Frequently asked questions

Where does the data come from?

Every notice comes from the two official UK government services: Find a Tender (higher-value notices across the UK) and Contracts Finder (lower-value notices, England). We read both every 2 hours using their public data feeds, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See the coverage page for update times and known gaps.

Why do some contracts say 'end date not published'?

We only show the end date the buyer published in the notice. About 1 in 4 Find a Tender award notices doesn't include one. These are mostly older-format notices (under the 2015/2016 regulations) and NHS Provider Selection Regime notices. Notices under the Procurement Act 2023 nearly always include one. We never guess a date. If a published date is impossible, for example if it ends before it starts or before the award was made, we mark it as unusable.

Why didn't I get an alert for tender X?

Usually for one of four reasons: (1) the notice didn't contain any of your keywords in its title or description; (2) the buyer chose a CPV code outside your categories; (3) the delivery region was different or wasn't stated; (4) it was published on a portal or system we don't cover, such as Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales or a buyer's own e-tendering portal, without also being published on Find a Tender or Contracts Finder. Use 'Test my search' in your account to preview matches, or e-mail us the notice link and our system will check it.

How does matching work?

A saved search can combine keywords (any of them; use quotes for a phrase), CPV category codes, regions and a value band. An item must pass every filter you set. When a notice publishes no value, we don't hide it because of the value band. We match new opportunities, and also renewals: contracts whose published end date has just come within 3-18 months.

What is the 'likely re-tender' date?

It is a rough estimate: the published end date minus a typical lead time (6 months by default). Buyers often start market engagement or re-procurement around then. It is not a date the buyer has announced.

Why does a framework show many suppliers?

Framework agreements list each appointed supplier as a separate award. We group them into one contract. The end date of a framework signals when the framework itself will be re-procured, not when individual call-off work ends.

How does the Team plan work?

The Team plan covers 5 people: you plus 4 colleagues. Add their e-mail addresses on your Account page. Each person signs in with their own e-mail link and gets full Pro access while your Team plan is active. You can also paste a Slack incoming-webhook URL (or any https address). Each daily digest is then posted there as well as e-mailed.

How do I cancel?

Open Account, then Manage billing. This opens the secure Stripe billing portal, where you can cancel at any time. You keep access until the end of the period you've paid for. No e-mail or phone call is needed.

Can I get a refund?

Yes. Within 14 days of your first payment you can refund yourself in full from your Account page with the 'Refund my first payment' button. This also ends the subscription. After 14 days, cancelling stops future payments.

Where are my invoices and receipts?

All invoices and receipts are in the billing portal (Account, then Manage billing). Stripe also e-mails a receipt for each payment.

How do I sign in? There's no password.

Enter your e-mail on the sign-in page and we'll send a one-time link that works for 30 minutes. If it doesn't arrive, check spam and request a new one. Old links stop working once used.

How do I delete my account or export my data?

Account, then 'Export my data' downloads everything we hold about you as a file. 'Delete my account' removes your account and saved searches straight away and cancels any subscription. Stripe keeps payment records it is legally required to keep.

Can I reuse the data?

The notice data is Crown copyright, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0, which allows reuse with attribution. Our summaries, groupings and derived fields are our own. See the data-licence page.

Can you tell me whether to bid, or check my bid?

No. We provide information from published notices only. We don't give bidding, legal, tax or procurement advice.

Why don't you show buyer contact names?

Notices sometimes name individual officials. That is personal data and isn't covered by the Open Government Licence, so we never republish it. The official notice we link to has the contact route.

Still stuck? E-mail support@contractsdue.co.uk. You'll get an automatic reply within minutes, with links to fix most things yourself.