The Ultimate Go/No-Go Checklist: What Companies Must Evaluate Before Bidding on a Tender

Introduction

In Indian industries like EPC, IT services, infrastructure, and consulting, bidding on government and private tenders is a way of life. A Go/No-Go decision – the internal decision to pursue (“Go”) or drop (“No-Go”) a tender opportunity – has become mission-critical for companies navigating these high-stakes bids. Why? Consider that public procurement in India is enormous – estimated at 20-22% of GDP (about $500 billion annually).

Platforms like the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) have already facilitated over ₹5 trillion in procurements as of early 2025, reflecting the massive scale of opportunities. From NHAI highway projects and CPWD construction contracts to NTPC power plant RFPs and countless bids on GeM, Indian firms are inundated with tender invites. For a CFO, Procurement Head, or Tendering Head, deciding which tenders to chase is as crucial as the bid execution itself. This is where a structured Go/No-Go checklist makes all the difference.

Bidding without a clear Go/No-Go evaluation is like playing cricket without a game plan – risky and likely to fail. In sectors such as EPC and infrastructure, a single large project can stretch a company’s finances and resources; chasing the wrong project can even lead to disputes, losses, or bankruptcy. Yet, some companies still take a “bid-at-all-costs” approach.

The risks of this ad-hoc bidding are severe: wasted bid costs (often ₹10–12 lakh per tender on effort and compliance costs), drained teams, and low win rates. On the other hand, companies that enforce a formal Go/No-Go process reap tangible benefits – risk mitigation, better resource allocation, strategic focus, and higher win rates. In fact, industry research shows that disciplined bid/no-bid decisions can double or even triple win rates . It’s no surprise that 83% of proposal teams now use a Go/No-Go process, up from 77% a year prior .

By being selective and methodical, these teams focus only on bids they have a real shot at – and it pays off. One 2025 study found proposal win rates hit a record 45% on average, reflecting the quality-over-quantity strategy enabled by Go/No-Go vetting. In short, a Go/No-Go checklist is not just a formality – it’s a strategic guardrail that can elevate win rates, save time and crores of rupees, and shield your company from bad contracts.

Benefits of using a formal Go/No-Go checklist

Now, let’s look at the flip side – the benefits of using a formal Go/No-Go checklist for every tender:

Better Risk Mitigation

A Go/No-Go evaluation acts as risk insurance. It ensures you vet the tender for legal, financial, and delivery risks before committing. Many Indian firms have learned the hard way that not all projects are worth winning. By filtering out high-risk tenders (e.g. those with one-sided contract terms or unclear scopes), you avoid taking on engagements that could lead to losses or litigation.

This upfront diligence is especially vital in government tenders where one missed compliance requirement can mean instant disqualification or where contract terms often heavily favor the buyer. In essence, the checklist saves you from the “winner’s curse” of winning a bad contract.

Optimal Resource Allocation

Every bid involves finite resources – from your proposal team’s bandwidth to site engineers and estimators, not to mention the bid security or EMD (Earnest Money Deposit) tying up capital. A formal Go/No-Go process helps allocate these resources to the most promising opportunities instead of stretching your team on every possible tender. Companies that adopt this discipline report more efficient bid teams and less burnout.

They channel efforts toward tenders that justify the investment. Genpact’s bid team, for instance, introduced additional bid qualification gates and started pushing back on about 25% of opportunities that were not a good fit – resulting in leaner workloads and better outcomes .

Higher Win Rates and ROI

This one’s a no-brainer – when you only bid on tenders that you have a strong chance of winning (due to right fit on eligibility, pricing, capability, etc.), your win percentage goes up. Studies confirm this: proposal teams saw win rates rise to 45% (the highest in years) as they became more selective with Go/No-Go decisions .

By not chasing low-probability deals, your bid budget is spent where it can yield actual revenue. The ROI on bidding improves significantly. In fact, global surveys attribute the recent uptick in RFP win rates partly to the growing adoption of Go/No-Go frameworks that allow teams to focus on the most winnable deals .

Strategic Focus

A Go/No-Go checklist aligns everyone – from sales to finance – on what “good business” looks like for your company. It enforces questions about strategic alignment (Is this client or project aligned with our long-term strategy? Does it build our portfolio in a target sector or distract us?).

Over time, this yields a portfolio of wins that reinforce your positioning. For example, an infrastructure firm might decide to No-Go residential building tenders and focus on highways and bridges where they excel, thereby becoming a leader in that domain. This strategic consistency is valued by both customers and internal stakeholders.

