NCN / 02 / The Network

A verified-only marketplace.

The Network connects verified UK trades to two streams of work: leads NCN generates by marketing direct to clients, and overflow jobs members pass between each other when capacity is tight. Both streams use the same sealed-bid mechanics. Both are gated by verification.

01 / The two lanes

Where the work comes from.

Most marketplaces have one source of work and a race to the bottom on price. The Network has two distinct lanes, both feeding the same protected bidding system.

Lane 01 / Customer-to-Vendor

Consumer and business leads, generated by NCN.

We market the network directly to UK consumers and businesses needing specialist compliance and trades work. They post a job through the public site, get verified, and the platform routes their job to qualified members.

Marketplace customer email and SMS verification
Companies House check on registered businesses
Auto-match by trade, postcode radius, accreditation
Sealed competitive bidding
Contract template and milestone tracking once awarded

Lane 02 / Member-to-Member

Overflow and sub-package work, shared between members.

Members at capacity post sub-packages and overflow to other verified members in the network. Same posting form, same matching, same sealed-bid mechanics, no commission in MVP.

Post a sub-package or overflow job in minutes
Auto-matched to verified members in your radius
Hand-pick a shortlist or broaden the pool
Public Q&A thread so all bidders see the same answers
No commission on member-to-member jobs

02 / Bidding mechanics

How the bid actually works.

Sealed bids, single submission per vendor, public Q&A. The mechanics are designed to protect commercials and keep quality bidders engaged.

01 / Sealed bids

Bidders never see other bids.

No live leaderboard. No anchoring on whoever bid first. You bid your number, and you bid it once. The poster sees the full bid set when bidding closes.

02 / Hybrid matching

Auto-match plus poster override.

The platform builds an auto-matched pool by trade, postcode radius, accreditation, and capacity. The poster can broaden it, narrow it to a hand-picked shortlist, or accept the default. They see the matched count in real time.

03 / Public Q&A

Every bidder gets the same answers.

Questions and answers post to a shared thread on the job. No private side channels until a bid is awarded. It removes the information asymmetry that distorts competitive pricing.

04 / Customer-initiated revisions

Revisions when scope changes.

If the poster updates the scope, only they can re-open bidding. Vendors cannot improve their bid speculatively. The system protects the integrity of the original quote until something genuinely changes.

05 / Award and contract

Contract generated on award.

When the poster accepts a bid, a contract template is generated, signed in-platform, and the job moves to milestone tracking. No re-keying, no parallel paperwork.

06 / Two-way reviews

Both sides rate the job.

On completion, both parties leave a review. Vendor reputation builds on actual completed work, not LinkedIn-style endorsements. Posters with poor track records get flagged the same way.

03 / Verification

What the Verified Member badge is built on.

Verification is platform-run, not self-declared. Six checks at application, re-run annually. Posters can filter the bidder pool to verified-only at any time.

Check 01

Companies House

Active status, filing history, director details, confirmation statements.

Check 02

Gazette notices

London and Edinburgh Gazette: insolvency, compulsory strike-offs, winding-up petitions.

Check 03

CCJ register

County Court Judgements on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines.

Check 04

Employment tribunal

Public register of employment tribunal decisions and outcomes.

Check 05

Financial review

Basic review of most recently filed accounts: net assets and turnover banding.

Check 06

Annual re-verification

All five checks above, re-run every twelve months. The badge stays current or it falls off.

04 / Directory and profiles

Profiles built on actual work, not slogans.

Every Member Business has a full company profile in the directory. It is the discoverable face of the network, and what posters see when they pick a shortlist or read a bid.

Profile

Trade, location, team, accreditations

NICEIC, Gas Safe, CHAS, CSCS and the rest, displayed as badges. Portfolio of past projects, photos, and case studies attached.

Skills

Specialisms, fully searchable

Skills tagged at member and team level. Search the directory by trade, accreditation, capacity, or verified-only.

Capacity

Busy, available, seeking work

Capacity indicator on every profile, set by the member, used by the matching engine to decide which jobs auto-match to whom.

Reviews

From completed Network jobs only

No anonymous reviews. No LinkedIn-style endorsements. The only reviews on a profile are from clients and members who completed a job through the platform.