We run the tender. You pick the offer.
Join other IBG members in our group tenders for card payments and energy (and more to come). Every offer comes back to you, and you decide whether to switch.
Lower fees via our group tender
Better service from suppliers
Your deposit back if you don’t switch
Completely transparent costs
Lets finally get some leverage!
We recently cut one local business's card processing fees from £18k to £6k, saving them £12k every year. This saving came from hidden broker commission and basically a supplier happy to keep on charging a high rate to a long-term, loyal customer.
We looked at the alternatives and found a broken market where brokers are incentivised to offer the deal that’s better for them, not the end customer (you).
After sorting out this customers account, we started talking to other businesses. We found businesses paying a wide range of rates, undisclosed broker commissions for every transaction and fees that they didn’t know they were paying, hidden in the small print. And suppliers who relied on business owners being too busy to stop and question their monthly bills.
Then, in terms of service, we found billing errors that were almost impossible to resolve, nightmare call centres, failed support levels, slow settlement times. All of these were generating more stress for business owners while the suppliers simply shrugged and kept taking their fees.
Now we are now building a group tender model for card payments & energy contracts as our first tenders. We are inviting top rate independent businesses to work together by joining our group tender.
We don’t want to just cut your costs however.
We are setting up our group tenders to include improved service levels and options for different length contracts - so you can make an informed choice on which supplier is best for your business.
Then, we’re also going to look at long term service and ensuring bill accuracy. Our ongoing managed service has been designed to give you peace of mind for the long term.
We’re rolling out more group tenders in 2027, all covering common overheads. At last, giving you real buying power in the market.
→ Lets get secure better rates and even better service. The more businesses who join, the better the rates we secure.
Our Fees
We keep this simple.
Join our information call and registering your interest are both free. There is no commitment at that stage.
If you decide to join one of our group tenders you give us some basic info about your spend and contract status.
We then collate this with other business information and issue it to supplier to provide pricing and service commitments.
If you decide to move to our group rate, you then pay an annual fee for each year you remain in the group contract. It’s a flat fee based on the turnover band as set out for that service.
We will never take any commission from suppliers, the only fee we receive comes from you if you’re happy with the rates and service we’ve negotiated from suppliers. You keep the rest of the saving.
As an example, here are our fees for our Card Processing tender. Now, before you think these are big numbers, we should highlight that you don’t know how this compares to your current contract, so wait and see how the rates stack up.
Still got over 6 months to run in your current contract?
Register your interest now at no cost. Your future volume adds weight to the tender and we will contact you ahead of your renewal date to bring you into our next tender.
No idea about your contracts?
Join the call and find out what we’re doing. We can find our your current contract status and spend if you register and then pass us your paperwork (a recent bill and contract if you have it) to review.
How it works
Step 1: Register your interest & join a free information call
Book one of our short information calls where we will walk you through the tender process and timetable, answer any questions and then you can decide if joining the tender is right for your business.
Step 2: Confirm your place
If you want to join the tender, you simply need to tell us your company details, answer a few questions about your spend and give us a copy of a bill. We’ll do the rest.
Still in contract? Register now at no cost and we will contact you ahead of your renewal date.
Step 3: We run the tender
We gather quotes from suppliers on your behalf. We share the pricing and options we receive. You can compare all the offers, looking at length of contact, service level and pricing.
Step 4 : You save money
If you decide to join you simply pay us the annual fixed fee, either the annual lump sum or the monthly fee every month. If you decide you don’t want to join you get your full joining fee back. Transition to your new contract when your current one expires.
Step 5: Ongoing supplier management & escalation
We offer an escalation route for you if you need it. If you have an issue and the supplier has not resolved it after 14 days, in line with our Complaints Process, you can escalate the issue for us to address with the supplier.
We want our suppliers to be responsive to any issues you might have day-to-day but we’re hear as back-up if you need us.
We also check in every 3 months across all our customers to catch any repeat niggly issues which would be addressed with our suppliers.
We will be going out to tender on a regular basis so this also puts a focus on service for our suppliers, or we won’t got back to them for our next tender.
Bonus value!
