Selling to schools, councils and the NHS: what dealers need online

Schools, councils, NHS trusts and universities buy office supplies every week, much of it in small orders, and many would happily buy from a local dealer. What gets in the way is rarely price. It is process: the order has to fit their rules on frameworks, quotes, purchase orders, purchase cards, VAT and accessibility, and the dealer’s website has to make that easy rather than awkward.

This guide covers how public-sector buyers actually buy, what changed under the Procurement Act 2023, how a dealer gets onto a framework or sells under the thresholds, and what your website needs. Disclosure: we build Orbit Commerce, an ecommerce platform used by UK dealers, so we have a stake in this; Orbit gets one short section near the end. Every public-sector fact links to an official source, checked on 29 October 2026. The procurement rules below apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland keeps its own procurement legislation for devolved Scottish authorities (gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026).

How do schools, councils and the NHS buy office supplies?

Through several routes, often at once.

Frameworks

A framework is a list of suppliers already tendered for a category, so a public body can buy from them without running its own full tender. Three matter most for office supplies:

• Office Solutions (RM6299) from the Government Commercial Agency (GCA), which replaced the Crown Commercial Service on 1 April 2026. It has two lots, office stationery with electronic office supplies, and electronic office supplies alone, each with seven suppliers. Any UK public sector organisation can use it, and after a one-year extension it runs to 22 April 2028 (gca.gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026).
• NHS Supply Chain’s Office Supplies 2026, a 48-month framework covering copier paper, stationery, cartridges, envelopes, labels and technology, valued at about £100 million ex VAT. Its award notice was published on 25 February 2026 (find-tender.service.gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026).
• For schools, the Department for Education’s Get help buying for schools service lists CPC’s stationery, paper and education supplies framework, which expires on 31 August 2027, alongside the ESPO and YPO catalogues. It describes YPO as owned by 13 local authorities (education.gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026).

Notice what that last line means for a dealer. Public buying organisations such as ESPO and YPO don’t only run frameworks; they sell from their own catalogues, so for school stationery they are competitors as well as routes to market.

Purchase orders and invoices

Many councils will not pay an invoice that doesn’t carry their purchase order number. Norwich City Council’s No PO No Pay policy, in force since 1 October 2024, returns invoices without a valid PO number unpaid, and lists what an invoice must show, including your VAT registration number and the council’s PO number (norwich.gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026). Policies vary: Wirral’s does not apply to schools (wirral.gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026).

Purchase cards

For small, one-off purchases many bodies use a purchasing card. Lambeth Council describes the Government Procurement Card, a Mastercard purchasing card, as "the preferred method of purchasing and payment for low value goods or services" (lambeth.gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026). For you, that is a card payment at checkout, usually charged at business card rates rather than personal card rates.

Purchasing systems

Larger bodies order through software: PECOS across Scotland’s public sector, finance systems such as IRIS Financials in schools and trusts, and systems such as SAP Ariba and Coupa in big organisations. Some of these order from suppliers by punchout, which is explained in what punchout is and whether a small dealer needs it.

What changed with the Procurement Act 2023?

The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025. Procurements started before that date stay under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for their whole life (gca.gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026). The changes that matter to a dealer:

• New thresholds, VAT included. From 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, the Act’s full procedures apply to goods contracts worth £135,018 or more for central government and £207,720 or more for other authorities, including VAT (gov.uk, updated 13 July 2026, checked 29 October 2026).
• Notices for smaller contracts. Below those thresholds, the notice rules start at £12,000 including VAT for central government, a group that now includes NHS trusts and foundation trusts, and at £30,000 for all other authorities. Those notices go on the central digital platform, which replaces Contracts Finder for them (gov.uk, updated 13 July 2026, checked 29 October 2026).
• No separate pre-qualification on small contracts. For an advertised below-threshold contract, there cannot be a separate suitability stage before tenders go in, so a small dealer is not screened out before it has bid (gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026).
• Local reservation. Central government can reserve below-threshold competitions to UK-based suppliers or to a single county or London borough, and local authorities in England can reserve them to UK-based suppliers or a defined local area under the Local Government (Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026. The guidance says the flexibility might also include restricting awards to SMEs or voluntary, community and social enterprises (gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026).
• Register once, free. Suppliers register on the central digital platform and get a unique identifier. Since 1 April 2026, authorities have had to obtain that identifier from the supplier for the below-threshold contract details notice (gov.uk, updated 21 October 2026, checked 29 October 2026).
• Payment in 30 days. Public contracts carry implied 30-day payment terms under section 68, and authorities must publish how quickly they pay (gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026). Section 88 applies the same prompt payment rules to below-threshold contracts (gov.uk, checked 29 October 2026).
• Supplier lists you can join at any time. The Act replaced the old purchasing systems that suppliers could join mid-term with a new commercial tool that must accept applications for membership at any time during its term (Procurement Act 2023, section 36, checked 29 October 2026). Ask the buyers you sell to which ones they run.

How does a dealer get on a framework, or sell under the threshold?

