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I ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF TENDERS 

Entering a simple query and sending an invitations to tender

Starting a new query

To create a new simple query you must select Query -> Simple query from the DMIS (document management information system) menu Add new.

Tenderer details

Enter the details of the tenderers to whom you wish to send the invitation to tender. To do this, click on the field Tenderer details:

The Add contact window will open:

Search the system for available data on the tenderer. To do this, in the Company name field (in the red box), start typing the name of the tenderer. For example, in the case of SA Archimedes, start typing Archimedes.. etc.. If more than one contact is offered, select the option with the registration code.

  • If the tenderer is present in system and the details of the institution in the red box and the contact person in the blue box match, select Add.
  • If the tenderer is present in system and the contact details of the institution in the red box match, but the contact details in the blue box do not, i.e. the invitation should be sent to another person/address, then edit/add the contact details (blue box). Then select Add.
  • If the tenderer is not in the system, enter the details of the institution in the Company name and E-mail fields (red box). If you also have a contact person's name and e-mail address, fill in the fields in the blue box and select Add.

When adding a contact, never modify/update the existing company details (red box). If necessary, edit/update the contact person details (blue box).

More in-depth user guide on adding contacts (in Estonian)

If you are asking for a tender from fewer than three tenderers, please add a justification in the Reason (if you are asking...) field .

Check that the contact details you enter are up to date and correct. It is not possible to modify the contact details in the query once the invitation(s) to tender has been sent! However, if there is a need to add or correct contact details, the existing query must be cancelled and a new enquiry must be created (see how to Cancel a query)

Query details

When filling in the fields, also check the help texts by holding the mouse over the icon 

  • Enter the name of the query - add a title to the query containing the name of the procurement object. For example, "Translation service for article", etc.
  • Enter a description of the query and/or attach it as file(s) in the following field Description as file.. .. To enlarge the input area, scroll the box from the bottom right to make it larger. Describe the service or product you are requesting as fully and unambiguously as possible. Be sure to include the quantity requested, the delivery address/place of delivery, etc. If you refer to a specific product name, brand, trademark, etc. in the terms and conditions, always add 'or equivalent'. 
  • Enter the deadline for the submission of tenders, i.e. the deadline by which tenderers can submit their tenders and after which the contracting authority can inspect them -
    • Insert date and time.
    • Give tenderers sufficient time to prepare and submit their tenders.
    • Once invitation(s) to tender has been sent out, it is not possible to change the deadline for submission of tenders. If the tenderer asks for an extension of the deadline for submission of tenders anda a contractor agree to extend it, a new query must be issued (see how to Cancel a query)
  • Enter the deadline for fulfilling the order, i.e. the latest date by which the service must be provided or the goods delivered. If you enter the delivery time in days/months/weeks ("10 months", "4 weeks"), the delivery time will start counting from the moment the decision on the query is made, i.e. from the moment the order is confirmed (or, if the query results in the conclusion of a sales contract, from the moment the contract is concluded). You can also enter as a specific date, e.g. "21.05.2022", "not later than 01.10.2022", etc. 
  • Tender validity period - indicate how long the tender must be valid from the deadline for submission of tenders, for example "The tender must be valid for at least 30 days from the deadline for submission of tenders.". The period of validity of a tender starts from the deadline for submission of tenders and must be long enough to allow a decision to be taken on the valid tender, meaning to confirm the order/enter into purchase contract. At the time of the decision, only a valid offer can be the basis.
  • Expected cost - enter only if you want tenderers to know what you have estimated. The amount entered is not a mandatory for tenderers.
  • Evaluation criterion - indicate the criteria on the basis of which you will select the successful tenderer. This is the typical criterion for selecting the successful tenderer in public procurement - the lowest cost. In addition to cost, other parameters may be taken into account in the evaluation, such as additional guarantees, additional functionality, etc. Edit/add if necessary. It is essential that the evaluation criterion(s) is (are) already included in the query. The evaluation criterion may not be modified/added after the deadline for submission of tenders.
  • Documents/data to be provided in the tender - indicate which documents must be included in the tender. If necessary, modify/complete the pre-inserted text.
  • Project ID - if the subject of the procurement is an expenditure related to project(s), enter here the ID of the project(s) (number, name, etc.).


