The verdict in three sentences
For a Dublin construction SME that earns 60% of its revenue from public contracts, a tender tracking and bid management web app costs EUR 30,000 to 60,000 excluding VAT as a 2026 order of magnitude, over a 3 to 4 month project. The payback is counted in bids: a two-person bid team moving from 50 to 70 submissions a year without hiring covers the cost within the first year. The hard part lies in the method statement library and the migration of existing compliance documents, far more than in the screens.
What the app must cover, from eTenders to submission
The managing director of a Dublin groundworks and civil engineering contractor knows the pattern: a notice spotted too late on eTenders, an expired tax clearance certificate found the day before the deadline, a method statement rewritten from scratch even though a similar job was written up six months ago. The app centralises the whole chain.
| Module | Function | Share of budget (2026 order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|
| eTenders and TED notice import | Daily feed filtered by CPV codes, county and contract value | 15% |
| Bid/no-bid | Scoring grid: target margin, estimating workload, distance, competition | 10% |
| Compliance vault | Tax clearance, CRO extract, insurance certificates, Safe-T-Cert with expiry dates | 12% |
| Method statement library | Reusable blocks per work package, project references, key staff CVs | 25% |
| Bid planning and alerts | Deadlines, clarification questions, automatic reminders at D-10, D-5, D-2 | 13% |
| Results tracking | Ranking, winning price, debrief scores, win rate | 15% |
| Roles, backup, hosting | Director, estimator and admin roles, EU hosting | 10% |
The library carries the most weight because it needs real design work: splitting past submissions into blocks (excavation methodology, waste management, site safety, social value), tagging them by asset type and letting the team assemble a new quality response in one hour instead of one day.
What it costs depending on the route
Three routes exist in 2026 for a 90-person contractor. The figures below are Irish market orders of magnitude.
| Option | Upfront cost | Annual cost | Timeline | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tender alert SaaS only | EUR 0 | EUR 1,500 to 4,000 | 1 week | No library, no tailored bid/no-bid |
| Alert SaaS plus shared spreadsheet | EUR 2,000 setup | EUR 2,000 to 5,000 | 2 weeks | Scattered data, no expiry alerts |
| Custom app, tight scope | EUR 30,000 to 40,000 | EUR 4,000 to 6,000 maintenance | 3 months | Library grows progressively |
| Custom app, full scope | EUR 45,000 to 60,000 | EUR 6,000 to 9,000 maintenance | 4 months | Needs an available internal owner |
| Construction ERP with bid module | EUR 60,000 to 120,000 | EUR 10,000 and more | 6 to 9 months | Oversized unless the ERP is already in place |
At Kolonell, an app of this kind sits in the custom application grid: medium at 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (EUR 6,100 to 10,670) or complex at 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (EUR 10,670 to 22,870+), depending on the number of connectors and the migration volume. Maintenance follows the 35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA monthly plans (EUR 53, 114 or 183).
Three decisions to make before kick-off
First decision: the monitoring source. eTenders is the national portal and TED covers above-threshold EU notices, both with open data feeds. Some local authorities and approved housing bodies also use framework portals, so combining the official feeds with a paid aggregator is often the best compromise.
Second decision: the bid/no-bid grid. It must be written by the managing director, not the supplier. Five to eight weighted criteria are enough: value, target margin, forecast workload, distance from the yard, usual number of competitors, required certifications such as ISO 45001.
Third decision: migrating existing content. Plan 10 to 15 days of internal work to sort the 40 to 80 submissions from the last three years. Without it, the library stays empty and the app only does monitoring.
Mini case study
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Ciaran, managing director of a construction SME in Dublin, employs two estimators who submit 50 tenders a year with a 22% win rate, meaning 11 contracts. The average contract won is worth EUR 280,000 with a 6% net margin, so EUR 16,800.
After launching an app costing EUR 45,000, average bid preparation time drops from 4 days to 2.8 days. With the same workload, the team submits 70 bids, 40% more. At the same win rate that means 15 contracts instead of 11: 4 extra contracts and EUR 67,200 of additional net margin. Even after deducting EUR 7,000 of annual maintenance, the investment is recovered in just over 9 months.
FAQ
Can the app connect directly to eTenders and TED?
Yes, TED provides an open API and eTenders notices can be pulled daily by CPV code and region. Integration typically takes 3 to 5 development days within the overall budget.
Must compliance documents be hosted in Ireland?
It is not a legal requirement for a private SME, but EU hosting under GDPR is expected by most contracting authorities. Dedicated EU hosting adds roughly EUR 50 to 150 per month depending on volume.
How long does team training take?
Two half-days are enough for two estimators and one administrator. The real effort is migrating past submissions, estimated at 10 to 15 internal days.
Does the app replace the eTenders submission portal?
No, final submission still happens on eTenders. The app prepares a complete, checked bid pack, which cuts last-minute missing document incidents by around 80%.
Can we start small?
Yes, a first phase around EUR 30,000 covers monitoring, the compliance vault and alerts. The library and results tracking follow in a second phase 2 to 3 months later.
Let's scope your project. We define the priority modules, the migration of your past bids and a two-phase delivery plan with you. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
