eTenders has changed - updates for businesses

eTenders is Ireland’s national tendering platform, where you can access opportunities to sell to Government. On 15 May 2023, eTenders is changing.

For businesses who are already registered on the platform, there are a few steps you will need to take to ensure you can still access these opportunities.

You will be able to access the platform through the current address, etenders.gov.ie.

If you are registered on the existing eTenders platform, your registration details will be transferred to the new platform. However, you will need to re-input some information such as business alerts, as well as some additional data, on first login. We advise that you allocate around 20 minutes to update your information.

Once you have updated all of your details, you will be able to fully access the new platform. Given that this is a new system, the user experience will be different, and we advise that you allow time to become familiar with the new platform. New competitions will be published on the platform from 22 May onwards.

No, you do not have to update your details on 15 May 2023.

The first week of the new system (15 May to 21 May) has been allocated to allowing users to update their details, set business alerts and familiarise themselves with the new platform. Contracting authorities have been asked to not publish any new competitions until 22 May onwards.

You will be able to update your details at any stage throughout the week of 15 May to 21 May. While you will be able to update details after this, doing so between 15 and 21 May will help you to avoid missing out on receiving alerts for relevant procurement competitions

You will be able to access the platform at the existing website address, etenders.gov.ie. However, you will have to input that address fully the first time you login, and not use any short cuts that you may have in place (i.e. through browser favourites or history) as those links will be not work for the changeover.

Please note: If you already had an account on the previous system, you do not need to register again on the new system. You can simply log in and follow the steps outlined in the first login guide, attached below. (The ‘login’ button is available on etenders.gov.ie at the top right-hand corner of the screen.)

A step-by-step guide on logging into the new system for the first time is available below. There is a guide available for general users, and a guide available for administrators.

Please find the user manual for suppliers for the new platform below.

Due to issues with data migration, a pragmatic approach was taken to prioritising data. Essential data was brought over to the new system, consisting of basic user and organisational information. You will have to update some details, as well as adding some additional information, upon first login.

It is important to note that CPV codes have not been migrated to the new platform – consequently, businesses should prioritise updating their information to ensure that they receive business alerts. Guidance on how to do that is available in the first login guide below.

Some cleaning up of data had to occur during the migration of that data, as some characters are unsupported for security reasons on the new platform. The characters &, %, <, > are no longer supported on the platform. If those characters were in organisation names or user names, those will have changed (i.e. ‘&’ will have changed to ‘and’).

No documents have been migrated to the new platform, and businesses will have to recreate their evidence repository over time.

Businesses will have the week from 15 to 22 May to update their information. We encourage business to prioritise updating their information during this week, especially CPV codes to get alerts so they do not miss out on any opportunities to sell to Government.

Contracting authorities have been asked to hold off on publishing new competitions until 22 May.

From 22 May, all new competitions will be published on the new platform. The existing platform will only be used to complete old competitions, and to access historical data.

It should be noted that there are some changes to terminology between the existing and new platform. Please see the document below which outlines these changes.

An overview of the different roles for businesses (also referred to as ‘economic operators’) is available below.

General

What is the new eTenders webpage called?

It remains www.etenders.gov.ie

Where is the URL link to the old eTenders platform?

It is available on the landing page of the new platform under 'Relevant Links', or you can access it here.

I have a technical issue with the new platform, who do I contact?

Please email your issue to: irish-eproc-helpdesk@eurodyn.com or go to 'Contact Us' on the new landing page

All competitions currently live on the old platform or published up to 15th May will run through in full on the old platform. All tenders published from 22nd May onwards will be on the new platform only, is this correct?

Yes.

Where can I find further guidance on platform functionality and usage?

Guides are available by clicking ‘Help’ at the bottom of the eTenders home page here. Videos, including a recording of a supplier training webinar are available from the 'Interactive Walkthroughs' section.

Registration

My username is not recognised when trying to activate my account

Follow the instructions in the First Login in guide - ensure the username is identical in all respects to your old eTenders username e.g. capitalisation, spacing, special characters etc.

