You do not need to read a tender document cover to cover before deciding whether to bid. You need to read six things, in this order, and stop as soon as one of them rules you out.
1. Eligibility and qualifying criteria
Turnover thresholds, net worth requirements and years in business. These are absolute — no amount of good pricing compensates for falling short. Check the exact financial years specified, because "average annual turnover of the last three financial years" and "turnover in any one of the last three years" are very different tests.
2. Similar work experience
The clause usually specifies both a value and a description of the work. Read what counts as "similar" carefully; departments often define it narrowly, and a completion certificate for adjacent work will not be accepted.
3. Pre-bid meeting and query deadline
This date passes early and is easy to miss. It is your only formal opportunity to get an ambiguous clause clarified or a restrictive specification relaxed, and a written reply from the department becomes part of the tender.
4. Submission format
Two-cover or three-cover, physical or fully online, file size limits, page numbering and signing requirements. A technically strong bid rejected for an unsigned page is the most frustrating way to lose.
5. Evaluation method
Least-cost, quality-and-cost-based, or a scored technical evaluation with defined marks. If the tender is scored, the marking scheme tells you exactly where to invest effort in the technical response.
6. Payment terms and penalties
Milestone payments, retention percentage, liquidated damages for delay and the defect liability period. These decide whether the contract is worth executing at the price you are about to quote.
If all six clear, then read the rest. If any one of them fails, close the document and spend the time on the next tender.