Placing your order

This section outlines how to create and submit an order using the Buying Catalogue.

Placing your order overview

This section outlines how to place an order for your winning solution. It provides an overview of each section of the Buying Catalogue order form.

Before you place an order on the Buying Catalogue, you should have:

completed the tasks listed in the pre procurement tasks section of this guide
decided which procurement route (link) you will be following. You cannot order from the Buying Catalogue if you ran an off catalogue procurement
created a Buying Catalogue user account
run an on catalogue competition on the Buying Catalogue (you do not need to do this for a direct award route)

Who is involved

The teams or organisations involved might include:

integrated care boards (ICBs)
GP practices

Before you start

Before you start an order, you need to know:

the contracting vehicle you’re ordering from
the approximate value of your order
what solutions and services you want to order
how you’re going to pay for your order
the approximate start date of your contract
the initial period as agreed with your supplier
the duration of the contract (maximum contract term)
which practices will be receiving the solutions and services in the order
the quantity of additional and associated services you want if you’re ordering any
contact details for the supplier of the solution and any services you’re ordering
if you have negotiated a new price with the supplier

Steps for creating your order

The following steps outline the process for creating an order. Depending on what decisions you make, you may not have to complete all the steps.

As you complete the order form your progress is saved automatically. You can return to the order as many times as you need to before you submit your order to us.

start an order
select the type of solution or service
select a contracting vehicle
add your order description
add your contact details
find and select supplier
add call off agreement dates and timescales

Start an order

There are two ways to start an order using the Buying Catalogue, you can either:

start an order from your saved competition
- return to the competition results page
- navigate to the winning solution
- select the start order button

If you start the order from your competition it has other benefits. Information you entered before will be carried over to the order. This could include things such as solution and organisations.

create a new order
- start a new order by:
  - selecting the create or manage orders link on the homepage
    or
  - select the orders menu link from the navigation
- select your orders
- you will see a page which tells you what you need to know before starting an order
- once you have read the guidance press the start order button to continue

Select the type of solution or service

You need to select the type of solution or services you will be ordering.

There are two options to choose from, these are:

a catalogue solution and other services
Select this option if you are ordering clinical IT systems and their related services. If you are ordering a solution, you can also add additional and associated services.

an associated service only
Select this option to order products that support the implementation of a solution. For example:
- training
- data migration
- arranging the merging or splitting of existing practices

Select a contracting vehicle

The solution you wish to purchase will be on a particular contracting vehicle. Select that procurement contracting vehicle from those available.

View our list of current live contracting vehicles.

Add your order description

You will need to provide a description for your order. This should be as descriptive as possible. It will make it easier for you to find your order from others listed on your organisation’s dashboard.

Add your contact details

Provide contact details for the person who will be the main contact for the order. You will need to provide a telephone number and email address.

Find and select supplier

Search for the supplier that you want to order from. You'll only be able to find suppliers with solutions on the contracting vehicle you selected. Once you have found the supplier, you will need to review their details and confirm. After you have confirmed your supplier, you’ll not be able to change it for this order.

Add call off agreement dates and timescales

Within the Buying Catalogue you will need to fill in the following fields:

Call off agreement commencement date – this is the date when both the ICB and the supplier have signed the contract and it becomes live. If you have agreed a different date with the supplier, enter this into the form.

Call off initial period - enter the total number of months. This is the period where the contract cannot be ended at your request without paying additional charges. This will have been agreed with your supplier.

Call off agreement duration - enter the total number of months. This is the maximum length of time the contract can run for. It begins on the date when you start using any of the items ordered. It includes the initial period and cannot be longer than 60 months.

If you are unsure of any of these dates and timescales, contact your supplier and they will be able to provide these to you.

Next steps

After completing this section you will need to add the following to your order:

organisations
solutions
services

Last edited: 8 May 2026 5:05 pm

Placing your order