Government Procurement Work

roscootis

Do any of you know how to start with government procurement work? Do I start by calling a government procurement office? There are alot of military facilities near here and after 13 years in business it's time to try something different. Do any of you gov. contractors mind sharing a little info.?

Thanks in advance!

Renegade

Start here:

http://www.ccr.gov/

You will need a DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet. I believe that is dnb.com but not sure.

If you get into gov procurement, remember this: ALWAYS MAKE THE CONTRACTING OFFICER HAPPY and things will be fine. Never had much problem with any of them and the jobs have been nice.

Vermaraj

If your a small business go to the SBA and they will take care of all the paper work for you. If not, the process is the same but you will have to do the paperwork yourself.

first step is to get a GSA schedule. This is the rate you will charge for a specific type of work (ie tearoff = $x/hr; load, haul & dispose = $y/hr or day, etc...) and a listing of the work you are qualified to do.

A contracting officer will review your schedule versus your qualifications and experience and determine whether or not to grant you a GSA schedule. This is an iterative process. Ultimately you will get your schedule approved. If you google GSA schedules you can search your competition by name and determine exactly what they charge the government.

Once you obtain the schedule you can do work for the Federal or local govt. But first you have to find the work. You need to work the contract officer to determine who controls the upcoming projects and then work them.

There are a few keys to this process. First if you are a minority or women owned business. Every project has a certain set aside for these groups. Keep in mind that Veterans are a protected class and wounded Veterans are often given a preference in project awards. If this applies to you be sure to discuss it with the contract officer.

Second, every large project has a set aside for small businesses (less than $20m in revenue per year). For instance, Raytheon wins a $2b job to rebuild govt office buildings in a city. At least $20m of that must go to small businesses. And another $20m goes to disadvantaged businesses (small, Veterans, etc..). This is the best way to get in.

You come in as a subcontractor to the prime contractor. However the govt guarantees your rate and your payment schedule. The prime will not be paid if they don't pay you promptly for all work. Sell your qualifications directly to the prime contractors.

As someone who has managed large govt prime contracts I am telling you the hardest part is finding qualified subs who will do the work properly and efficiently. There are too many small businesses that get in under the minority or disadvantaged banner and know they don't have to do anything to get paid. When we found a qualified small business we swamped them with work.

good Luck!

roscootis

Thanks for the info. I will check it out!