Finding out from the client's tender
Most of your work runs on annual or multi-year service contracts. Each has a start date, an end date, a scope and a price, and many roll over year after year with nobody looking. Prices stay where they were when fuel and lab costs were lower. Sites get added informally, but the contract still describes the original building.
Then a client's procurement team sends a tender invitation for the service you already provide, or a facilities manager emails to say they have appointed someone else from next month. You had no idea the contract was ending, because the end date was in a signed PDF in a folder.
Why renewals sneak up
| Information | Where it lives | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| End date and notice period | Signed contract PDF | Not visible anywhere day to day |
| Current scope | Contract schedule | Drifts from what is actually delivered |
| Price history | Accounts package | Not linked to the contract |
| Service performance | Visit reports | Not summarised for the client |
| Client relationship notes | Account manager's memory | Lost when people move on |
No single person is responsible for seeing all of that together, ahead of time. The account manager is busy with today's problems, so renewals are handled when they become urgent.
The cost of reactive renewals
Contracts renewing on old prices erode margin quietly. Contracts renewed without updating scope mean you deliver work you are not paid for, or leave gaps you are blamed for. Contracts lost at renewal often go because a competitor made contact first with a clear proposal.
It also makes forecasting difficult. Without a view of what is coming up for renewal, you cannot plan engineer capacity or spot concentration risk.
A renewals pipeline built on delivery records
- Each contract is recorded with its dates, notice period, scope, price and renewal terms. We can extract these from your existing contract PDFs, with a person checking each one.
- Contracts appear on a renewals board at a point you set ahead of the end date or notice deadline.
- For each renewal, the system builds a service summary from your records: visits completed, sampling carried out, remedial works, open findings and any no access issues.
- It compares the contracted scope with what was actually delivered and flags differences, such as extra sites or tasks added informally.
- The account manager prepares the renewal proposal with suggested price changes you define, reviews it and sends it.
- The outcome is recorded: renewed, renegotiated, retendered or lost, with a reason.
The service summary doubles as a strong renewal document, because it shows the client what they received rather than asserting it.
Where a client has added buildings or tasks during the year, the comparison makes that visible before the price conversation, so the renewal reflects the estate you actually look after. Where a client has reduced their estate, you can adjust the scope yourself rather than wait for their procurement team to point it out, which tends to go down better.
Renewals as a scheduled job
Instead of reacting to a procurement email, the account manager works through upcoming renewals each month. Scope and price are reviewed before the conversation starts, and the client sees a clear account of the year. Directors get a view of contract value up for renewal by quarter.
When an account manager leaves, their renewals do not leave with them. The board, the service summaries and the notes from previous renewals stay with each contract, so whoever picks up the client knows what was agreed last time and what the client cared about.
Signs your renewals need attention
- Contract end dates are only in the signed documents.
- Some contracts have not had a price review in years.
- You deliver work at some sites that the contract does not mention.
- You have lost contracts at renewal without seeing it coming.
- Nobody can list contracts renewing in the next quarter.