Main contractors filter on compliance first, price second. These are the fifteen things their screening software looks at — all public data. Run them yourself with a coffee. The first five are below; tell me where to send the rest and the whole list unlocks now.
£5m is the legal minimum. No cover visible = filtered before scoring starts.
"Fully insured" with no number means nothing to a PQQ screen.
An expired CAR policy isn't paperwork — it's you on live sites uninsured.
This is the tender-list filter. No entry on the register and you're out before anyone reads the bid.
Wrong level reads the same as no level to the screening software.
Legal requirement at 5+ employees.
Tell me who's asking and the full list opens right here (and I'll know the checklist reached the right desk — that's the whole trade).
Legal requirement at 5+ employees. An unreviewed policy scores like a missing one.
An FRA with open actions is a live finding, not a tick.
Done isn't enough — written down is what counts.
CSCS, SMSTS, first-aid — coverage and renewal dates someone can actually see.
Legal for refurb trades. Checked more often than firms expect.
A generic RAMS template signed by nobody reads as no RAMS.
Construction phase plan ready for notifiable jobs.
The licence is £154 for three years. The fixed penalty is £300. The wrong tier is as bad as no licence the day someone checks the van.
A lapsed logo is a Trading Standards risk — and it's the one most firms never check. It's also the first thing I check, because it's free ammunition for whoever tenders against you.