Offer, Tender, Submission

When you ‘make an offer’ to buy something, you are proposing to purchase it at a certain price. If the seller accepts your offer, then you have a binding agreement and must follow through with the purchase.

A ‘tender’ is a formal offer to provide goods or services at a set price. Tenders are usually used in the context of government procurement, where companies submit bids to provide goods or services to the government. The government then chooses the company with the best tender.

A ‘submission’ is simply an offer to provide goods or services. Unlike a tender, there is no formal process and no guarantee that your submission will be accepted.