- Who can publish a tender or RFQ, and how do I start?
- Any organisation that has completed BARREL organisation verification with an authorised signatory: project owners, developers, EPCs, utilities and procurement teams. Choose Post a Requirement, pick the listing type, and the wizard takes you through scope, BOQ, drawings, schedule, qualification criteria and commercial terms. Drafts save automatically, and a completeness check runs before the requirement is published or sent to your shortlist. Individuals can register and read public tender notices but cannot publish or bid without organisation membership.
- What do the trust labels on a buyer or bidder mean?
- Self-declared means the information came from the organisation and has not been checked by BARREL. Documents checked means the stated organisation documents were reviewed on the date shown. Reference checked means at least one submitted project reference was contacted or validated, within the scope displayed. BARREL reviewed means the listing was reviewed for completeness and the checks shown in its verification record. None of the labels is a guarantee of a contractor's performance, a buyer's payment or a bidder's eligibility for a particular tender.
- What does it cost to publish or to bid?
- Fees depend on your organisation's plan and the tender type; see Plans. Any fee is shown before you publish a requirement or submit a bid, and browsing public tender notices does not need a paid plan.
- Who can see my bid, and when?
- Your envelopes sit sealed in the vault until the deadline. Only the buyer's authorised evaluation panel can open them, the technical envelope first, and no other bidder ever sees your prices or documents. Tender documents themselves are released only after you pass the eligibility check and sign the NDA. Outcome notices follow the disclosure policy the buyer set in the tender, and every opening and document view is logged.
- Does BARREL evaluate the bids or award the contract?
- No. BARREL provides the requirement wizard, the sealed vault, the evaluation matrix, the clarification log and the audit trail, and checks listings for completeness. The buyer's own panel scores the bids and the buyer decides the award. BARREL is not a party to the contract and does not guarantee a bidder's performance, a buyer's payment or that any tender will end in an award.
