Q: What is the Central Digital Platform (CDP)?

The CDP is the new supplier-information backbone behind FTS. Suppliers and buyers register their organisation once on the CDP, complete a single supplier-information record, and reuse it across every procurement — instead of re-typing the same data into every buyer portal. It is the source for transparency dashboards (SME/VCSE share, competitive vs non-competitive procedure split) and is the system that issues your PPON.

Q: Do I need a GOV.UK OneLogin to use ProcureMate?

No. ProcureMate ingests live FTS data directly — you can see matches and draft outreach without ever touching OneLogin. You will only need OneLogin when you actually submit a formal bid through the supplier-side journey on FTS or sign a Data Sharing Agreement on the CDP. If OneLogin itself is broken (MFA reset, account lockout), GOV.UK OneLogin support handles that, not the FTS team.

Q: What changed with the new User Roles service on FTS?

A standalone User Roles microservice now sits between OneLogin and FTS / CDP / Payments / FVRA. Three organisation roles exist: Member (read-only, no user admin), Admin (can add/remove users), Owner (highest tier, only owners can add or remove other owners; there must always be at least one owner). A new Agent role lets external third parties act on an organisation's behalf — but agents do not get FTS access automatically. They must be explicitly enrolled. If an agent says 'I can't get into FTS', that's the first thing to check.

Q: Are there public dashboards I can use to size up a market?

Yes — two transparency dashboards built on CDP data and surfaced from FTS, with no login required. The SME/VCSE dashboard shows the share of awards going to small and voluntary suppliers by sector, CPV code and ITL1 region. The Competition dashboard shows competitive vs non-competitive procedure split. Both refresh daily from the CDP via Databricks. They are the cleanest free way to spot buyers who are under-spending with SMEs.

Q: What is PPON?

The PPON (Public Procurement Organisation Number) is your permanent identifier on the CDP. It travels with your organisation across every UK central-government procurement and replaces the patchwork of buyer-specific supplier IDs that existed before. You'll find it on your CDP organisation page under 'Organisation identifier' once registration is complete.

Question 1

What is the Procurement Act 2023 and why does it matter for SMEs?

Accepted Answer

PA23 is the post-Brexit framework that replaced the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 and related rules. It came into force on 24 February 2025 and now governs all UK public procurement (with some carve-outs for devolved Scottish matters). For SMEs the headline is two-fold: every above-threshold opportunity flows through Find a Tender via 17 standardised notice types (UK1–UK17), and there is a hard policy commitment for 33% of central-government spend to reach SMEs by 2027. The system is now legible enough for small bidders to navigate without a procurement consultant — which is exactly the gap ProcureMate closes.

Question 2

What are the current procurement thresholds?

Accepted Answer

Schedule 1 of the Act sets the thresholds. As at 2025: central-government goods and services around £139,688; sub-central bodies and utilities around £214,904 for goods and services; and a single £5,372,609 threshold for works. Above these values, a competitive UK4 tender notice is mandatory. Below them, a UK4 must still be published before you advertise the contract elsewhere, and a UK7 contract details notice is required after signing. Always check the live Schedule 1 before relying on a number — the Cabinet Office reviews them periodically.

Question 3

What happens to procurements that started before 24 February 2025?

Accepted Answer

If the first notice was an old-regime F01–F20 form on Find a Tender or Contracts Finder, every subsequent notice for that same procurement must continue to use the old types. You cannot mix old and new notices inside a single procurement. Anything that started on the EU's TED before 1 January 2021 still has to be continued on TED, though authorities are free to mirror those notices on Find a Tender for transparency.

Question 4

What is a Procurement Identifier (OCID) and why does ProcureMate care?

Accepted Answer

An OCID is the Open Contracting Identifier assigned to a procurement. Every notice in its lifecycle — pipeline, tender, award, contract details, change, termination — carries the same OCID. That is what lets us stitch together the full story of a single contract, from first whisper to final spend, and surface only the live opportunities you can actually bid on. When raising a support query with the Cabinet Office or an eSender, always quote the OCID.

Question 5

What is Find a Tender (FTS) and how is it different from Contracts Finder?

Accepted Answer

Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk) is the official UK portal for all above-threshold notices and, under PA23, for almost all transparency notices regardless of value. Contracts Finder is the legacy portal for very low-value below-threshold contracts (typically <£12k central / <£25k other). FTS is the canonical source ProcureMate ingests every 15 minutes.

Question 6

What is the Central Digital Platform (CDP)?

