US Federal Government Contracts

Reach

Reach

Been here much more than a while
Location
Atglen, PA
We are in the process of bidding on our first federal contract; it’s not huge but pretty sizable for us, pruning or removing about 70 trees in total.

Anyone here have experience with these bids, who might be able and willing to offer some guidance on putting the quote together? We have to do it pretty quickly, the window closes the middle of next week, so help or suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Serf Life said:
Fancy letterhead, lots of small print, long list of itemized expenses to hide inflated cost. Not helpful I know, but seems like that’s who wins ‘em at least with defense.
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I’ve got that part down, though I can’t itemize this one, they want a single-number quote.

I took a couple courses in college on technical writing, which can be quite useful in occasions that require a certain amount of the stretching out of the sentence in order to make something that is quite simple and aptly stated in but a few short words take up much more space on the page. Evidence of my skills in useless and unnecessary verbosity can be found in the preceding paragraph.
 
There are lots of I's and T's to cross. Donx5 forget about Davis Bacon either. The paperwork involved with that is a major pain.
 
oldoakman said:
There are lots of I's and T's to cross. Donx5 forget about Davis Bacon either. The paperwork involved with that is a major pain.
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Yes, that there are! We are working with a company to help us with that part, to make sure the paperwork is all in order at least. From what I’ve been reading, it looks like our wages are already high enough to comply, but I still want to confirm before sending in our quote.
 
Coming from the viewpoint of a former facility manager at a state run Hospital, letterheads and formal presentation really don't mean that much. Personally I prefer a letterhead and professionalism, but in the end they get the same consideration as some chicken scratch on a post-it note.

The first thing I would need to do once I had collected three quotes on a project was to fill out a form that had very basic info for each company. Business name, name of contact, phone number, address, price, and if that business was a minority. This form is all that the budget committee would see to aprove/reject the project.

What will matter is who has the lowest price and who meets the criteria that was sent out when bids we're requested. Just about the only reason to not go with the lowest price was that the lower price did not meet the criteria given.

Another thing to note is that government wheels typically turn slowly; unless a ballpark figure has already been approved by the budget committee then these bids will likely be submitted to them only to sit on their desk long enough to expire. They then ask for updated quotes which then expire, they then ask for updated quotes....

That is how projects worked at the state level in Indiana. A federal project may be handled a little differently.
 
Jehinten said:
Coming from the viewpoint of a former facility manager at a state run Hospital, letterheads and formal presentation really don't mean that much. Personally I prefer a letterhead and professionalism, but in the end they get the same consideration as some chicken scratch on a post-it note.

The first thing I would need to do once I had collected three quotes on a project was to fill out a form that had very basic info for each company. Business name, name of contact, phone number, address, price, and if that business was a minority. This form is all that the budget committee would see to aprove/reject the project.

What will matter is who has the lowest price and who meets the criteria that was sent out when bids we're requested. Just about the only reason to not go with the lowest price was that the lower price did not meet the criteria given.

Another thing to note is that government wheels typically turn slowly; unless a ballpark figure has already been approved by the budget committee then these bids will likely be submitted to them only to sit on their desk long enough to expire. They then ask for updated quotes which then expire, they then ask for updated quotes....

That is how projects worked at the state level in Indiana. A federal project may be handled a little differently.
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I appreciate the perspective, and I do expect that a lot of that will be true. This project though I suspect will be approved much quicker, a Davey arborist already assessed the trees, which is where the bid requirements come from. He also provided a ballpark for the job, and the bidding is open only for ten days, with an award date and first available start date for the project is the end of this month.

Also, this facility has similar work done every year or two, so I expect they have an idea what it will cost from past experiences.
 
Reach said:
I appreciate the perspective, and I do expect that a lot of that will be true. This project though I suspect will be approved much quicker, a Davey arborist already assessed the trees, which is where the bid requirements come from. He also provided a ballpark for the job, and the bidding is open only for ten days, with an award date and first available start date for the project is the end of this month.

Also, this facility has similar work done every year or two, so I expect they have an idea what it will cost from past experiences.
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Sounds like they have their ducks in a row in getting it approved. My suggestion would be to not bother getting too fancy on your quote. Simply list out the requirements and a total price. Anything above and beyond to make the quote look good will only cost you time.

Your typical format for any other customer will be fine.

Probably my only other suggestion would be, for 70 trees, whatever price tag your thinking add another 10-20% for any overlooked details or should you need to approve overtime to complete it within their time frame.
 
Jehinten said:
Sounds like they have their ducks in a row in getting it approved. My suggestion would be to not bother getting too fancy on your quote. Simply list out the requirements and a total price. Anything above and beyond to make the quote look good will only cost you time.

Your typical format for any other customer will be fine.

Probably my only other suggestion would be, for 70 trees, whatever price tag your thinking add another 10-20% for any overlooked details or should you need to approve overtime to complete it within their time frame.
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I think they do, from that perspective it seems pretty good. The RFQ is 44 pages long though, with addendums for the specifications…

I’m planning to add a decent margin for “governmental nonsense” because I’m sure we will have to do something ridiculous. And I need to figure in a mile of safety fencing, because all our work areas have to be fenced while we are working on a tree…
 
Reach said:
I appreciate the perspective, and I do expect that a lot of that will be true. This project though I suspect will be approved much quicker, a Davey arborist already assessed the trees, which is where the bid requirements come from. He also provided a ballpark for the job, and the bidding is open only for ten days, with an award date and first available start date for the project is the end of this month.

Also, this facility has similar work done every year or two, so I expect they have an idea what it will cost from past experiences.
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Can you look at previous bids? They are usually posted to the public and can give you a lot of Intel.
 
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