Three Quotes Regulations Advice

[CommodoreS]

I wondered if anyone can point me towards an (official) regulation document about schools having to gain 3 quotes from different companies when spending public money.

[dezt]

I don't know of any official regulations, but we have it in our financial procedures to obtain 3 quotes if we are spending over £5000.

[Templar]

Hiya, the link below refers to City of London but from experience its similar everywhere

Rules of procurement

I believe there is a different procurement process if you are an Academy which requires 3 quotes minimum, a quick google should provide that info I reckon.

Hope that helps,

Daz

[theriver]

Hello

Previously this was covered by FMSiS, which was pretty rigorous but didn't specify 3 quotes at all times (section 4.2, here: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.g...ploads/G3A.doc) - rather that things were being done 'appropriately'. Some places will have a lower limit than @dezt, for example. FMSiS has now been replaced by a much smaller document, which is as far as I can tell a large checkbox next to the statement, "Are you doing it right? Are you? Are you *sure*? Well that's OK then", but has the same gist. The important thing is to demonstrate that you have been diligent, and can back up your purchasing decision (e.g. why didn't you get three quotes, why didn't you just get the cheapest one).

[nephilim]

I have found that in previous places anything over £500 required 3 quotes, over £5000 required 5 quotes (unless its the likes of smoothwall in which case an equivalent from other companies was required)

[garethedmondson]

We are the same. It is the LEA Auditor who asks for quotes for anything above £1000. It is a pain.

Gareth

[plexer]

Anything over £5k needs 3 quotes here.

Ben

[CommodoreS]

Today I found out in Suffolk it is 3 quotes for anything over £10k and only 1 quote is required below this. It would be useful to have more info on the requirements for Academies as I have not been able to find anything out and not sure who I would contact about it.

[teejay]

An Academy is a private company with charitable status, there are no hard and fast rules for the number of quotes, it is down to the directors of the company to ensure the business is run properly and for them to set purchasing guidelines.

[CommodoreS]

An Academy is a private company with charitable status, there are no hard and fast rules for the number of quotes, it is down to the directors of the company to ensure the business is run properly and for them to set purchasing guidelines.

Thats what I thought, but wanted to check after reading the post from Templar above.

[CyberNerd]

Some resellers will be able to provide you with more expensive quotes from 'competitors' that they have deals with, scratching each others backs etc. You can also use the 'web' price from BT/misco etc as 'quotes'. The web price is always more than your account manager will get.

Another important thing to remember is that you are not obliged to go with the cheapest quote, auditors don't seem to care if you compare apples with bananas.

Just for the record - I ALWAYS go with what I think is best for my school, and I NEVER take bribes from resellers.