Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to the ESPO FAQs section, the home to all of our frequently asked questions and lots of handy information about our services. Get the answers you need in just a few clicks below, or visit our help centre.
FAQs
About us
We’re ESPO, a public sector owned professional buying organisation (PBO) with over 40 years experience supplying goods and services to public sector organisations across the UK. You can find out more about ESPO, our values and what we do in our About Us section.
Our head office and warehouse is centrally located in Leicester, just off Junction 21 of the M1. We also have a distribution centre in south Wales that enables us to offer and fast and efficient nationwide service.Â
We’re open from 08:00 – 16:30, Monday to Friday. Â
Please note that our offices are closed on English bank holidays and in the period between Christmas and New Year.Â
Procure with confidence knowing that both the ESPO catalogue and our framework range complies with UK procurement regulations, offering an assured route to purchasing all your organisation’s needs.
We use the Feefo reviews platform, find all our latest reviews here..
New to ESPO?
We’re ESPO, a public sector owned professional buying organisation (PBO) with over 40 years experience supplying goods and services to public sector organisations across the UK. You can find out more about ESPO, our values and what we do in our About Us section.
Not everyone is eligible to use ESPO directly but don’t worry, we offer a range of options depending on your organisation type.
To register for an account, head to our registration page and select the option that is most relevant for your needs.
When you register for an ESPO account, you will be automatically sent a welcome pack including an ESPO catalogue.
We deliver across the UK including Wales and Scotland. Please note, we only deliver to a registered business address.
Your account
New customers will be informed of their account number when their registration has been approved. Â
If you already have an account, you can find your account number on your My Account page when logged in to your web account or on any of your invoices...
Our dedicated Sales team are on hand to support our customers across the UK with their sales and procurement enquiries. If you're not sure who your dedicated Account Manager is, don't worry - all of our Account Managers and the areas they cover are listed...
If you would like to make any changes to your account, please speak to our Customer Service team here...
You can find all your invoices and previous orders in the My Account section of the website.
Website & technical
Placing your orders online is the easiest and quickest way to access our great range of products. What’s more, it also gives you up to date prices, promotions, new products and special offers.
Yes! You can do much more than simply place orders when you sign up for an account for ESPO. If you purchase our catalogue products via email or your finance system, you can use your log in to view your credit limits, your previous orders and invoices...
Every organisation has an admin account, by default it’s the first person to register; however if you aren’t sure who this is within your organisation or you’d like it to change, please complete our Contact us form and our Registration team will be able...
You can find all your invoices and previous orders in the My Account section of the website.
Create your wish list of products and share this with a colleague - from here they can easily add these items to their basket and place an order.
Catalogue products and ordering
To place an order, you will need to be a registered customer: head to our registration page to get started.
If you would like further information about any of the products listed in our catalogue or on our website, please contact our Customer Services team who will be happy to help you with your enquiry.
We offer a wide range of products that are delivered directly from our suppliers and can be identified by their blue codes beginning with A, N or X; these are called direct delivery items.
Many items are bespoke and made to order, particularly furniture orders. See our handy video that tells you everything you need to know about ordering.
Deliveries and returns
We offer both standard and next day delivery on all stock orders. Stock products can be identified by their black, numerical codes.    Standard deliveryÂ
Free standard delivery to the UK mainland on stock orders over £25– Delivered...
See ESPO delivery rates here...
When placing your order online, your delivery days will be available in the calendar shown during the checkout process, you can use this calendar to select a delivery date of your choice from the available dates. Get in touch with our Customer Services...
Stock orders under £25 (ex VAT) are charged at £5.95 for standard delivery Stock orders under £50 (ex VAT) are charged at £5.95 for next day delivery.
These charges apply to each individual order, even if multiple orders to the same location are...
When your order arrives will depend on your chosen delivery option.
Frameworks
A framework is an agreement between your public sector organisation, ESPO and external suppliers that can be used to procure goods and services.
You can browse our full framework range here. To fully access and use our frameworks, you will need to be a registered ESPO customer.
We have lots of useful guidance for using our frameworks. Â
At ESPO, we try to make the procurement process as easy as possible whilst ensuring full compliance with UK public procurement regulations. Our frameworks have been designed for ease of use, offering our customers access to a list of products and services through pre-approved and vetted suppliers so all the hard work has been done for you.
An Access & Confidentiality Agreement allows customers to view our official framework documentation. By completing the form, customers are making ESPO aware of their intent to potentially use the framework and therefore allows us to identify the ...
Both the Procurement Act 2023 and the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 permit contracting authorities, such as ESPO, to establish frameworks in order to set the terms for any contracts that might be agreed going forward.   Â
Contracting authorities...
eProcurement and payment options
There are a range of ways to pay for your order, including BACS, card, direct debit and purchasing cards.
If you believe your invoice is incorrect, please action the following:
Stock items (black numerical codes)Â Contact our Customer Services team on 0116 265 7901 with your account number and invoice number. Â
Direct delivery item (blue codes...
Yes, VAT is not included in the catalogue and web pricing and will be added to your order at check out.Â
Yes! Once you’ve registered for an account you can view our entire e-procurement offering from your account section and select the best options for your organisation’s setup. (Please note that our catalogue data files are only available to download for...
Yes! Our website allows you to build your basket, with access to our current prices, new products and special offers, and then transfer to SIMS FMS for approval.
SIMS Quick Link
SIMS FMS Quick Link is an integration method that allows you to create orders on the website as normal, and then transfer your order directly into SIMS FMS, where you can put the order through your own authorisation process, before placing it with ESPO...
The first step is to request to change the ordering method on your account. Once our team have completed this, there are some setup steps that you will need to complete in SIMS FMS itself. A full how-to guide document can be downloaded from this page...
No, there is no cost to use this function if you are an existing SIMS FMS software user.
This can be added at the checkout section of the website (before you transfer your order to SIMS) in the field Customer Order Reference. Please note that this number may not show in SIMS FMS, but will be sent to ESPO after your order is authorised.
If you normally see non-standard pricing on the website, for example if you are part of the Multi-Academy Trust package, these prices will be reflected on the website and in SIMS FMS.
Please note that when you view your order in SIMS you will just see...
Suppliers
Please email our Accounts Payable team at acc.payable@espo.org. Send all supplier invoices or statements to printableinvoices@espo.org in PDF format.