Accepted Answer

The CDP is the new supplier-information backbone behind FTS. Suppliers and buyers register their organisation once on the CDP, complete a single supplier-information record, and reuse it across every procurement — instead of re-typing the same data into every buyer portal. It is the source for transparency dashboards (SME/VCSE share, competitive vs non-competitive procedure split) and is the system that issues your PPON.

Question 7

Do I need a GOV.UK OneLogin to use ProcureMate?

Accepted Answer

No. ProcureMate ingests live FTS data directly — you can see matches and draft outreach without ever touching OneLogin. You will only need OneLogin when you actually submit a formal bid through the supplier-side journey on FTS or sign a Data Sharing Agreement on the CDP. If OneLogin itself is broken (MFA reset, account lockout), GOV.UK OneLogin support handles that, not the FTS team.

Question 8

What changed with the new User Roles service on FTS?

Accepted Answer

A standalone User Roles microservice now sits between OneLogin and FTS / CDP / Payments / FVRA. Three organisation roles exist: Member (read-only, no user admin), Admin (can add/remove users), Owner (highest tier, only owners can add or remove other owners; there must always be at least one owner). A new Agent role lets external third parties act on an organisation's behalf — but agents do not get FTS access automatically. They must be explicitly enrolled. If an agent says 'I can't get into FTS', that's the first thing to check.

Question 9

Are there public dashboards I can use to size up a market?

Accepted Answer

Yes — two transparency dashboards built on CDP data and surfaced from FTS, with no login required. The SME/VCSE dashboard shows the share of awards going to small and voluntary suppliers by sector, CPV code and ITL1 region. The Competition dashboard shows competitive vs non-competitive procedure split. Both refresh daily from the CDP via Databricks. They are the cleanest free way to spot buyers who are under-spending with SMEs.

Question 10

What is PPON?

Accepted Answer

The PPON (Public Procurement Organisation Number) is your permanent identifier on the CDP. It travels with your organisation across every UK central-government procurement and replaces the patchwork of buyer-specific supplier IDs that existed before. You'll find it on your CDP organisation page under 'Organisation identifier' once registration is complete.

Question 11

How do I register as a supplier on the CDP?

Accepted Answer

Sign in to the CDP via OneLogin, create your organisation, and complete the Supplier Information section. The final step is 'Declare and create a share code' — that share code, plus the embedded PDF pack, is what buyers consume during a procurement. If you make any changes to your supplier information later, you must regenerate the share code so the buyer sees the latest version.

Question 12

How do I register as a buyer (Contracting Authority)?

Accepted Answer

Same login flow on the CDP, but on the Organisation details page click 'Register as a Buyer' instead of 'Complete Supplier Information'. Approval is manual — only entities that meet the section 2 PA23 definition of a Contracting Authority will be approved. Procurement consultants and agents acting for buyers are not themselves Contracting Authorities and should onboard as suppliers, then be added by the relevant CA's admin or via an eSender API key.

Question 13

My buyer registration was rejected. Does that affect my supplier profile?

Accepted Answer

No. The two journeys are independent. A rejected buyer application has no impact on your supplier registration, share codes, or PPON.

Question 14

How long does the ProcureMate supplier profile take to build?

Accepted Answer

About five minutes. Paste your website URL, and our crawler reads it, extracts capabilities, normalises them into UK procurement language (CPV codes, sector tags, value bands), and shows everything for you to edit before saving. You can also add capabilities, sectors and value ranges manually from Settings if your website undersells what you actually do.

Question 15

How do I find my share code?

Accepted Answer

On the CDP: My Account → My organisations → View → Complete Supplier Information → Declare and create a share code. The share code only shows at the point of generation and the PDF pack is what most non-eSender buyers will accept. Regenerate it after every material change.

Question 16

How is the AI fit score calculated?

Accepted Answer

Three signals combine into the 0–100 score: semantic similarity between your supplier profile and the tender description (using embeddings, so 'web shop' will match a 'digital service' notice without needing the words to be identical); a value-range filter against the contract's estimated value; and PA23 notice-type relevance (UK4 and UK13 outrank UK1 pipelines for active bidding). Anything below 50/100 is filtered out before you ever see it.

Question 17

Why am I not seeing any matches?

Accepted Answer

Two common reasons. Either your profile is too narrow — widen your contract value range or add capabilities in Settings — or the live FTS notice board genuinely has nothing in your sector this week. The 11 active notice types (UK1–UK7, UK10, UK13–UK15) all flow into matching; the closure notices (UK11, UK12, UK16) and payment compliance notices (UK8/UK17) are excluded because they are not bidding opportunities.

Question 18

How often does ProcureMate poll Find a Tender?

Accepted Answer

Every 15 minutes. New UK4 tender notices typically appear in your matches feed within 20 minutes of being published on FTS.

