Submission Package & Gates

The war-room's Documents, Send and Questions tabs track everything you hand in and every last check. Together with the mandatory criteria, they control when you can mark a bid submitted.

Documents

The Documents tab lists what you must hand in with the bid.

How to build the list

If the list is empty, pick one:

• Build from the RFP: Cothon reads the linked RFP and lists the forms, annexes and documents it asks for. You only see this button when the RFP names such items.
• Standard template: a starting list for Canadian public-sector bids.

To add more, type a name in Add a document… and click Add. New items are required.

You can also build this list on the opportunity before you commit, in Work Center › Submission.

Working each document

• Status: Missing, Drafting, In review or Final. Tick the checkbox to mark it Final. Untick to move it back to In review.
• Owner: assign a teammate from the bid team.
• Due date: pick Today, Tomorrow, In a week or any date. The calendar marks the closing day.
• Rename: click the name to edit it.
• Remove: click the delete icon.

Only Final counts. In review is not done.

Send checks

The Send tab holds the last checks before you send the bid: address, deadline, file format, section order.

1. Click Build from the RFP. Cothon creates checks from the RFP's deadline, delivery and format rules.
2. It also adds Internal review of the full package, due 2 days before close. Someone who did not write the bid should read it against the RFP.
3. Add your own with Add a check….
4. Tick each check when it is done.

Send checks only become a gate once you build them.

Questions

The Questions tab collects clarifications for the buyer.

• Add a question with Add a question for the buyer…, or use Ask the buyer on any open criterion.
• Set the Question cut-off, the last day the buyer accepts questions. Cothon suggests a date when the RFP states one.
• What the RFP says about questions shows the RFP's own rules.
• Tick a question once you have sent it.

Questions never block submission.

Submission gates

Up to three gates control Mark submitted:

Gates show live in the war-room's right-hand rail.

How to mark a bid submitted

When all gates pass, click Mark submitted. Cothon:

• Sets the status to Submitted
• Logs the change in the opportunity's history
• Moves the bid to the Submitted section of Active Bids

Only the bid's owner or a lead can do this.

If gates are still open

The button shows N blockers instead. For the owner or a lead, clicking it opens Submission gates are open:

1. Review the list of open gates.
2. Type a reason, for example "bond confirmation received outside the system".
3. Click Mark submitted anyway.

The override and your reason are saved in the opportunity's history. For everyone else, N blockers jumps to the checklist.

After you submit

When the buyer announces a result, click Record outcome in the war-room header. Recording outcomes feeds win probability, analytics and lessons learned. See Recording Outcomes.

Next steps

• The War-Room: the rest of the bid workspace
• Active Bids: how bids get here