The "minimum price" in a public tender

Many small businesses look for the "minimum price" of a public tender. The honest answer: there is no legal minimum price. The public buyer sets no floor; it compares bids on the announced criteria (price and technical value). What exists is the lower limit: below a certain level your bid becomes abnormally low and the buyer must ask you to justify it.

The real floor is your cost price

Your useful minimum price is not a market rule: it is your full cost price plus a margin that lets you deliver calmly. Going below it risks either rejection for an abnormally low bid, or a loss-making job.

How to set a solid floor price

Cost every line (material, labour, subcontracting, overheads). Add the risks specific to the contract (deadlines, penalties, price revision). Compete on value, not price alone: a strong technical memo often wins without being the cheapest, because the price criterion rarely weighs 100 %.