With the dotcom boom going bust and a slowing economy, now more than ever before companies are focusing on doing business with government agencies. And while these government agencies purchase a wide range of products and services, companies must exercise diligence and patience in developing a procurement practice. Procurement regulations are complex and vendor requirements for bid requests and solicitations are detailed. The key to success in government contracting lies in the successful marketing of your product or services to the government and projecting an organized and competent ability to execute the contract. So whether you are selling products and services to the federal government or to state and local agencies the following are pitfalls to avoid in your government procurement practice.

Submitting incomplete or inaccurate information for a solicitation or bid request.
Attention to detail is imperative when responding to bid requests and solicitation. Failure to provide the requested information reflects poorly on the vendor, causes unnecessary delays, and sometimes even removes the vendor from further contract consideration. Whenever you have questions, contact the contracting officer and discuss the issue. Companies new to the government contract process may even find it necessary to obtain professional assistance to help navigate their way through the process. The key is to avoid submitting a bid or solicitation response when questions remain.

Working outside the scope of the terms of the contract.
This is probably the single most cause for dispute resolution cases among small businesses in government contracting. Many companies, particularly companies new to the contracting process, fail to notice the clauses and provisions that impact their contract performance. They provide goods and services outside the terms of the contact and later are dismayed when the government disputes the amount owed for services rendered.

Additionally, many government contractors believe that performing additional work not required under the contract will place them in a favorable light. Instead, it raises questions about your cost proposal structure and whether your original proposed price was inflated. The government understands that everyone is in business to make a profit so if you are providing services for free it brings into question your profit margin.

Taking directions from an unauthorized government official.
The contractor should only accept instructions and guidance from authorized government officials. Accepting instructions from unauthorized officials creates confusion, causes disputes and raises liability issues. Although the government may be partly to blame, it is the contractor's responsibility to accept instructions from the authorized government official. So when faced with instructions and requests from unauthorized government officials, direct the request to the authorized official identified in the contract.

Providing services without a contract.
This situation usually arises when a contractor has completed a contract and submits a response to a bid request for further services. In the interim, while awaiting the subsequent contract award decision, the contractor continues to provide services without a contract. Though done quite frequently, this can be a significant risk to the contractor should the government decide not to execute a subsequent contract or modify the terms of a subsequent contract. Instead, anticipate an interim period and include a hold over provision in your original contract.

Additional information can be found at the following websites:

www.fss.gsa.gov/vendorguide
www.sba.gov/gc
www.fedpubseminars.com

                                  Donyale DeShazo and Calvert Wright contributed to this article.
















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