How do I find primes who should want me?

From the subaward record. Primes report what they subcontract, so you can see which primes already pay subcontractors in your codes, in your state, and roughly how much. A prime that already buys your kind of work and has a recompete coming needs a stronger team than it bid with last time, and that is the conversation.

Is subcontract past performance worth anything on a prime bid?

Yes, and less than prime past performance. Evaluators care about relevance and about who was responsible. Describe the scope you actually performed, name the prime and the end customer, and get the prime to confirm it in writing while they still remember you.

The prime wants exclusivity. Should I give it?

Sometimes, for something in return: named scope, a percentage, or a commitment to include you in the proposal. Exclusivity with no reciprocal commitment means you cannot bid the work with anyone else and have been promised nothing, which is the worst of both.

Can I be a subcontractor on a set-aside I do not qualify for?

Yes. The set-aside restricts who may be the prime. The prime is subject to the limitation on subcontracting from module 3, which caps how much of the work may go to firms that are not similarly situated, so the size of your share is constrained by their obligation.

What if the prime does not give me the work after we win?

Your remedy is whatever the teaming agreement says, pursued commercially. The government is not a party to it and generally will not intervene. This is exactly why the scope and the percentage need to be written down before the proposal goes in.

Course, module 7 of 16

Teaming, subcontracting and flow-downs

Most small firms earn their first federal revenue under somebody else's contract. It is a good place to start and a bad place to be careless, because the obligations are real and the leverage is not yours.

who already passes work down in your code from subaward reporting, filed by the prime

By the end of this module you will be able to

Choose between bidding as a prime, subcontracting, and forming a joint venture
Write a teaming agreement that is worth something if the team wins
Know which clauses flow down to you and what they actually require
Use a prime's subcontracting plan as a reason they should want you
Plan cash for a relationship where the government is not the one paying you

Three ways to be on a bid

Prime. You hold the contract, you carry the risk, you invoice the government, and you are responsible for everything your subcontractors do. Best margin, most exposure, and the only route that builds past performance in your own name as the responsible party.

Subcontractor. You have a contract with the prime, not with the government. Lower risk, thinner margin, and the prime carries the compliance weight, though a surprising amount of it flows down to you anyway. Past performance from a subcontract is real but is weighed differently, and you usually need the prime's cooperation to use it.

Joint venture. A separate entity bids as itself and both parties are on the contract. Under SBA rules, a properly formed joint venture, including one between a mentor and a protege, can pursue work the small partner could not win alone without the two being added together for size. It is powerful, it is exacting, and it is not a template exercise.

Most firms use all three over time, and the mistake is picking by habit rather than by the specific pursuit.

Keep reading

The rest of this module opens with your name and email

All sixteen modules open on this device for about six months. No card and no password.

Still to come in this module

What each arrangement gives and costs you
Teaming agreements, and the trap in them
Flow-downs, which are the part nobody reads
Subcontracting plans, and why a prime may want you
Getting paid by a prime
The words in this module, defined
Questions at this stage