Framework onboarding
From nothing to a live framework listing.
End to end framework applications, from G-Cloud 15 to the technology, professional services and sector frameworks your buyers use: eligibility review, Central Digital Platform registration, service descriptions and pricing, evidence, submission and every clarification until you are listed.
The position
A framework listing is the door, and many public buyers only buy through it. We get you through the door properly, and we show you what to do on the other side.
What is included
Six stages. One application, done once.
Everything below is in scope for the fixed fee. You sign off before anything is submitted.
Eligibility and compliance review
Your services, structure, certifications, insurances and references checked against the framework requirements before any time is spent on the application.
Central Digital Platform registration
Company facts, beneficial ownership, parent details and users set up correctly, in an account registered to you.
Service descriptions, pricing and responses
Each service written to the lot it belongs in, in the language buyers search with, with a pricing structure that survives the call-off.
Policies and evidence
Guidance on the certificates, insurance documents and policies commonly requested, and which ones actually apply to you.
Submission on your behalf
The application submitted through the Digital Marketplace once you have signed it off.
Clarifications and reference certificates
Post-submission questions answered, and customer reference certificates managed through to signature, so the listing can be used the day it goes live.
Which frameworks
The frameworks your buyers actually use.
Which agreements matter depends on who buys what you sell. Part of every engagement is identifying the frameworks and dynamic markets your target buyers call off from, and applying to the ones that fit as their windows open.
| Category | Examples | Who buys through them |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud and digital | G-Cloud 15; Digital Specialists and Programmes; Vertical Application Solutions. | Central government, arm's length bodies, local authorities, NHS and police. |
| Technology infrastructure and security | Technology Products and Associated Services; Network Services; Cyber Security Services. | Departments, local authorities, health and blue light services. |
| Professional services | Management Consultancy Framework; specialist consultancy and research agreements. | Every part of the public sector. |
| Sector consortia | NHS Shared Business Services; HealthTrust Europe; ESPO; YPO; CPC; NEPO; Scotland Excel; Procurement for Housing; Fusion21. | Health, education, local government, housing and the devolved nations. |
| Open frameworks and dynamic markets | Created by the Procurement Act 2023. Open frameworks reopen to new suppliers during their term; dynamic markets admit members on a rolling basis. | Increasingly the default route for authorities that want a live supplier pool. |
Framework names as published by the Government Commercial Agency and the consortia concerned. Windows, lots and conditions of participation are checked against the current documents for every application.
A firm rule
The account is yours.
Your Central Digital Platform account is registered to your company, never to us.
The supplier account legally belongs to the supplier. The access codes for declarations, contract signatures and future updates stay with you. We recommend a shared mailbox, such as tenders@ or procurement@, so verification codes reach the right people, and we are added as an administrator for the duration of the project and removed at the end. A framework listing that someone else controls is not an asset. Yours will be.
What you will need
The evidence buyers and frameworks ask for.
Most companies hold more of this than they expect. We send the full list, say plainly what does not apply to you, and populate what is publicly available before asking you to confirm rather than research.
| Category | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Company facts | Legal name, company number, registered office, D-U-N-S number, VAT number, ultimate beneficial owners holding 25 per cent or more, and parent company details where you are part of a group. |
| Certifications | Only those you hold. Commonly requested: Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus; ISO 9001, 14001, 22301, 27001, 27017 and 27018; ISO/IEC 20000-1; PCI DSS; CSA STAR; BS 10008. |
| Insurances | One current certificate per type, showing the level of cover and the expiry date: employers' liability, public liability, product liability and professional indemnity. |
| Policies | Prompt payment, social value, business continuity or disaster recovery, and a corporate resolution plan where requested. |
| Customer references | For G-Cloud, a Technical Ability Certificate signed by a public sector customer for a relevant contract worth at least £25,000 excluding VAT and active inside the framework's reference window. |
Source: G-Cloud framework documents and the Central Digital Platform supplier requirements. Reference windows and thresholds move with each framework round and are checked against the current documents.
Reference certificates
The signature that unlocks revenue.
On G-Cloud a supplier cannot enter a call-off contract until its customer reference certificate is signed. The signature request comes from the platform, it is commonly caught by mail filters, and an unsigned certificate blocks revenue rather than just the application.
We identify which of your contracts qualifies, brief your customer on what to expect, manage the request through the platform or the framework authority's offline route where that fails, and confirm receipt with the authority. Your first call-off is not held up by an inbox.
After the listing
Being listed is where the work starts.
- Single-service brochures.Buyers do not want a general capability deck. A six to eight page brochure per listed service, aligned line by line with the published description, gives your sales team something to send that matches what the buyer will find on the platform.
- Buyer engagement.Listings are found by buyers who already know what they are looking for. Phase 2 of the growth programme puts your service in front of the buyers before they search.
- Further competitions and call-offs.When a buyer runs a further competition or a direct award through the framework, bid leadership takes it from qualification to award.
Questions we are asked
About framework onboarding.
Do we need a UK public sector customer already?
For G-Cloud a signed reference from a public sector customer is required before you can contract through the framework. Part of the eligibility review is identifying which of your existing contracts qualifies. Where none does yet, the growth programme plans the route to a first public sector contract that will.
What is the investment?
The onboarding fee is £9,000 excluding VAT per framework application, with all application and onboarding support capped at £15,000 excluding VAT. Support beyond that scope is quoted in advance.
What do you commit to?
A complete, accurate and well-written application, submitted on time, with every clarification handled. Decisions on admission to a framework rest with the framework authority, and rankings, visibility and buyer engagement are not within any adviser's gift, which is why the work after listing matters.
The framework is closed. What now?
G-Cloud reopens in rounds, and the open frameworks and dynamic markets created by the Procurement Act 2023 reopen to new suppliers by design. We track the windows, prepare the application in advance and submit on the first day it is possible.
How much of our time does it take?
Two working sessions: one on social value, policies and carbon reduction, one on service structure and commercial positioning. Then confirming facts we have already populated, reviewing drafts and giving sign-off. The drafting, platform work and follow-up are ours.
Can you handle frameworks outside technology?
Yes. The method is the same: eligibility, registration, well-written service content, the right evidence, submission and clarifications. It was proven on G-Cloud 15 with every application accepted, and it applies to any framework or dynamic market your buyers use.