Government Contracts – Is It Worth It?
Some government contracts are more lucrative than others, but they can all provide a company with regular payments and a steady source of work. For a company to succeed in the bidding process and win a number of government contracts, they are going to need at least a basic understanding of how it works.
The first thing a company should do is start of small. There are a lot of little towns or municipalities that offer work, and it is easier to get involved with these jobs than it is the larger state or federal jobs. These contracts will probably pay less than twenty five thousand dollars, but these kinds of contracts are crucial to building a reputation as a reliable and capable contractor.
The Contracting Procurement Officers and Purchasing Agents – the CPOs and Pas – are responsible for defining the parameters of the RFP, or Request for Proposal, which will be released when they are seeking bids. Their job is to become acquainted with the market value of any goods and services they are seeking so that they can more reliably award the government contracts to the company that will deliver the most value for the cost.
The CPOs and PAs are also responsible for studying and examining any warranties that are offered and researching the service history and reputation of the bidders. This is a precaution that will save the agency a lot of time and headaches down the road.
Only about twenty percent of small businesses in the United States participate in bidding for government contracts. This is a stunning statistic when balanced against the fact that government contracts are, literally, a trillion dollar segment of the economy. The most common reason that businesses do not attempt to bid on contracts is extremely simple – business people are terrified by the overwhelming amount of paperwork and regulations involved.
In addition, many businesses are unaware of how the acquisition process starts, how bids can be tracked and how a business can get involved. The answers to all of these questions at the federal level can be found on the Web site of the Government Services Administration (GSA).
The Government Services Administration office also maintains a website that provides prospective bidders with courses that are designed to educate and assist business in their efforts. They can even get continuing education credits by completing the courses, and it even awards special certificates of completion.
Once a company has established a reputation of quality work and service as described above, that company is more likely to become a successful government contracts bidder. It is also vital that a bidding company take extreme care in meeting all time deadlines and specifications.
While applying for government contracts it is important to have a well written request for proposal. Evelyn has some writing practice with construction contracts, government procurement and other similar topics. For more information, see her other articles.
