Many Texas businesses make quite a profit in completing government contracts. These large and lucrative opportunities draw a lot of competition on a local and national stage. Securing one of these contracts offers opportunity, profit and name recognition to the awarded company.

To ensure fairness, the federal government uses a blind bidding process to reward contracts. This system enables government agencies to locate the best deal while opening competitive opportunities for even new companies. Understanding how the process works will help businesses submit an attractive bid.

How does it work?

Every government contract goes through the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). FAR’s oversight begins with advertising the job, ensuring that government agencies reasonably make eligible companies of the opportunity. This Invitation for Bids (IFB) contains all important information about the job and will appear in trade journals, local and national advertisements, mailing lists, Commerce Business Daily and even newspapers.

Competitors then submit their bids to the requesting government agency. That agency assigns a Contracting Officer (CO) who collects all bids, double-checks them for errors and makes them public. The CO reads the proposals aloud to increase transparency and fairness, awarding the contract to the best bid with the lowest cost.

Next, FAR and the CO review the winning bid. This review covers local laws and regulations, transportation costs and taxes to ensure legitimacy, competency and eligibility. This review process may disqualify the winning bid, prompting FAR to revisit the other bids and select a more appropriate winner.

Secure legal help to navigate this complex process

Entrepreneurs and business owners may eventually want to compete for one of these lucrative government contracts. The best way for a company to submit a successful bid is with legal guidance from an attorney with government bid experience. A lawyer can review a bid for accuracy and completeness, advise on pricing and fight for fair and equitable treatment.