to the source page and the relevant tender requirement. This is more useful than asking whether the bidder has included “everything”.

Resolve pricing qualifications

Check the currency, tax basis, allowances, provisional sums, escalation assumptions and validity period where relevant to the tender. Identify conflicting totals or arithmetic issues without silently changing the submitted offer.

Ask for the basis of a figure when it is unclear. Record both the original and clarified position, including any conditions that remain. Whether a correction or revision can be accepted depends on the procurement rules and the client’s process.

Test program dependencies

Look beyond the stated number of weeks or months. Check the assumed start date, access arrangements, approval periods, information release dates and other dependencies identified in the submission.

In the synthetic Stonepine example, Bidder B’s 11-month program assumes access four weeks earlier than the tender allows. The question is whether the program remains achievable using the stated tender access date. Until this is resolved, the apparent duration advantage remains unverified.

Reconcile conflicting documents

A covering letter, pricing schedule and technical narrative may describe the same item differently. Record the conflict and ask which statement represents the bidder’s position. Avoid choosing the interpretation that makes the comparison easiest.

Keep the response connected to the documents it clarifies. A later reader should be able to reconstruct why the evaluation changed.

Close the loop in the register

Give each question a reference and record the bidder, related finding, issue date, response date, response source and current status. A received answer is not automatically a resolved issue. Check whether it answers the question and whether it creates a new qualification or inconsistency.

Before the team concludes its evaluation, summarise the material open items and their effects. Distinguish a confirmed fact, an accepted assumption and an unresolved point. The client retains responsibility for communications, the evaluation and the final award decision.