How it's calculated
Every proposal or tender costs time to write, so it pays to decide early which opportunities to chase. The calculator turns that judgement into a weighted score. You rate the opportunity from 1 to 5 on eight criteria; each criterion carries a weight; the score is the weighted total as a share of the best possible score. If it reaches your threshold, the recommendation is to bid.
The default weights favour the three things that most often decide a bid: strategic fit, your relationship with the buyer and your chance of beating the competition. Change them under the advanced settings to match what has decided your past wins and losses.
The formula
- Points for each criterion = weight × score (1–5)
- Score = Σ points ÷ Σ (weight × 5)
- Bid if score ≥ threshold
Worked example
An opportunity scoring 4 on fit, capability and capacity and 3 on everything else reaches 67.8% of the maximum, so the recommendation at a 65% threshold is: Bid.
| Line | Weight | Score (1–5) | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic fit with your services and goals | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Relationship with the buyer | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Chance of winning against the competition | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Capability and references for this work | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Team capacity to deliver on time | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Contract value and margin | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Low risk (scope, terms, payment) | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Bid effort is reasonable | 1 | 3 | 3 |
With no relationship with the buyer (score 1) and a poor chance against the competition (score 2), the same opportunity drops to 57.8%: No bid.
Assumptions and limitations
- A structured opinion, not a forecast. The score is only as good as the honesty of the ratings; score as a team and compare views.
- Calibrate the threshold against your own past bids.
- Hard stops come first. If you cannot meet a mandatory requirement, do not bid whatever the score.