Query team

If necessary, add team members to the query.

Be sure to add a team member or several from your structural unit, if you know that you are going on vacation or for some other reason you cannot answer the questions about the query promptly, review the tenders quickly enough and make a decision about the query.

Team members will receive the following email notifications about the query when:

  • the tenderer has asked a question about the query,
  • the deadline for submission of tenders has passed,
  • the tenderer has answered the question about the tender,
  • 1 month has passed since the deadline for submission of tenders (unless there has been decision made about the query by then).

Persons from the same structural unit as the contractor always have the right to read the query (there is no need to add a team for this).

Persons from a different structural unit than the contractor do not have the right to read the query, and they can only see a specific query in the list of queries (number, name and status of the query, name of the contractor, deadline for submission of tender).

When adding a person from the same structural unit to the query team, the person gets the right to write in the query and its documents (the right to see the query data, tenders and decisions, make their own decisions, answer questions/ask questions).

When adding a person from a different structural unit to the query team, the person gets the right to read the query and its documents (the right to see the query data, tenders, decisions, questions-answers, but cannot change, answer/ask questions, make decisions).

You do not need to add the contractor (field Contractor) as a team member. The contractor of the query has both read and write access to the query and its documents and also receives all notifications about the query.


Adding team members

You can change/add team members at all stages of the query (both before and after the deadline for submission of tenders).

To do this, click under  Query data the button . Opens:

Find the person(s) you want to add from the list, press  and then .

Saving the query and sending the invitation to tender

Make sure you have entered all the information completely and correctly.

To send an invitation to tender, click on.

You can also save the query with the data you entered by pressing the button. , modify/update the details of the query later and send out the invitations later.


Updating query data

After sending out invitations to tender, until the deadline for submission of tenders, you can send notice to tenderers about updated query data or conditions as needed.

The notice sent about the query is part of the query's source data.

When supplementing the query data, take into account that the tenderers has enough time to prepare tender for the query with the updated source data, because the deadline for submission of tenders set for the query cannot be changed!

If there is too little time left between the time of sending the notice and the deadline for submission of tendes, it is better to cancel the query and prepare a new query. In this case, send a notice to the tenderers that the query data has been updated and since there is too little time left to submit tenders, you will prepare a new query and therefore no tenders are expected for the existing query. When the deadline for submission of tenders for an existing query comes, draw a no-decision with the an explanation "The query has been cancelled, because the data of the query have changed and there is insufficient time for tenderers to submit a tender on the basis of the updated data".

To send a notice about a query, press the button Send notice:

Appears adding a notice view::

Add the notice to the field Content and press the button Send notice. All tenderers who have received an invitation to tender will be sent a notification letter about the update of the query data.

You can see the sent notifications in the query view page under the block Notice (Teade) and the sent notification letters under the block E-mail.


Answering a question about a query

Answering tenderer's question

An e-mail notification will be sent to contractor and to all members of the query team when a tenderer has sent a question about the query. Clicking on the link in the notification will open the query view. Scroll down and find the block  , and click on the question to open it:

To answer the question, click the button Answer and you'll see:

Answers to questions about the query are part of the source data for the query.

If your answer modifies or completes the source data of the query, please take into account the deadline for submission of tenders and allow tenderers sufficient time to prepare and submit their tenders.

The initial deadline for submission of tenders cannot be changed in the query. If there is insufficient time for tenderers to submit a tender taking into account the updated data, a notice of the query must be sent (see the previous section on the updating of the query data) and a new query must be composed, and a no-decision must be drawn up on the existing query when the deadline for submission of tenders has arrived, stating the explanation "The query has been cancelled, because the data of the query have changed and there is insufficient time for tenderers to submit a tender on the basis of the updated data".

Enter your answer in the field Answer and click on the button Send.

The reply with the question will be displayed in the tenderer's environment to all tenderers.


Viewing questions and answers

Below the query data is a block of questions and answers: 

Here you can see all the questions and answers related to the query - both on the query and later, after the deadline for submission of tenders, questions and answers about the tenders.


Cancelling a query

To cancel the request, press the button 'Cancel query'.

