Finding a contract is often a geography problem before it is a search problem. A council in Scotland, an Irish university and a US federal agency publish in different places. Start with the market you can actually serve, then choose the tools that give you a useful view of it.
These eight sites cover complementary needs: searching across sources, following local buyers, reading original notices and finding the right submission platform.
1. Scoutee
Scoutee brings national portals, regional platforms and European notices into one search across its supported markets. The platform combines broad coverage, relevant matching and a daily shortlist, without repeating the same search on every website. You can filter by country, keywords and contract value, then follow promising notices back to their source.
Think of it as bringing everything in your watchlist together. Scoutee’s source directory shows the countries and portals covered, so you can check the markets that matter to you. Tender search is free; further tools are described on the pricing page.
Coverage only helps if you can find the right work. Scoutee’s keyword generator helps you describe your business in buyers’ terms, while automatic keyword expansion finds related expressions and multilingual variants. A business searching for “office cleaning” may also need “janitorial services” or “building cleaning”. Those are illustrative terms, not a promise that every suggestion suits your business. Review the suggestions, keep the relevant ones and refine your saved search as you learn.
2. Find a Tender
The central starting point for UK procurement notices. The enhanced service supports the central digital platform introduced with the Procurement Act changes in February 2025. Use it to read notices, follow a procurement and find the buyer’s submission platform. Check the applicable regime and the instructions in each notice.
3. Public Contracts Scotland
A useful dedicated window into Scottish public purchasing. It is particularly relevant when your customers are Scottish councils, universities or public bodies. Search the local market and use the notice to identify the documents and response route.
4. Sell2Wales
The Welsh procurement portal deserves its own place in a UK watchlist. Its local focus helps suppliers follow Welsh public bodies and the opportunities they publish. Keep both the opportunity and any linked tendering platform in view.
5. eTenders Ireland
The national portal to know when selling to Irish public bodies. Browse opportunities and procurement documents, then follow the procedure’s registration and response instructions. It is a practical starting point for suppliers expanding across the Irish Sea.
6. TED
Tenders Electronic Daily publishes the European procurement notices that reach the EU’s official supplement. Its multilingual search is useful for cross-border expansion and larger contracts. Combine it with national sources when smaller or more local opportunities matter.
TED ↗
7. SAM.gov
The official US federal contracting opportunity search. Useful for understanding agency demand and reading federal solicitations. Federal purchasing is a distinct market: confirm the registration, eligibility and submission requirements before investing in a response.
SAM.gov ↗
8. CanadaBuys
A key starting point for Canadian federal tender opportunities. Read the notice’s scope and submission instructions carefully; provincial and municipal buyers may use other platforms. For a Quebec-focused watchlist, also explore SEAO.
The method
Choose your countries and two or three specific services first. Run a broad search in Scoutee, review the keyword suggestions and save a focused watchlist. For each promising opportunity, open the original notice, check the deadline and documents, and register on the indicated platform early.
The sites above cover different roles and geographical markets, from broad discovery to local tendering procedures. Contracts Finder can still be useful for its published records and opportunities; for current UK procurement, also check Find a Tender and the relevant devolved portal. Read the UK government’s platform guidance.