I'm looking at getting set up to bid on government contracts. I can get some advantages because of past adventures but I don't know if the advantages will be that great.
Anyone on here currently bidding/doing government contracts? Is it worth it or is it a big hassle?
I doubt I'll get anything but thought it couldn't hurt. Also once set up through government do you have to also then get set up through your state or do state projects come down the line also to bid on.
Fed contracts are worth it but you would have to gear up.
State contracts are touchy.
Local contracts can be rewarding but you need to schmooze.
You need to contact the SBA. They have advisors to help push you in the right direction.
Some Fed agencies will have a SBA rep within their offices to assist potential contractors.
Even the major Fed contractors need SBA assisted companies in going after contract awards. They are required to portion part of the contract to small business and not necessarily DBEs.
You need to contact SBA.
Talk to the Small Business Administration and see if you can qualify as an 8A contractor. If you can qualify as an 8A it will make things easier. The next question is it worth the trouble. For many of the contracts, you need the capacity to do $500,000 worth of work in a year but you better only count on $200,000 or less worth of work. Your rates will be based on your overhead so if you work out of your basement, the truck and equipment is paid for, your overhead is low and your rate will be low. The selection will be based on qualifications so without the 8A designation you probably need to have multiple crews. Look for other small businesses that you can team up with to go after work. If you can qualify as an 8a, you can team up with a large firm but you will be expected to do 50%+ of the work.
Another thing to consider is that the work is not steady. They may need 5 crews and Suport staff for 3 months then nothing for 6 months. You have to keep those people busy to keep them around for the next flurry of work.
Working as a government contractor can be a good thing but it has its drawbacks. Do your due diligence and go in it with your eyes opened. It costs the government over $25,000 to get a service contract in place so they don't want to let 10 contracts for $50,000 contracts, they want to let one contract for $500,000. The limit for a small surveying firm is $15,000,000 per year.
Check out the fed biz ops https://www.fbo.gov for contracts.
Government contracts with the Corps of Engineers, Dept. of the Interior, USDA, etc. can be contracts for 5 years in duration. Although hard to get, they can solidify a small company that qualifies.
As previously recommended, get help from the SBA. You also need to apply for a DUNS number and register with the government on the System for Award Management. I think you can do this by going to www.uscontractorregistration.com or www.sam.gov.
Good luck. I hope my $0.02 helps.
> I'm looking at getting set up to bid on government contracts. I can get some advantages because of past adventures but I don't know if the advantages will be that great.
The phrase "Government Contracts" covers a lot of territory. I'd suggest you break in by getting registered as an ESB and marketing yourself as a sub to engineers working on gov't jobs.
Be prepared to do a lot of paperwork, follow specific directives and standards, and to wait 60-90 days, minimum, to get paid. Be sure to build that expense into your estimates. They will pay for it but they won't let you get away with not doing it.
> Be prepared to ... wait 60-90 days, minimum, to get paid.
This probably varies by agency. I've only had 2 federal contracts -- both with USBR -- but payment time averaged around 35 days. The first invoice took a long time to get paid -- 74 days -- but after that 30 days was more typical. Some of my corporate clients take a lot longer.
> > Be prepared to ... wait 60-90 days, minimum, to get paid.
>
> This probably varies by agency. I've only had 2 federal contracts -- both with USBR -- but payment time averaged around 35 days. The first invoice took a long time to get paid -- 74 days -- but after that 30 days was more typical. Some of my corporate clients take a lot longer.
If you are billing the gov't agency directly you should get paid with their next check run - typically within a month or so. If you are working as a sub to an engineer your invoice will be added to theirs and submitted with their next billing cycle, which will then be paid, to the engineer, at the agency's next pay cycle. Then the engineer pays you at their next pay cycle. If the calendar doesn't line up just perfectly for you this whole dance could approach 90 days, easy.