In the opened screen you can enter a message to all the tenderers about cancelling the query. Be sure to give a reason for cancelling the query and, if you plan to launch a new query, let the tenderers know. You can then cancel the query. 

The status of the cancelled query will change to 'Finished', a notice will be sent to the tenderers and they will no longer be able to offer on that query. 

A query can only be cancelled before the deadline for submission of tenders, when the status of the query is 'Waiting tenders'. After the deadline for submission of tenders, a decision must be taken to close the query (see Drawing up decision).

Once cancelled, a query cannot be reopened.


II ACTIVITIES AFTER THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF TENDERS

Examination of tenders

After the deadline for submission of tenders, a notification about the arriving of the deadline will be sent to the contracting authority and to the members of the query team. The notification will include a link to the query.

Verification and evaluation of the tenders

Check whether there are any tenders sent in response to the query. To do this, scroll down the query data page to the block 

  • If there is a 0 in brackets after the block name, it means that no tenders have been submitted. Move on to decide on the query.
  • If there are parentheses after the block name with a number greater than 0, click on the block to open it:

All tenders that are in status Submitted and have the field Total (excl VAT) filled in (can also be 0,00), are tenders in the tender procedure and must be opened!

A withdrawn tender is a tender previously submitted by a tenderer but withdrawn before the deadline for submission of tenders. The amount of the withdrawn tender is not displayed and its content is not visible to the contracting authority.


Check the tender's compliance with the requirements and conditions set out in the data of the query and select the successful tender on the basis of the evaluation criteria.

1) To do this, open and examine all the tenders submitted in turn (image opposite).

2) Look at the tender as described in the field Content and, if files were submitted with the tender, at their content (field Content (files)).

3) Check whether the submitted tender fulfils the conditions set out in the source data of the query. The query source data are:

  • the data and the conditions of the query set out in the invitation to tender,
  • the notices of the query sent before the deadline for submission of tenders, and
  • the answers to the questions about the query sent in response before the deadline for submission of tenders.

If the condition was set in the source data of the query, the tender must comply with it. If it does not, the tender must be rejected and it will not be evaluated.

4) Start evaluate tenders that meet the conditions set out. Tenders must always be evaluated essentially, meaning the number entered in the field Total (excl VAT) cannot be used as a basis. Always check the calculations included in the tender. The contracting authority must ensure that the tender, the calculations and the cost are correct and unambiguous before taking a decision.

If there are any ambiguities in the tender, or if the value entered in the field Total (excl VAT) differs from the value indicated in the tender and the reason for the difference is unclear or the calculations are incorrect, the tenderer must be asked for an explanation (see instructions below). Tenders may not be modified, therefore the tenderer may only provide clarifications, explanations, confirmations, etc. on the tender.

Always choose the cheapest tender that meets the conditions. 



Drawing lots

If there is more than one tender with the same lowest cost among the eligible tenders in the travel service query, you must draw lots between them.

Let the tenderers who have submitted equally successful tenders know the time, place and procedure for the draw by sending a letter about tender (see Sending a letter about the tender). Let tenderers know that if they wish to take part in the draw, they may do so through an official representative or an authorised agent, as indicated in the e-business register. In the latter case, the tenderer must provide a power of attorney for the authorised representative before the draw. Include your e-mail address in the notification in case the tenderer wishes to send a power of attorney (it will not be able to attach a file to the reply via the tenderer's environment).

Example of the procedure of drawing lots: For drawing lots, labels with the names of the tenders are used. The labels are either folded or placed in a separate envelope so that they cannot be distinguished externally. The labels shall be mixed before drawing. The representative of the tenderer or of the contracting authority draws the label and the tenderer whose tender is marked on the label is successful.

The conduct and result of the draw must be recorded. The record must be annexed to the decision on the query. A note to this effect must also be made when the decision is drawn up in the field Explanation of the decision. For example: 'Among the tenders that met the conditions, the tenders with the lowest value were those with equal value. The successful tender was selected by a draw of lots. The successful tender is ...."

Sending a letter about the tender

After the deadline for submission of tenders, the information given in the tender may not be supplemented or amended. Only clarification, explanation, confirmation of the information provided in the tender is permitted.