Question 19

What does ProcureMate draft for me?

Accepted Answer

Two artefacts per tender. First, a tailored outreach email to the buyer contact — short, in plain English, referencing the OCID and your relevant capability. Second, a full bid response draft covering executive summary, technical approach, social value (PPN 002), pricing strategy, compliance, and clarifying questions. Both stay attached to the tender and you can re-run them as your profile evolves.

Question 20

UK1 Pipeline Notice — what is it and when should an SME pay attention?

Accepted Answer

A UK1 advertises a buyer's upcoming procurement pipeline. Authorities spending more than £100m a year are required to publish one between 1 April and 26 May covering anything over £2m they expect to advertise in the next 18 months. For SMEs this is your earliest possible signal — months before the actual UK4 — and it's the right moment to start a buyer relationship rather than waiting for the tender. Publication does not bind the authority; they can withdraw or amend.

Question 21

UK2 Preliminary Market Engagement Notice — what does it tell me?

Accepted Answer

A UK2 documents that a buyer has done (or plans to do) market engagement before tendering — supplier days, RFIs, early dialogue. If you see one for a topic you can deliver, getting on the engagement list before the UK4 drops is high-value. A UK2 must be published before the UK4 if engagement has happened; if no engagement was done, the buyer must justify that in the UK4 itself.

Question 22

UK3 Planned Procurement Notice — why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

A UK3 is the buyer telling the market 'a specific tender is coming'. Its practical effect: if published 40 days to 12 months before the UK4, it cuts the minimum tendering window from 25 days to 10 days. Translation for an SME — when you see a UK3, plan for a fast-turnaround bid window when the UK4 finally lands.

Question 23

UK4 Tender Notice — the one that actually matters.

Accepted Answer

The UK4 is the formal invitation to compete. Two flavours: Open Procedure (single stage, anyone can submit a full tender) and Competitive Flexible Procedure (multi-stage, can include shortlisting, negotiation, dialogue). Standard minimum tendering window is 25 days, dropping to 10 if a linked UK3 was published in the right window. UK4s are required even for below-threshold contracts before you advertise them anywhere else, and they remain editable in the FTS UI right up until the procurement moves into the award stage.

Question 24

UK5 Transparency Notice — what does it actually mean?

Accepted Answer

A UK5 is the buyer announcing they are about to make a direct award (no competition) — usually under an exemption in the Act such as extreme urgency, single-supplier markets, or national security. If you see a UK5 for a contract you could have delivered, that is your moment to challenge: contact the buyer immediately, because the standstill window is the only time the decision can be revisited. A UK5 published in error must be cancelled with a linked UK12.

Question 25

UK6 Contract Award Notice — what is the standstill period?

Accepted Answer

A UK6 is published after the award decision but before the contract is signed. It triggers a mandatory minimum 8-working-day standstill during which the contract cannot be signed. That window exists precisely so unsuccessful bidders can demand a debrief and, if grounds exist, challenge the decision. Standstill does not apply to direct awards following a UK5 or to defence-and-security framework awards.

Question 26

UK7 Contract Details Notice — where the contract becomes public.

Accepted Answer

A UK7 must be published within 30 days of contract signature (120 days for light-touch). For contracts over £5m, the contract document itself (suitably redacted) must be attached within 90 days, and at least three KPIs must be published. UK7 applies to both above- and below-threshold contracts, which makes it one of the richest data sources for understanding what your competitors are actually winning.

Question 27

UK8 / UK17 Payments Compliance Notice — same thing, different code.

Accepted Answer

Both refer to the Payments Compliance Notice — UK17 is the formal code under PA23 and UK8 is the legacy reference. Buyers must publish one every six months reporting their average invoice payment time and the proportion of invoices paid within 30 days. The first UK17s were due between 31 March and 29 April 2026, covering 1 October 2025 to 30 March 2026. Private utilities are exempt.

Question 28

UK9 Contract Performance Notice — why suppliers should care.

Accepted Answer

Buyers publish a UK9 to report a supplier's KPI performance (annually for contracts over £5m), and within 30 days of any significant breach or failure. Performance is rated Good / Approaching Target / Requires Improvement / Inadequate / Other. A UK9 recording a breach is a real reputational event — it can be cited by other buyers as a discretionary exclusion ground in future procurements, and you'll have to declare it on future PA23 bids.

Question 29

UK10 Contract Change Notice — when does a modification need one?

Accepted Answer

Whenever a contract's value or term is being changed in a way that meets the modification thresholds in the Act, or when a contract is being transferred due to corporate restructuring. For contracts over £5m the modified contract must be attached within 90 days. Defence and security, light-touch contracts and private utilities are exempt.

