An intent that the contract be legally binding (as evidenced in the contract documents).
During any negotiations, the original tender may have been amended by interchange of letters. These letters must make clear what is the final amended tender offered and accepted. If the correspondence is not complete and some condition or qualification remains unsettled, then a contract should not be formed. So, a check must be applied to ensure that everything has been settled.
Once this has been done and full agreement has been reached, then actual acceptance of a tender can take place. In the case where an employer is a person or private company the employer can accept a tender by writing little more than ‘I accept your offer’. However, some corporations, and most statutory or other authorities, may be required by their constitution or standing rules to enter contracts above a certain value only by a deed or formal agreement which must be signed by an authorized person acting on behalf of the authority. Some authorities require the agreement to be under seal, that is, stamped with the corporate seal of the authority. Under any method, the acceptance must make clear what documents form the basis of contract. Where a local authority can only enter a contract by means of a formal Agreement, a typical letter from the clerk of the authority to the contractor might be written
