Labor Category Audit

By Karen Long

When most people hear the word “audit”, they think of “accounting”.  However, it is important to remember that companies can be audited by the Government for labor category qualifications for Time and Materials (T&M) contracts. If the employee does not qualify for a labor category, the company will have to reimburse the Government for the […]

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Subs and Primes: Answers to Your Pre-Award and Post-Award Questions

By Karen Long

Q: In the RFP, it says that a company without past performance will be given a “neutral rating”. How does this translate into the evaluation score? A: If a company is given a neutral rating for a technical factor, the company’s score is based on fewer factors (e.g. 4 factors instead of 5). The reason […]

Debriefings-The Information Offerors are Entitled (and not Entitled)

By Karen Long

I have previously mentioned “Lessons Learned” under “Business Development Quick Tips and Reminders”, which is essentially an internal debriefing. Therefore, in this blog I am covering external debriefings, aka debriefings with the Government, FAR 15.506. Regardless of whether you win or lose, I recommend requesting a debriefing with the Government. If you lose, you can […]

How to Maximize Profit on Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Service Contracts

By Karen Long

Recently, we prepared an Estimate at Completion (EAC) for one of Streamline’s clients for a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract. This is a service we recommend and provide to companies to project and see whether they are performing on-target, under-performing, or over-performing financially. For those who are new to Government Contracts or are not involved […]

man concentrating best practices

How to Protect Your Company: Best Practices

By Karen Long

Today I am including questions that I am frequently asked along with the answers. Q:  Is there risk in beginning work on a contract that has an error or information missing? A:  Yes, because beginning work constitutes acceptance of the contract. The safest response is to wait until all corrections are made before starting work. […]

proposals

How to Avoid Possible Proposal Pitfalls

By Karen Long

1.  Be careful when using descriptive marketing pieces (e.g. glossy brochures) in your proposal because it could contradict what your proposal states. For example, if the solicitation instructions say to state that the proposal should be valid for 180 days and the marketing piece says “Price subject to change.”, the Government may determine that the […]

Small Business: Questions and Answers

By Karen Long

1. Scenario: A competitive solicitation is released as a small-business set-aside, specifically as a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB). The Government does not receive any proposals. Question: Will the solicitation be released as full and open? Answer: If the Government has done the required market research and the research showed that the Government should expect to receive at least […]

Advantages of Utilizing a Contracts Manager and When to Contact an Attorney

By Karen Long

There are advantages to utilizing a Contracts Manager (CM). However, there are also situations when the best advice is to call a lawyer. Below are examples of both: Advantages to Using a Contracts Manager (CM): CMs can save your company money! They can negotiate subcontracts and teaming agreements (TAs) in a more cost-effective manner than […]

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Government Spending and Contract Funding: Did you know…?

By Karen Long

I recently went to an Appropriation Law Seminar and thought you might find this information useful. • For Procurement purposes, you can check whitehouse.gov/omb/budget to find out about the President’s budget for the current fiscal year. (Most of the Government websites reflect previous fiscal years.) • An appropriation, budget authority to incur an obligation, can be for […]

DoD cyber security

DoD Cybersecurity Regulation – What Happens Next?

By Karen Long

I was fortunate enough to be able to interview Steve Britt, Partner & Director of Cybersecurity at Berenzweig Leonard LLP located in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Steve has extensive experience in the cybersecurity area. If you have questions on this topic, please contact Steve directly at sbritt@berenzweiglaw.com or 703.570.8010. Karen: Steve, tell us a bit about […]

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