Reference prices: how to use the award history to quote
In public procurement, price is usually the factor with the most weight. The good news: you don't have to guess it. Previous awards are public information and give you a realistic range to quote from.
What a reference price is
A reference price is the approximate value at which a good or service equivalent to the one you are bidding for has been contracted before. It isn't an official price or a fee: it's a starting point built from real public-market data.
It serves two purposes: deciding whether a tender is worth it (if the historical range is far below your cost, it may not be your tender) and fine-tuning your bid so it is competitive without giving away margin.
Where the data comes from
Every procedure processed in SICOP leaves a public file: the tender document, the bids, the award decision and the amount awarded. With that you can rebuild the price at which something similar has been bought, by which institutions and how often.
The administration, for its part, also estimates a price before publishing the tender document —based on market studies or previous purchases— and that estimate influences how bids are evaluated and whether a price is considered excessive or ruinous.
How to build the range
- Look for the equivalent item, not just the name. The same supply can appear under different descriptions; compare specifications, presentation and unit of measure.
- Limit the time window. The last 6 to 12 months reflect the current market better than awards from three years ago.
- Discard outliers. A tender declared void, one with a single bid or one with very particular conditions distorts the average.
- Adjust for context. Quantity, delivery time, location and service level change the cost. A large order doesn't cost the same per unit as a small one.
- Keep a range, not a number. "Between X and Y, with most around Z" is more useful than a single average.
The two mistakes that take you out of the game
Quoting far above the range costs you points against tighter bids and, if you significantly exceed the administration's estimate, your price may be considered excessive.
Quoting far below compromises your margin and can trigger a request to justify a ruinous or unprofitable price: the administration will ask you to show how you will deliver at that price, and if you can't, your bid may be excluded.
The goal isn't to be the cheapest: it's to be within the competitive range with a price you can sustain.
Automate the tedious part
Rebuilding reference prices by hand —opening files one by one in SICOP, writing down amounts, cleaning the data— takes hours every time. LicitaSmart already has it organized: historical prices by type of good or service and the details of the winning bids analyzed, so you can quote with judgment rather than intuition.
If you're still unsure, start with the guide how to prepare a competitive bid.
This guide is general information and may become outdated. It is not legal advice. Always check the current requirements, deadlines and regulations in the official sources (SICOP and the Contraloría General de la República, Costa Rica's comptroller) and, for specific questions, consult a public procurement professional.