Last Chance to Improve: When to Review Your Tender (And When Not To)

✅ Blog 7 of 7 in our Tender Review Series
Links to all 7 blogs in this series are at the bottom of this page.

We get a lot of last-minute requests for tender reviews.

“Can you proofread this today?” “Can you review it by tonight before we submit?”

We always do our best to help — but here’s the truth:

By that point, most of the work is already locked in. That’s why providers who plan ahead and bring in a bid writer for domiciliary care or a bid writer for learning disability services earlier in the process achieve stronger results.

⏳ Timing is everything

Here’s a typical timeline of a tender development process:

  1. Week 1–2: Drafting content
  2. Week 3: Internal review and redrafting
  3. Week 4: Final proofreading and submission

The optimal time to bring in a reviewer is Week 2 or early Week 3.

That way, you still have time to:

  • ✅ Strengthen weak responses
  • ✅ Restructure unclear sections
  • ✅ Add examples and evidence

In contrast, last-minute proofreading in Week 4 can only do so much. It improves polish, but not score. This is particularly true in bid writing for home care services, where commissioners look for detailed, outcome-focused answers.

🚨 When it’s too late

If your bid is due tomorrow and it’s already signed off internally, then yes — we can do a grammar check. But we can’t help you reframe your value proposition or tailor vague content at that stage.

That’s not a review. That’s a spell check.

🗓️ Build reviews into your process

To really benefit from an external review:

  • 📆 Schedule it 5–7 days before your internal sign-off date
  • 🧠 Treat it as part of the writing process, not an afterthought
  • 🔁 Build in time to apply the feedback

When you do this, your responses get stronger before they’re final — not just cleaner after they’re done. That’s why our proofreading and review services are designed to add scoring value, not just polish.

📣 Ready to work together earlier?

We offer strategic tender reviews that help you boost quality before submission — not just after.

📞 Contact us here
Let’s make sure your next bid gets the score it deserves.

📚 Catch up on the full Tender Review Series:

Written by Mike Harrison, Founder of Impact Guru Ltd — specialists in bid writing, strategy and developing specialist tools to support social care providers to prioritise workflow, win and retain more contracts.

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