Hire lean and have to no-bid good opportunities in busy months
Lower fixed cost, but good opportunities get no-bid when bid volume spikes.
Bids are resource-intensive and pipeline is unpredictable.
Get end-to-end tender and frameworks submissions handled for you by senior bid managers, with unlimited capacity and 50% less cost than hiring in-house.
01Hiring in-house is expensive.
A senior bid manager can cost around £8k per month fully loaded.
02Capacity is capped.
One person can typically manage around 2-3 substantial bids per month.
03Missed bids have value.
When capacity is full, strong-fit opportunities are left behind.
The old choice
Company leaders have traditionally had two options.
Hire a large, expensive team
Enough capacity for the busiest months, but underutilised for much of the year.
Option 1
One senior hire: fixed cost, capped capacity.
A senior bid manager costs about £8k/month and can manage around 2.5 substantial bids. When more strong-fit bids arrive, capacity becomes the go/no-go decision.
£8k/moFixed in-house costSalary benchmark source: Morgan McKinley salary guide
Salary£80k
On-costs at 20%£16k
Annual cost£96k
Monthly cost£8k
Cost per completed bid£3.2k
Missed bid value£7.5m
Expected value at win-rate£1.5m
Company bid volumeMissed bidsUnused capacity
Average contract value£500k
Fully loaded cost£96k loaded
Win-rate20%
Capacity2.5 bids/mo
Option 2
Fully-staffed team: no misses, high fixed costs.
A bigger team covers the busiest month. But to carry that capacity all year, you need a senior bid manager plus mid-level writers on payroll.
£228kFixed cost£19k/month to cover spike capacity
1 × senior bid manager£96k£80k salary + 20%
2 × mid-level bid writer£132k£55k salary + 20% each
Company bid volumeUnused capacityPeak capacity
The third option
Bidgen created a new way.
Flexible bid support so you only pay for what you need when you need it.
Catch errors and missed submission requirements before evaluators do.
Compared with around 14 days for a typical in-house process.
Lower fixed cost, with extra bid capacity paid for only when needed.
Included as standard
Exceptional core bid function.
£2.5k/month gives you the bid function foundations, not just ad hoc writing support.
One full end-to-end project included
One bid per month, up to 10k words, with average 72-hour turnaround per project.
Pipeline and go/no-go support
Opportunity sourcing, qualification summaries and bid coordination for leadership decisions.
Bid library and reporting
Reusable bid assets, monthly bid function reporting and repeatable processes for future tenders.
Option 3
Bidgen: base cover plus flex.
Additional bids are charged only when needed. In quiet months, you avoid fixed salary cost. In busy months, you scale instead of missing valuable opportunities.
£2.5k/moFixed base+ cost-effective PAYG rate as needed
Typical PAYG rates
Up to 7,500 words£2.5k
Up to 10,000 words£3k
Up to 12,500 words£3.5k
12,500+ wordsCustom
Cost per bid
In-house senior bid manager£3.2k£8k/mo loaded cost ÷ 2.5 bids/mo capacity
Bidgen PAYG£2.5kPaid only when extra bids arrive.
With idle months, the in-house cost is £4.57k per bid actually covered.
Included bidExtra bidsCompany bid volume
Economic comparison.
At normal bid volume, Bidgen is cheaper than hiring in-house. In busy months, you can scale instead of missing valuable opportunities.
Monthly bid volume
In-house FTE cost
Our cost
Difference
1 bid
£8k
£2.5k
£5.5k cheaper
2 bids
£8k
£5k
£3k cheaper
2.5 bids
£8k
£6.25k
£1.75k cheaper
3 bids
£8k
£7.5k
£500 cheaper
4 bids
£8k + £100k+ missed EV
£10k
more capacity
5 bids
£8k + £100k+ missed EV
£12.5k
more capacity
In quiet months, you save thousands.
In busy months, you can scale instead of missing valuable opportunities.
Side by side.
Same bids. Same values. Bidgen keeps the fixed commitment lower and captures the busy-month upside.
Measure
In-house team
Bidgen flex team
Fixed annual spend
£96k loaded staff costPlus £1.5m missed value from 15 missed bids.
From just £2.5k/moIncludes 1 bid/month; extras are paid for only when needed (£65k here).
Busy months
2.5 bids/month capCapacity is fixed before bids arrive.
1/mo included + extras as neededExtra support is added when bids arrive.
Bids covered
Capacity drives go/no-go decisionsWhen capacity is full, good bids get no-bid.
Unlimited coverageCapacity flexes with demand, with no fixed monthly cap.
Unused capacity
Quiet months still costPaid capacity is fixed, even when bid volume drops.
No peak bench carriedNo full-year team for short spikes.
Hiring load
Hire and manage staffRecruitment, holidays and cover stay with you.
Expert team readyBid support sits outside your headcount.
Ramp & training time
3-6 monthsRecruit, onboard and train before full capacity is ready.
Less than 1 weekExpert bid support can be ready quickly.
READY TO TALK?
Find out what flexible bid capacity could look like for your team.
Tell us where your bidding function is stretched and we will map the simplest way to add expert capacity.
Book a free 20-minute intro call
80% of clients win a bid within 3 months. Fixed fees from £500 per tender.
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