Where our tender data comes from

ProTenders is a search and alerting layer over public procurement data. We do not create tenders and we are not a government agency. This page sets out exactly what we pull, how often, what is published as-is, what we calculate, and how to tell us we have something wrong.

Sources and refresh cadence

What is published as-is, and what we calculate

The distinction matters when you are deciding whether to bid, so we keep it explicit rather than blending the two.

Taken directly from the source

• Tender title, reference number, buyer, province, category, closing date and status, exactly as published in the OCDS feed.
• Award values and supplier names, as published in award notices.
• Historic departmental spend totals, as published in Treasury BAS.

Derived or generated by us

• Readable tender titles. Many source titles are only a reference code (for example “Scm11/2026/27”), so we generate a descriptive title from the notice body. The original reference is always shown alongside it.
• Category mapping. OCDS categories are mapped onto UNSPSC commodity families so tenders and historic spend can be compared. Mapping is rules-based and occasionally imperfect.
• Estimated values, opportunity scores and competition measures under Intelligence. These are calculated from historic BAS data, not quoted from the tender document.
• Market narratives on Intelligence pages, which are generated from the underlying figures.

Limitations worth knowing

• We inherit source gaps. If a buyer does not publish a notice to eTenders, it will not appear here. Some institutions publish inconsistently or late.
• Closed tenders stay online. Expired notices remain readable because they are useful for researching what a department buys and at what value. The closing date is always shown, and structured data marks them as no longer available.
• Always verify against the source document. Before you submit a bid, check the tender document and the buyer's own portal. We link to the source on every tender page.
• Intelligence figures are estimates. Market sizes and opportunity scores are modelled from historic spend. They are there to help you prioritise, not to price a bid.

Corrections

If a tender is mislabelled, a value looks wrong, or a page shows something that does not match the source notice, tell us and we will fix it. Include the tender reference number or the page URL.

Email support@protenders.co.za or use the contact form. Corrections that come from the source feed are picked up automatically on the next sync; anything we have derived we correct by hand.

Editorial guides

Our written guides (CIDB grading, CSD registration, B-BBEE requirements, how to price a bid) are produced by the ProTenders procurement desk and are based on the published rules of the relevant authority. Where a rule comes from a specific body, we name and link it.

Guides are general information about public procurement process. They are not legal, financial or tax advice, and requirements change. For a decision that carries real money, check the current rule with the issuing authority.

Further reading: about ProTenders, how we differ from eTenders.gov.za, and the procurement glossary.

Page maintained by the ProTenders procurement desk. Last reviewed September 2026. Canonical URL: https://www.protenders.co.za/methodology