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Procurement processes

We spend around £4 million a year on goods, services and works providing firms of all sizes with a wide range of commercial opportunities. We seek to buy goods and services offering the best value for money to the tax payer and to purchase in line with legal requirements and government guidance.

We operate on the principle that there should be no barriers and no favours in awarding contracts and encourage businesses, both within the district and outside it, who believe they are qualified to supply the council with goods and services, to engage with us.

In most cases we will use competitive procurement processes to identify those tenders which offer the best value for money. We may conduct these processes ourselves, in conjunction with other local authorities, or we may use “framework agreements”.

Advertising contracts and preferred suppliers

In order to supply Tewkesbury Borough Council you must register online at: in-tendhost.co.uk/tewkesbury

Tewkesbury Borough Council uses an electronic procurement portal. Registered suppliers can view all current contracts and will receive notifications of contract opportunities and can register interest for future contracts.

Registration and use of the portal is completely free of charge, and your information can be updated as and when required.

No Purchase Order, No Pay guidance

With effect from 1 April 2024, council staff have been instructed to ensure that all invoices submitted to Tewkesbury Borough Council for payment which do not reference a valid Purchase Order (PO) number will be returned to the supplier.

A range of measures have been applied to ensure that our internal processes and procedures are ready. We wrote to all our suppliers to ensure that you are formally aware of this policy.

Goods and services should only be supplied to Tewkesbury Borough Council after receipt of an official purchase order. If a valid purchase order number is not quoted on the invoice, then the invoice will be returned to the supplier. You are advised not to undertake or make any commitment with Tewkesbury Borough Council for the supply of goods and services until the official order has been raised. Failure to comply with this may result in non-payment of your invoices.

This is being implemented to increase efficiency in the procurement and payment processes across the council.

Benefits of ‘No PO, No Pay’ policy

  • Ensures that purchases are authorised before goods, services and works are supplied
  • Enables the council to process invoices efficiently thus ensuring a positive payment profile with suppliers or contractors
  • Allows accurate timely reporting, budgeting and forecasting across the council
  • Removes potential risk to the council by formally agreeing the terms of engagement before the supplier or contractor commits to deliver.

In accordance with the ‘No PO, No Pay’ policy, any invoice received from a supplier or contractor which does not clearly state a valid Purchase Order provided by the council will be rejected and returned to the supplier or contractor.

What is a PO number sequence for Tewkesbury Borough Council?

The council’s Purchasing System generates Purchase Orders in the format:

TBC followed by six numbers or OLP followed by six digits for One Legal orders.

Exceptions to ‘No PO, No Pay’

  • Telecommunication services (landline and mobile)
  • Utilities, for example electric, gas, water, refuse
  • Postal services
  • Grant (payments)
  • Rent (where covered by a signed Long-term Lease Agreement)
  • s106 or CIL payments
  • Credit card purchases.

Sending your invoice to us

All invoices should be emailed to creditors@tewkesbury.gov.uk and not the requesting officer. Failure to do this may result in a delay in payment.

Further information can be found in our full policy.