Reusable Tender Letters and Tender Closing Times
Write your Invitation to Tender letter once, save it as a template, and start every tender package from it. Merge fields fill in the project, the package and each subcontractor's details for you. Each package also carries its own closing time and time zone, so New Zealand and interstate subcontractors see the right local time.
1The 60-second version
Both features live in Preconstruction → Bid Package Management, on a tender package.
- Tender letter templates are saved for the whole workspace, so a letter written on one project can be used on any other. The workspace's default template is offered first on every new package.
- Merge fields such as
{Project Name}or{Subbie Company}are filled in when the letter is sent and when each subcontractor opens their tender portal — every invitee sees their own company name and their own portal link. - Closing time: a tender closes at 5:00 PM in your workspace's time zone on its due date, unless you pick another time or zone for that package. Once the tender is published the closing time is fixed; it can only be extended.
Using a template copies its wording into the package's letter. Editing that letter afterwards does not change the template, and changing the template does not change letters already on packages.
2Saving a tender letter as a template
Done once, by whoever writes your standard tender letter.
- Deep SpaceOpen a package's letterBid Package Management → open the package → Invitation tab. Write or adjust the letter as you want it on every tender.
- Deep SpaceSave it as a templateClick Save Tender Letter as template and give it a name, for example "Standard Subcontractor Tender Letter".
- Deep SpaceKeep this project's names out of itLeave Replace this package's project and package names with merge fields ticked. Wherever the letter mentions this project or package by name, the template stores
{Project Name}or{Package Name}instead, so it reads right on the next project. - Deep SpaceMake it the default (optional)Tick Set as workspace default to have it offered first on every package. Your first template is ticked automatically. Click Save template.
If a template with the same name already exists, the dialog says so and the button reads Replace template: saving updates that template rather than creating a second one with the same name.
3Starting a package's letter from a saved template
On a package that has no letter yet, the Invitation tab shows Invitation letter not yet configured with your workspace default as the first button.
- Deep SpacePick the templateClick Use <your default template>. Your other saved letters are in the Start from a saved letter… list next to it; Compose from scratch starts a blank letter.
- Deep SpaceAdjust it for this packageThe letter is fully editable. A note above it reads Based on <template name> · edits here do not change the saved template.
- Deep SpaceSave the letterClick Save changes. The letter is sent with the invitations when you publish the package.
To swap a letter that is already on a package, use the Use template… list above the letter. It asks before replacing the current wording. Standard letter in that list is the built-in letter Deep Space ships with.
4Merge fields: what each one fills in
Type a merge field anywhere in the letter, or click into a field and use Insert merge field to drop one in at the cursor. The Live preview beside the editor shows the letter filled in for this package and a sample invitee.
| Merge field | Filled in with |
|---|---|
{Project Name} | The package's project |
{Package Name} | The tender package's name |
{Closing Date} | The package's closing date, in its closing time zone |
{Tender Contact} | The contact name from the letter's Include contact block section |
{Subbie Company} | Each invited subcontractor's company |
{Subbie Contact} | Each invitee's contact person; if Deep Space has no name for them (for example an email-only invitation), their company name |
{Tender Portal Link} | Each invitee's own link to their tender portal |
Merge fields must be typed exactly as above, including capitals and braces. Anything else in braces is left as you typed it. Insert merge field avoids typos.
5Renaming, deleting and setting the default template
On any package's Invitation tab with a letter, click Manage templates. The Tender letter templates list shows every saved letter, with Default beside the workspace default.
- Set default / Clear default — one template at most is the default.
- Rename — the pencil. Two templates cannot share a name.
- Delete — the bin. Letters already on packages are not affected.
Use the template on a package, edit the letter, then Save Tender Letter as template under the same name — it replaces the old wording.
6Setting a tender's closing time and time zone
When you create or edit a package, Closing Time sits next to the Due Date: a time (5:00 PM unless you change it) and a time zone. The zone marked (workspace) is your workspace's own; a line underneath confirms the result, for example Tenders close 20/11/2026, 5:00 PM AEST.
Where the workspace time zone comes from
It is the time zone set in Company Settings → Commercial → Timesheets → Timesheet week timezone. If none is set, New Zealand companies use New Zealand time and everyone else uses Sydney time (AEST/AEDT).
Before and after publishing
- Draft: change the time or zone freely.
- Publish: the closing time and zone are fixed on the package. Review & Publish shows them next to the Due Date before you publish.
- Open: you can extend the closing — a later date, time or zone — but not bring it forward.
- Closed: the closing time can no longer be changed.
7What subcontractors see
When you publish, each invited subcontractor gets an invitation email with the letter at the top, filled in for them — their company, their contact and their own portal link. The same letter is on the Overview of their tender portal, with the Tender Closing Details box showing the closing date and time in the package's time zone, for example 5:00 PM NZDT. The email's Due Date line reads in full, such as "Friday 6 November 2026, 5:00 PM NZDT".
Late submissions are refused after the closing time shown here.
8Common questions
- Our subcontractors are in New Zealand but the closing time says AEDT.
- The package uses your workspace time zone. Set Timesheet week timezone in Company Settings → Commercial → Timesheets to your local zone, or pick New Zealand in the package's Closing Time before you publish.
- If I change the workspace time zone, do open tenders move?
- No. A published tender keeps the closing time and zone it was published with. Only new and draft packages pick up the change.
- I edited the letter on a package — why didn't the template change?
- By design. To update the template, save the edited letter as a template under the same name (section 5).
- The greeting says "Hi" followed by a company name, not a person.
{Subbie Contact}uses the company name when Deep Space has no contact person for the invitee, such as an email-only invitation.- Can a template include attachments, or a different default per trade?
- Not yet. A template holds the letter's wording only, and the workspace has one default. Tender documents are shared through the package's Tender Sets.