Question 30

UK11 Contract Termination Notice — end-of-contract record.

Accepted Answer

Published within 30 days of contract end, regardless of reason — successful completion, mutual termination, supplier breach, or insolvency. If the termination was due to supplier breach, the buyer typically publishes both a UK11 and a UK9. Private utilities are exempt.

Question 31

UK12 Procurement Termination Notice — the procurement is off.

Accepted Answer

Used to cancel a procurement before contract signature, or to cancel a UK5 / UK6 published in error. It can also cancel specific lots without killing the entire procurement.

Question 32

What is a dynamic market and how is it different from a framework?

Accepted Answer

A dynamic market is an electronic marketplace of pre-qualified suppliers from which buyers can run mini-competitions or place direct call-offs. Unlike a framework, a dynamic market stays open to new suppliers for its entire lifetime — you can join after it has launched. Four notices govern its lifecycle: UK13 (intention), UK14 (establishment), UK15 (modification, published for every change) and UK16 (cessation).

Question 33

UK13 / UK14 / UK15 / UK16 — when do I act?

Accepted Answer

UK13 (intention): the buyer is about to set up a dynamic market — start preparing your application. UK14 (establishment): the market is live and accepting suppliers — apply now. UK15 (modification): rules, scope or supplier list have changed — re-check eligibility. UK16 (cessation): the market is closing.

Question 34

Can a notice be edited after publication?

Accepted Answer

Only UK1, UK2, UK3 and UK4 are editable directly in the FTS UI — and only before the procurement has moved to the next stage (e.g. you can't edit a UK3 once a linked UK4 has gone live). Everything else needs a corrective notice via the eSender or, for award/contract notices published in error, a linked UK11 or UK12 to undo.

Question 35

What is an eSender?

Accepted Answer

A third-party e-procurement platform (Jaggaer, Proactis, Delta, etc.) authorised to submit notices to FTS via API on behalf of contracting authorities. If you publish through one and hit a validation error, the eSender's support team is the first stop — they own the integration. eSender API access is generated by the buyer's CDP organisation admin, and the API key only ever appears once at generation, so it must be copied immediately.

Question 36

I'm seeing FTS validation errors with codes like R238 / R239 / R501 / R006. What now?

Accepted Answer

These are FTS schema validation errors raised by the OCDS-style data model. Common ones: R238 — extension max-extent date is earlier than the contract end (fix: push the maxExtentDate after the contract end); R239 — award date is in the future (fix: set the award date to today or past); R501 — CPV codes don't match the main category (fix: align CPV codes with the goods/services/works range); R006 — XML contains unauthorised Unicode (fix: paste as plain text, strip smart quotes and special symbols); R036 — contract IDs not sequential from 1 (fix: renumber contracts so IDs run 1..n). When in doubt, escalate to your eSender.

Question 37

I can't see the notice I want to link to in the picker — even though it's on the public search.

Accepted Answer

Public search and the linking picker filter against different rules. The picker only shows 'eligible' notices: the previous notice must be the right type for the journey, the submission deadline must have passed, and the notice must not already be 'completed' (e.g. has a downstream UK6 / UK7 / UK12). Lots that have been cancelled or switched to direct award are also stripped out. If a notice you expect is missing from the picker, that's almost always why.

Question 38

What is FVRA?

Accepted Answer

Financial Viability Risk Assessment — the new digital service replacing the old buyer-side Excel template for assessing a supplier's financial health. Supplier and buyer journeys are completely separate (login + role determines which side you see). Some 25 of the 118 data points are pre-populated from Dun & Bradstreet for parent and ultimate-parent companies; everything else is manual.

Question 39

I submitted my FVRA and now I need to fix something — can I edit it?

Accepted Answer

No. Once submitted, an FVRA is locked. Only the assessing buyer can reopen it for amendment. There are no automated email notifications at MVP — you'll need to contact the buyer directly through normal procurement channels and ask them to reopen the submission. Once reopened, a 'respond to buyer request' option appears on your dashboard and you can resubmit.

UK procurement,
demystified for SMEs.

/ Procurement Act 2023

/ Find a Tender & CDP

/ PPON, OneLogin & onboarding

/ ProcureMate matching

/ Notice types · Pre-procurement

/ Notice types · Active procurement

/ Notice types · Award

/ Notice types · Contract management

/ Notice types · Closure

/ Notice types · Dynamic markets

/ Editing notices & common errors

/ FVRA & supplier financial assessment

UK procurement,demystified for SMEs.