Why bids get rejected

Rejections tend to get explained as bad luck or a tight client. In practice they fall into a few repeatable causes, and only some are yours to fix.

Causes you control

• The note gives no quantity, so there is nothing to approve an amount against
• The note is written in capitals as a fragment, which reads as a demand rather than an assessment
• The scope is undefined, so the reviewer approves a reduced amount to be safe
• No standard or risk is cited, leaving the work looking optional
• The photos attached to that line do not show the thing being bid
• The price sits outside the band that national normally approves for that work type

Causes you do not control

• Client policy on an entire category — some nationals simply do not approve certain work, at any price
• Budget or investor rules on that specific asset
• The work being covered by an allowable rather than a bid

Reduced approvals are not rejections

A large share of approvals come back at a lower amount than submitted — one national writes it explicitly on the document. That is still work won, and it should be tracked as a win rather than filed as a loss. Counting reduced approvals as failures makes your own numbers meaningless.