AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Since the Procurement Act 2023 took effect on 24 February 2025, new UK public sector opportunities, including smaller below-threshold contracts, must be published on Find a Tender, the central digital platform. Contracts Finder still carries procurements started under the old rules. Central government bodies and NHS trusts must publish notices for contracts above £12,000 including VAT; other authorities above £30,000.
Councils, schools, universities, NHS trusts and government departments buy everything from cleaning and catering to software, training and translation. For a small firm, the difficulty is not a lack of contracts but knowing where they are published and getting ready to bid. The rules changed in 2025, and older advice that points you only to Contracts Finder is now out of date.
Find a Tender is now the main source
The Procurement Act 2023 replaced the Public Contracts Regulations for new procurements, and government guidance says no new procurements are run under the old regulations after 24 February 2025. The Act's 'central digital platform' is Find a Tender, at find-tender.service.gov.uk. Government guidance on the platform (updated August 2026) says it publishes notices for both larger covered procurements and below-threshold procurements, and stores suppliers' core information.
For smaller contracts, the guidance on below-threshold contracts (updated July 2026) says a below-threshold tender notice must be published on the central digital platform before it is published anywhere else. That replaces the old requirement to publish only on Contracts Finder.
What Contracts Finder is for now
The government's update to PPN 019 says Contracts Finder publication requirements remain unchanged for procurements started under the old regulations. In practice, you may still see older frameworks, contract awards and some opportunities there, but new opportunities under the Act must go on Find a Tender. Search both while the old regime's contracts run off.
The notice thresholds
| Buyer | Must publish a below-threshold notice above |
|---|---|
| Central government authorities | £12,000 including VAT |
| NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts | £12,000 including VAT |
| All other contracting authorities (councils, most schools and universities) | £30,000 including VAT |
Below those figures, buyers can approach suppliers directly, often by asking for quotes from firms they already know. That is why being visible to local buyers matters as much as searching the portals.
Rules that help small firms
- No suitability filter below threshold. The guidance says authorities cannot restrict below-threshold tenders by reference to suppliers' suitability, because such assessments can be a particular barrier for SMEs and voluntary organisations.
- Register once. Suppliers store core information on the central digital platform and share it with the authorities they choose. Buyers must confirm you have registered, so register before you bid.
- Prompt payment. The Act carries prompt payment provisions into below-threshold contracts; the guidance refers to separate guidance on invoicing and payment.
A weekly routine
- Register your organisation on Find a Tender and complete your core supplier information.
- Search regularly for the words buyers use for your service, and the regions you can cover.
- Check Contracts Finder for older frameworks still running in your sector.
- Read the procurement plans that larger buyers publish, such as the NHS Supply Chain procurement calendar.
- Introduce yourself to local council and school procurement teams for work below the notice thresholds.
- Keep a standard pack ready: company details, insurance certificates, policies, accounts and two or three case studies.
Reading a notice in five minutes
Most notices follow the same pattern, so you can sort the worth-bidding from the not-for-us quickly. Look at these in order:
- Buyer
- Who is buying, and whether you have worked with similar bodies before.
- Estimated value
- Whether the contract is a sensible size for your turnover. A contract worth more than your annual sales is a risk for the buyer and for you.
- Lots
- Larger contracts are often split into lots by region or service. A small firm can bid for one lot rather than the whole.
- Deadlines
- The closing date for bids and, usually earlier, the last date for clarification questions.
- Conditions of participation
- Minimum insurance, accreditations, financial standing or experience. If you cannot meet one, the bid fails regardless of quality.
- Evaluation
- How price and quality are weighted, and what the quality questions cover.
If two or more of these are a poor fit, move on. Bidding takes days of work, and a small firm wins more by bidding for fewer, better-matched contracts than by answering everything.
Before you bid
Read the whole tender pack before deciding. Check the deadline for clarification questions, the evaluation weighting between price and quality, the insurance levels asked for, and whether the contract value is realistic for your size. Buyers often ask for recent accounts; a new company should know what its first filing will show (see first-year company accounts). Joining with another small firm as a consortium, or acting as a subcontractor to a larger supplier, is a common way to gain the track record that later bids ask for.
Where Pryme fits
Business accounts with Pryme come with a Sales agent that can keep a register of tender deadlines and clarification dates, and a Compliance agent that prepares reminders for insurance and certificate renewals, for a person to approve. A Pryme Business Account holds GBP with UK account details. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
Where are UK government tenders advertised now?
On Find a Tender, the central digital platform under the Procurement Act 2023. New below-threshold notices must be published there first.
Is Contracts Finder still used?
Yes, for procurements started under the old Public Contracts Regulations. New opportunities under the Act go on Find a Tender.
What is the threshold for publishing a tender notice?
£12,000 including VAT for central government and NHS trusts, and £30,000 including VAT for other contracting authorities, according to government guidance updated July 2026.
Do I need to register to bid for public contracts?
Buyers must confirm that suppliers have registered on the central digital platform and submitted their core supplier information, so register before you bid.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Procurement Act 2023 guidance - Below-threshold contracts · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Guidance - Central Digital Platform and Publication of Information · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Update to legal requirements to publish procurement information on Contracts Finder (PPN 019) · accessed Oct 2026
- NHS Supply Chain: Contract and tender process · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.