For a small dealer, in roughly this order:

1. Register on the central digital platform. It is free and done once, and the same identifier covers future bids. Set alerts on Find a Tender for stationery, office supplies, paper and furniture.
2. Win the small orders first. Orders below the notice thresholds are bought under each body’s own rules, often a few quotes, a purchase order or a purchase card. Ask the school business manager or the council buyer what their rules are and when they next ask for quotes.
3. Use being local. Where a council or department reserves a small competition to local or UK-based suppliers, a local dealer is in a smaller field. Say where you are, and where you deliver from, on every quote.
4. Watch framework end dates. RM6299 runs to 22 April 2028 and CPC’s schools framework to 31 August 2027, and replacements are tendered before the old ones end. A national framework bid is a large job, so some dealers work through a framework supplier as a local delivery or sub-contract partner instead.
5. Get onto the purchasing systems your customers use. If your schools buy through IRIS Financials, ask them to request you: IRIS said in September 2026 that it had added the punchout suppliers schools and trusts asked for at its roadshow events (iris.co.uk, checked 29 October 2026).
6. Keep the paperwork ready. Company and VAT numbers, insurance certificates, an accessibility statement, environmental and modern slavery policies, and two or three public-sector references. Buyers often ask for these with a quote.

If you are setting up a dealership from scratch, our guide to starting an office supplies business in the UK covers wholesalers, margins and the basics first.

What does your website need for public-sector buyers?

Prices ex VAT, with VAT shown clearly

Councils can generally reclaim the VAT on purchases for their non-business activities under section 33 of the VAT Act 1994 (VAT Notice 749, updated 9 June 2025, checked 29 October 2026), and academies in England have had their own refund scheme under section 33B since 1 April 2011 (HMRC, checked 29 October 2026). So public buyers budget and compare prices ex VAT. Show ex VAT prices to them, with the VAT clear on the basket and the invoice.

VAT invoices addressed to the organisation

When you sell standard-rated or reduced-rated goods to a VAT-registered customer, you must give them a VAT invoice, normally within 30 days of the tax point. A full VAT invoice shows, among other things, a sequential invoice number, your VAT number, the customer’s name and address, and each line’s quantity, VAT rate and ex VAT amount; the simplified version is only allowed at £250 or less (VAT Notice 700, updated 25 June 2026, checked 29 October 2026). Councils have a condition of their own: to recover VAT under section 33 they must receive a tax invoice addressed to them (Notice 749, paragraph 6.1, checked 29 October 2026). An invoice made out to a member of staff rather than the school or council can cost the buyer its VAT, and cost you the next order.

Purchase order numbers that reach the invoice

Under No PO No Pay, an invoice without the buyer’s PO number comes back unpaid. However you take the order, make sure the PO number gets onto the invoice: ask for it when the order is placed, record it against the order, and check it before the invoice goes out.

An accessible website

Public bodies’ own websites are expected to meet the WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standard, and the government tells them to include accessibility when they evaluate contracts. Separately, all UK service providers have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 (gov.uk, updated 30 September 2024, checked 29 October 2026). The staff ordering from you include people using screen readers, keyboards and zoom. Check that search, filters, basket and checkout all work by keyboard alone, that text contrast is high, that product images carry alt text, and publish an accessibility statement.

Clear delivery terms

Schools want to know which day it arrives, whether you deliver in the holidays, and whether the driver will take forty boxes of paper to the office or leave them at reception. Councils want delivery to a named building and room. Publish lead times, delivery charges ex VAT, order cut-off times, holiday closures, how large deliveries are handled and how returns work for business buyers.

An account for each organisation

A school business manager wants their prices, their order history and three colleagues able to order without sharing a password. A council wants to cap what each person spends. That is a customer account per organisation, with its own prices, users and limits. Our guide to trade accounts and contract pricing covers how dealers set them up and price them.

How does Orbit handle orders from schools and councils?

Orbit is ours, so read this with that in mind.

• On every plan: shoppers switch prices between ex VAT and inc VAT, with UK VAT at 20%, 5% and 0%. If your store is VAT registered, Orbit emails a VAT invoice when payment is taken. Buyers pay by card through Orbit Payments, or by a manual method such as bank transfer. Business and corporate cards have their own rate band, listed on our payments page.
• On the Enterprise plan only (£999 a month, or £749 a month billed yearly, ex VAT): company accounts with several users and permissions, trade sign-up with approval, a price catalogue for each company, and spending limits for each buyer. Details are on B2B on Orbit.

How it fits a dealership is on Orbit for office supplies dealers and the wider office industry page.

Questions dealers ask about selling to the public sector

Do I need to be on a framework to sell to schools?

No. A school can buy below the thresholds under its own financial rules, by quote, purchase order or purchase card, and it can choose a local dealer. Frameworks matter for larger contracts, and for buyers who use them to avoid running a tender of their own.

What are the public procurement thresholds in 2026?

From 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, the Act’s full procedures apply to goods contracts from £135,018 for central government and £207,720 for other authorities, including VAT. Notice rules for smaller contracts start at £12,000 for central government, including NHS trusts, and £30,000 for other authorities.

Should prices for schools and councils be shown ex VAT?

Yes. Councils can generally reclaim VAT on non-business purchases and academies in England have their own refund scheme, so public buyers budget ex VAT. Show ex VAT prices, with VAT clear on the basket and on a VAT invoice addressed to the organisation.