To send a letter, click on the button  in the tender view. The window for submitting a question will open (image on the right).

Enter the question (or a note about the drawing lots time, place and procedure ) in the field Question and click the button Send.

Contracting officer and members of the query team will be notified of the response to the submitted question by email. The email will contain a link to the query page.

All the questions and answers related to the query - both about the query and the tender - can be found on the query page under the block 


Drawing up a decision

Before taking a decision, make sure you have read the information exchange about the query (blocks Notice and Question/answer). 

Click on the button  to create a decision.


If the "Adding: Decision" view does not open when you click on the button Draw up a decision, check if there is a "Detailed view" button next to the "Edit" button.

If it is, click on it and you can start the decision again (click on button Draw up a decision again).


The screen for adding a decision opens (picture in the right):

1) Select from the drop-down menu Was a successful tender selected? :

  • Yes - the successful tender(s) will be selected;
  • No - the successful tender(s) will not be selected.

2) If "Yes", meaning the query has successful tender(s), the table with all tenders submitted for the query will open:

  • In the table, in the column after the tender(s) you wish to award, select the column Is it successful tender? -> "Yes" and then in the column In what amount is successful? (excl VAT), insert the amount for which you intend to award this tender. If you had asked in the query and a unit price was offered, the unit price (excl VAT) multiplied by the estimated quantity will be the cost of the successful tender. In the column Additional information for tenderer, you can indicate the information you wish to be communicated to this tenderer in the notification letter of the decision. If the awarded value of the successful tender differs from the value indicated by the tenderer itself as the total value of the tender, please inform the tenderer in the field Additional information for tenderer. You can also specify the time, place or contact details of the delivery etc.
  • If the tender is not successful, in the column Is it a successful tender - >"No" will remain and in the column In what amount is successful? (excl VAT) will remain 0,00. In the field Additional information for tenderer, you can enter the information you wish to be communicated to this tenderer in the notification letter of the decision.
  • In the field Cost of the successful tender, the system will sum up the cost of the selected successful tenders. This field cannot be changed.


3) Explain the decision in the field Explanation of the decision - note that the explanation entered will be communicated to all the tenderers who have submitted a tender in the automatic notification letter. Some of the more typical explanations for "Yes" and "No" decisions are also given as examples on the decision screen, where you can copy the appropriate explanation into the box if necessary, but you are also free to formulate your own explanation. You can also communicate to all the tenderers the name of the successful tenderer and the total value of the successful tender, this information is not automatically communicated to all the successful tenderers:

  • In the field Additional information accompanying the decision, you can add additional information to the decision, if necessary. The information entered in this field will not be communicated to the tenderers. It will remain with the decision in document system.
  • If necessary, you can also attach files to the decision in the field Additional documents. The files attached to the decision will remain with the decision in system and will not be sent to the tenderers.
  • Press the button Save. A notification of the decision will be sent to all the tenderers who submitted a tender. 
  • After the decision has been saved, a block will be filled with the decision data on the query view page. 

Once the decision has been taken, further communication with the tenderer will be by e-mail (or telephone or other means).

You can find the contact details of the tenderer in the tender.  To do this, open the block   and click to open the successful tender.

If the field Contact person (red underline) has an e-mail address, please use this address for further communication. If no new e-mail address has been added to this field, use the e-mail address that was used to send notifications about the  (blue underline). 

Drawing up a new decision

Click Register answer document → Decision to create a new decision.

The screen for adding a decision opens (Drawing up a decision). Explain the new decision in the field Explanation of the decision. -  note that the explanation entered will be communicated to all the tenderers who have submitted a tender in the automatic notification letter.

NB! The first decision will also remain in document management information system.

Linking the query to an invoice

Open the invoice document. Check that you are in the viewing (and not edit) screen of the invoice document:

At the top right is a grey box Table of contents. Find a Simple query in the list and click on the Add relations icon (if you don't see the full list, click on Tabel of contents in the dark grey menu bar  to expand it):

A list of queries opens. Use the search to find the right query by clicking on the magnifying glass icon:

Search the query by number or by the name of the contractor or other and click Search:

Put a tick in front of the correct query and click  . The query is linked to the invoice document. 


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