The Go/No-Go Checklist: Core Evaluation Criteria Before Bidding

Every company may tailor its Go/No-Go checklist slightly, but there is a core set of evaluation criteria that universally determine whether a tender is a “Go” or “No-Go.” Below is the ultimate Go/No-Go checklist that CFOs, Procurement Heads, and Tender Leads should rigorously apply before bidding on any tender:

Eligibility & Compliance

Can we even participate? Check the tender’s pre-qualification requirements and eligibility criteria. This includes minimum turnover, past project experience, technical certifications, industry registrations (like MSME registration or specific licenses), etc. If your company does not meet the mandatory eligibility criteria, it’s an immediate No-Go – you’d be disqualified outright.

For example, government tenders often require proof of similar project experience and financial capacity; only bidders meeting those technical criteria will have their financial offers considered. Ensure you also can comply with bid formalities (tender fee, EMD, required formats). No matter how attractive the project, non-compliance on basics is a deal-breaker.

Strategic Alignment

Does this opportunity fit our strategy? Evaluate if the project aligns with your organization’s core business, expertise, and growth strategy. Does it strengthen your position in a target sector or with a strategic client? Or is it a one-off pursuit that doesn’t advance your long-term goals?

For instance, a consulting firm focusing on government advisory might align with a World Bank-funded urban development tender, but a random IT hardware tender for a state government would be a poor fit.

Companies should favor tenders that build on their strengths and strategic roadmap, and say no to those that don’t. A quick check is to ask, “If we win, will this project be a showcase for us? Does it open future opportunities or teach us new capabilities we want?” If not, think twice.

Delivery Capability & Capacity

Can we deliver the project successfully? This criterion is about operational feasibility. Scrutinize the scope of work and ask: Do we have the technical expertise, equipment, and manpower to execute this project to the required quality? Do we have experience with similar size/complexity projects?

Consider current capacity as well – are our teams free or overcommitted with other projects during the tender’s timeline? If you’d need to hire a new team or rely heavily on subcontractors to fulfill the requirements, the risk is higher. For IT and consulting bids, consider if your subject-matter experts are available.

For EPC, ensure you have (or can quickly mobilize) the machinery and project team for the site. A frank assessment of capability is key – taking on a project beyond your capacity can lead to failure and reputational damage. If gaps exist but the bid is strategically important, can you mitigate by partnering or JV? If not, it may be a No-Go.

Financial Viability (Cost vs. Return)

Will the project be profitable? This is a critical CFO-level check. Estimate the cost to execute the project and determine if you can bid competitively while still making a fair margin. Examine the expected contract value, the competition’s likely pricing (if known), and your internal cost structure.

If the only way to win is to bid at an uncomfortably low price (or at a loss), then the tender might not be worth it unless there are other strategic gains. Indian public tenders often operate on L1 (lowest bidder wins) criteria , which can squeeze margins.

Ensure you account for all costs (materials, labor, compliance, financing, etc.) and risk contingencies. Also, consider opportunity cost: tying up capital and resources on a low-margin project means you might forgo other opportunities. A good practice is to define a minimum acceptable ROI or margin threshold in your checklist. If the bid likely won’t meet it, that’s a strong No-Go indicator.

Payment Terms & Cash Flow

How and when will we get paid? The tender should be evaluated for its payment schedule, advance payment, milestones, and retention money. Favorable terms (e.g. reasonable mobilization advance, monthly progress payments, timely payment cycle) improve cash flow, while tough terms (e.g. heavy retention until project end or long gaps between payments) can strain your finances.

With government contracts in India, payment delays are unfortunately common – studies have found endemic delays, with some public sector units having outstanding payables ~18% higher than annual procurement spend. If the tendering entity has a poor payment track record or the terms push your working capital to the brink, be cautious. SMEs especially need to weigh this, as delayed payments can be crippling .

A Go/No-Go check should flag if the project’s cash flow profile is negative (for instance, if you must sink in a lot of money up front for procurement or civil work and payments come much later). Also review clauses on price escalation (for long projects) – if none and the sector is volatile (think commodity prices), that’s a risk. Ideally, tenders with equitable payment terms and protections get a Go; those that look like a cash trap get a No-Go.

Timeline and Delivery Schedule

Are the project timelines realistic and achievable? Tender documents outline the project duration or delivery schedule. Compare this with your experience on similar projects. Is the timeline too aggressive? For example, if a construction tender demands completion in 12 months something that typically takes 18 months, you have a potential problem.

Unrealistic timelines can lead to cost overruns and penalties for delays. Also consider the bid preparation timeline – do you have enough time now to prepare a quality proposal before the submission due date? Rushing a bid can lead to mistakes in both the proposal and later execution. If the tender has an unrealistic deadline (either for bidding or execution) that you can’t meet even with overtime or extra resources, it leans No-Go.