Sign up now and we’ll also give you FREE access to our Glasgow vetted supplier directory, worth £300/year.
Our directory is a new service aimed at giving small businesses a source of trusted, expert suppliers. Every business who signs up to one of our tenders will receive one complementary sign-in per business for 12 months.
You can find out all about our vetted supplier directory on this page.
Next Steps
Find out about our card payment tender and all our future tenders that we have planned. Choose which ever option suits you best:
Join a group information call and we’ll tell you all about our process, what you need to provide and our fees. We’ll share what our tender plans are and which tenders you can register for at the moment.
Ready to crack on and get signed up to the card payment tender? You can sign up and we’ll send you an info pack on the project timelines and fees.
Not sure if we can help you? Feel free to book a 1-2-1 chat with Shona to discuss your specific requirements.
Not the right time? Fill out our no obligation registration form and we’ll keep you up to date with our future tenders, which will include further card payment tenders.
Hi, I’m Shona Motherwell
I set up The Independent Buying Group to help small and medium-sized companies find the suppliers they need to support their business's growth and success - i.e., suppliers who deliver on their promises, on time, and at a fair price.
I’ve worked in procurement for 25+ years and have seen the benefits of having the right supplier, who can do what you need. I’ve also seen it all go wrong!
Here’s the background our group tender events & why I want to challenge the current market.
A few months ago I was chatting with our local garage owner. He said he was having loads of problems with his card payment provider, and they wanted him to sign up to a new four year contract. His current contract meant he was paying £18,000 a year in transaction fees and he wanted to look for some other options. Too busy to deal with it he asked if I could help.
I spoke to other suppliers and they all offered me a lifetime commission on the contract of between 10% and 30%.
The supplier who offered the worst rates for the garage owner was the one who would give me the best commission. Then one supplier said that if my commission didn’t work out enough for me, they could always increase the garage owner’s bill and give me more commission.
This is when I realised the whole industry was broken.
A broker could tell their customer “great news, I’ve saved you £3k” - while collecting a large annual commission in the background. Every year. Just as the broker who had sold him that machine 15 years ago and was never seen again.
Without much negotiation, I managed to save the garage owner 65% (£12k) - with his current provider!
They had been charging him these fees for 15 years, and wanted to lock him in for another 4!
So, I went back to the suppliers and asked what they’d offer if I brought them 50, 100, 200, or more businesses.
It was all great news:
Lower rates
Better service, for example, a dedicated account manager - no more call centres.
I want to do something different. I want to get the best possible deal for our businesses, putting you first - for a change.
That’s what our group tenders are about - lets get you better rates and better service!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are we going to do?
We’re running our initial group tender event to reduce card payment costs followed by energy, fuel, waste and more.
When you join, you share information on your current contract & fees.
We pull all this together for all businesses and then ask suppliers to give us a price for the volume as a group.
You would not be committing to change anything until we see the different options and pricing from suppliers.
What is the cost to take part?
Our fee to join each tender varies and will be dependent on your usage, with smaller businesses paying less than larger ones.
Our aim is to provide you with an offer from suppliers that will still save you money after you’ve deducted our fixed annal fee. Once we share the rates offered by suppliers plus their service levels you can decide to join, or not.
We will never take a commission from suppliers on any of our tenders.
What is the plan?
If you’re interested in finding out more you can join one of our information calls.
If you decide to join a specific tender we’ll ask for information on your current charges.
Each tender will have it’s own project plan to get rates back from suppliers and for you to select an offer.
I’m interested but I’ve just signed a new contract.
Don’t worry, everyone’s contracts will have different end dates, and could run across the next 4 years, depending on how long you’ve signed up for.
Suppliers are used to looking at a range of contract end dates.
Adding your business to the tender will give everyone more buying power so please do join in. If you’re current end date is more than 6 months away you can sign up at this stage without a fee.
We need as many businesses to sign up as possible, regardless of when your contract ends.
I’m interested but we’re maxed out with work.
We totally understand that so you can fill in our very quick (about a minute) registration form and we’ll keep you up to date with our tender plans and you can join when you’re ready.