If you only registered on the old eTenders system since 14 March 2023, your account will not have migrated to the new platform. If your organisation has been migrated to the new platform, you should not register as a new organisation; instead ask your EO admin to create a new user account for you in the migrated organisation.

I've forgotten my old username

You will need to contact the old eTenders platform: https://irl.eu-supply.com/login.asp and go to 'Reset/Forgotten Password'. You will need to have the email address which you used in your registration of your old eTenders account available.

Does the EO Adminstrator have to be an individual or can a company email address be used?

A company email can be used and you can use the same email for multiple users.

We have an account with multiple users attached to it and I am the admin. When we setting up in the new platform is it advisable for me to activate my account first before any user updates their information?

Yes it would be advisable to ensure your organisation details are correct prior to other users activating their accounts.

When the administrator activates their account on the new platform, will they be able to see a list of all their users in the company?

An admin will be able see all their users but in inactive status if prior their first login

Is it possible to remove a user i.e. if they have left the company?

You can deactivate a user; users cannot be deleted to protect the integrity of the audit trail.

Can more than one person have admin access?

You can have as many EO admin users as you wish

Does a deactivated user get a notification?

The user gets a notification about the deactivation stage and then System Admin in the OGP must be contacted in order to reactivate this account

If you select a main CPV category will it include all the sub categories?

CPV notifications are sent for the exact CPVs that were selected, not for all sub categories under the main category.

Once we have set up the CPV codes for potential tenders, will we receive notifications via email going forward?

Yes, you will get a notification email at the end of the day with all newly published tenders of the day related to those CPV codes

What are CAs of interest?

You can register for alerts for notices published by particular CAs of your choosing. Please note that you will receive all the CA’s published notices, not just the ones based on your CPV codes selection.

Tendering process

Can we view tender documents before expressing an interest?

Yes, if the Contracting Authority has published them.

Is it possible to remove an expression of interest from a tender after registering an interest?

You can withdraw your interest from a tender at any point

So if a tender is submitted and you need change something or add something you have forgotten you need to resubmit all over again?

Yes, the advice is to keep everything in draft until you are ready to submit.

If you are part of a Framework, will mini-competitions still automatically be emailed to the framework members?

Yes, once your account has been fully activated; also CAs must fully activate their arrangements before they are available for framework members to access.

Will we still get email alerts for contract awards, as well as it appearing on the platform?

Yes, if you had expressed an interest in the competition associated with the notice.

Do you have to express an interest in a tender before you can send a message?

Yes, you have to be associated with a tender in order to get the notifications and messages

When responding to a tender, will the new system accept ZIP files?

Yes, all files types are supported.

What if sub-contractors are not registered with eTenders? Can we send them an ESPD to fill out and then upload ourselves?

Yes, but it is advised to request their ESPD response and add them to your tender as additional document

Tender Response Documents - I assume these will be uploaded by the CA and we will be able to fill these out and save as a PDF and upload etc.?

Yes.

Can you upload documents directly to the tender submission or do you have to use the document library?

Both can be done.

Migration

I cannot see the framework/DPS/ Qualification System that I am a member of, when I have activated my registration.

It is possible that the contracting authority has not yet activated their arrangements on the new platform to date

Will all previous tenders be accessible via the new platform (i.e. old tenders/contract awards etc)?

No, it will only be available on the old platform, only new competition data will be on the new platform. Frameworks, DPS and QS previously established on the old platform will be migrated to the new platform from where new mini competitions, DPS/QS tenders will be issued.

What happens to my old data?

The current platform will be available until May 2024; suppliers are advised to start downloading any of their data well in advance of the May 2024 deadline.

Are existing CPV codes going to be the same on the new system? Are my business alerts migrated?

There is no change in CPV codes; you will need to set them up in your profile in the new platform to continue to receive business opportunities as they are not migrated.

Does any existing information go across to the new platform?

Only priority information such as registration information and framework/DPS arrangements, no documentation has been migrated.

Will ESPD information be migrated?

ESPD information will not be migrated.