Another aspect is any phasing or critical milestone requirements – e.g. an IT project that must go live by a government-imposed date. If meeting that would require heroic effort or compromising quality, the risk is high. Timeline feasibility should be a key checkbox in your evaluation.

Competitive Positioning

What is our chance of winning against the competition? Assess who you’ll likely be up against and your position relative to them. Do you have an incumbent advantage (e.g. you’re the incumbent defending, or you have superior local presence)? Or are you challenging a favored incumbent? If it’s an open tender, how crowded is the field and do you bring any differentiation (price, technology, compliance, relationship)?

Sometimes, tenders are tailor-made for a specific vendor (the specifications might subtly match their product or past experience) – if you can sniff that out, beware being a “filler” bidder. Also consider the market context: for instance, if a PSU like NTPC issues a solar plant tender, all major EPC players will jump in – do you have a niche advantage (like proprietary tech or lowest cost) to beat them?

If the competitive landscape heavily disfavors your company (e.g. you lack references in that domain or others have better pricing power), mark that as a negative. The Go/No-Go checklist should include a reality check on win probability: if your internal estimate of win probability is, say, below a threshold (maybe 20% or whatever you set), you might choose to conserve effort for better bets.

Legal and Contractual Risk

What are the contractual terms and risks? Every tender comes with a draft contract or at least key terms and conditions. It’s crucial to review these for red flags. Look for onerous clauses: unlimited liabilities, heavy liquidated damages for delays, stringent warranty obligations, one-sided indemnities, or termination clauses that allow the client to walk away easily. If the tender authority (especially in government tenders) has zero flexibility on terms, you may be stuck with any unfair clauses.

Consider if there are dispute resolution terms (arbitration vs court) that are acceptable. Also, check if any unusual legal risks are involved – for example, requirement of a performance guarantee that ties up your bank limit, or a parent company guarantee (common in big government contracts) that could put your parent firm’s assets on the line . Additionally, assess regulatory or compliance risks (e.g. local content requirements, labor laws for project site, environmental clearances – are these manageable?).

If the legal terms are highly one-sided or the risk allocation could imperil your company, that strongly suggests a No-Go unless those terms can be negotiated (and often government contracts cannot be easily changed). Many savvy companies include a legal review in the Go/No-Go stage to avoid signing up for “hidden” liabilities.

Team and Resource Readiness

Do we have the internal champions and team to pursue this bid? This point is often overlooked. Before saying “Go,” ensure that all relevant stakeholders are on board and available. Do you have a proposal manager, technical lead, estimator, legal reviewer, etc., lined up to prepare the bid? If key team members (e.g. the only expert on a required solution) are on vacation or tied to other work, your bid might suffer.

Also gauge enthusiasm and sponsorship internally – is management supportive of pursuing this tender? Sometimes a bid might meet all technical criteria but lack an “owner” internally who will drive it; that can derail the process. The checklist should verify that you can assemble the A-team for the bid and the project execution. If the project requires partnering (like a JV or consortium to cover scope or local requirements), do you have identified partners and are those relationships in place?

A last-minute scramble to find a partner to qualify can be a red flag. Ultimately, only proceed if you have the bandwidth and commitment to deliver a top-notch proposal and subsequently execute the project. A half-baked effort due to resource constraints is as good as a loss.

Think of the above checklist as your tender bid litmus test. Each criterion helps you objectively evaluate the opportunity from different angles: strategic, financial, operational, legal, competitive.

A strong Go/No-Go decision typically involves multiple departments – finance, business development, technical, legal – weighing in on these factors. If most boxes are green, go ahead and bid with confidence. If multiple boxes turn red, it might be wise to politely decline the tender. This rigor up front can save you from headaches later.

Smarter Go/No-Go with Technology: The Rise of AI-Powered Tender Evaluation

Gone are the days of manually sifting through voluminous tender documents using highlighters and spreadsheets. Companies today leverage AI-driven solutions-such as ContraVault AI’s Go/No-Go Reviewer-to significantly elevate their tender evaluation capabilities.

1. Accelerated Tender Document Analysis and Risk Detection

AI systems can rapidly process high-volume tender documents, including those exceeding 1,000 pages, to extract and highlight critical elements such as:

• Eligibility requirements and project scope
• Legal and commercial terms
• Payment structures and associated financial risks

Use Case: Hidden indemnity clauses or non-standard payment obligations embedded deep within lengthy tender documents are automatically flagged, ensuring no critical risk is overlooked during initial screening.

