Following the opening of the crime duty tender this week, the SRA has urged potential new entities (whether new firms or joint ventures) to contact it as soon as possible. They will need to be authorised by the SRA before the contract begins, and as the SRA points out the process can be complex and time is short. The ITT says that preference will be given to entities that are recognised, or have applied to be by the time of bid submission, and that successful bidders will need to be authorised by the contract start date. The alternative to SRA authorisation is authorisation by the BSB, which will take applications from 5 January 2015 but will only be open to entities owned by lawyers (unlike the SRA, which also authorises alternative business structures - that is, entities not wholly owned by lawyers).