2. Clause Intelligence and Real-Time Risk Alerts

By referencing a vast clause library, spanning both standard and atypical tender provisions, AI enables:

• Immediate identification of non-obvious risks like aggressive Liquidated Damages (LDs), restrictive termination rights, or unusual arbitration venues
• Automated surfacing of anomalies that could jeopardize bid viability

Strategic Outcome: Teams are equipped to detect red flags early, reducing manual oversight and supporting more defensible Go/No-Go outcomes.

3. Advanced Contextual Search and Clause Retrieval

AI tools allow decision-makers to conduct contextual searches across large documents using keywords like “penalties,” “termination,” or “liabilities,” enabling:

• Fast access to critical information
• A reduction in document review time by up to 90%

Operational Impact: Review cycles are significantly shortened, enabling parallel assessment of multiple tenders without compromising thoroughness.

4. Intelligent Processing of Complex Indian Tender Formats

Public and private sector tenders in India (e.g., CPWD forms, NTPC specifications) often contain complex structures and bureaucratic language. AI-driven normalization ensures:

• Consistent formatting and easier clause interpretation
• Full coverage of compliance requirements, even in layered or fragmented documents

Relevance: This is particularly valuable for firms navigating diverse tender formats across various government departments or infrastructure sectors.

5. Transparent, Auditable Decision Framework

Go/No-Go tools embedded with AI capabilities generate:

• Objective risk scores based on clause-level analysis
• Clear, auditable decision trails for internal governance and external justification

Organizational Advantage: Enhances management’s confidence in the bidding process while strengthening compliance and decision accountability.

The Strategic Edge in Competitive Tendering

AI-supported Go/No-Go analysis empowers organizations to:

• Filter out high-risk or misaligned opportunities early
• Allocate resources to tenders with the highest strategic and financial value
• Strengthen governance around bid qualification and risk acceptance

Incorporating AI into Go/No-Go evaluations enables faster, data-driven, and consistently reliable decisions-ultimately improving bid efficiency and success rates.

Conclusion: Bid Smart – Adopt a Robust, Tech-Enabled Go/No-Go Process

In conclusion, implementing a rigorous Go/No-Go checklist is like having a dependable compass in the chaotic world of tendering. It steers your company away from perilous bids and towards those opportunities that truly align with your strengths and objectives. We’ve seen why this matters: Indian companies that once bid on everything are now becoming choosier – and they are winning more and wasting less.

A robust Go/No-Go process delivers better risk management, higher win rates, efficient resource use, and strategic clarity. It’s about ensuring every bid you pour effort into is worth it – either in win potential or strategic value.

The checklist criteria we discussed – from basic eligibility checks to deep dives into legal terms and cost viability – provide a 360° evaluation of tenders. By formalizing these checks, you institutionalize wisdom and prudence in your bidding culture. No longer are decisions based on the loudest voice in the meeting or an optimistic hunch; instead, they’re grounded in systematic analysis. This not only saves your company from bad bets but also builds a data bank of insights for continuous improvement in decision-making.

Most importantly, as competition for tenders in India intensifies and the volume of bids grows (remember, platforms like GeM are expanding rapidly, and even sectors like renewable energy saw 69 GW of tenders in a single year), speed and intelligence in decision-making are paramount.

Those still relying on manual processes will find it hard to keep up. It’s time for companies to embrace technology and AI to supercharge their Go/No-Go evaluations. By using AI-powered tools (like the ContraVault AI Go/No-Go Reviewer we discussed), you can make qualification decisions smarter, faster, and with greater confidence. These tools act as force-multipliers – catching nuances humans might miss, and doing in minutes what might take days, thereby giving you more runway to craft winning proposals.

For CFOs and procurement leaders, the message is clear: a disciplined, tech-enabled Go/No-Go process isn’t just a checkbox item – it’s a competitive necessity. It means fewer missteps, more wins, and ultimately a healthier bottom line for your business. So, equip your teams with that ultimate Go/No-Go checklist and the best tools available.

Train your teams to respect the No-Go as much as the Go. Ingrain the culture of “bid smart, not just hard.” With this approach, you’ll find your organization bidding on tenders with greater precision and confidence – and reaping the rewards in the form of higher win percentages and successful project deliveries.

In the high-stakes arena of tenders, knowledge and preparation are power. A Go/No-Go checklist – especially one augmented by AI insights – is your power play to stay ahead. It ensures that when you do decide to bid, you go all in with a clear-eyed understanding of what it takes to win and execute successfully.

And when a tender doesn’t pass the test, you can walk away knowing it’s the right call, freeing you to pursue better opportunities.