OK, you've made the decision to bid the RFP from the government. What should you do next?

As we discussed above, when the solicitation you are responding to is an Invitation for Bid, writing your proposal will basically consist of filling out the forms that the government provides. However, when the solicitation is a negotiated solicitation, such as a Request for Proposal or Request for Quote, things are different.

When filing out Standard Form 30 in order to satisfy an Invitation For Bid (IFB), the second section is filled out by the bidder.

When filing out Standard Form 30 in order to satisfy an Invitation For Bid (IFB), the final section is filled out by the government.

When filing out Standard Form 30 in order to satisfy an Invitation For Bid (IFB), the third section is filled out by the government.

When the solicitation is an Invitation for Bid, which is the case most of the time for small businesses, writing your proposal will consist of filling out the forms that you received from the government in the bid package and sending them in.

When filing out Standard Form 30 in order to satisfy an Invitation For Bid (IFB), the first section is filled out by the government.

The first form that we will look at is DD Form 1707, Information to Offerors or Quoters. This is the cover sheet that accompanies the solicitation itself and is mainly informational. One of its main purposes is to gather information on why a company does not want to bid. This form is used for most Department of Defense (DoD) large dollar solicitations, which are those over $100,000.

Next, let's look at the Standard Form 33: Solicitation, Offer and Award. This is the form that is used to solicit offers and award contracts. It is referred to as a bi-lateral or two-signature document. You sign the form in Block 17, and the government signs the same form in Block 27. That establishes a binding contract.

Once you have reviewed the bid, received the specs, gotten pricing history, and priced out the items or services, you are ready to put it all together and write your proposal.

There are two categories of government specifications:

This is the one step in the contracting process where you are the expert and we are not. Given that there are so many different types of businesses out there and so many different ways of pricing, our best advice is to be as competitive as possible.

These days, finding specs and standards can be as easy as logging onto a subscription service on the Internet. Subscription services can get you the specs quickly and easily, but at a hefty price tag. On the other hand, your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) can provide you with the specs you need and, in most cases, will either charge only a small fee or provide them for free. Either way, it ensures that you get the specs required by the solicitation. (Go to www.aptec-us.org to find your local PTAC.)

Another way to track items involves RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, which use low-level RF signals to transmit stored information from a tag to an electronic reader. The RFID tags are simply microchips that transmit without the use of hand-held scanners, eliminating all manual labor associated with bar codes.

UID is something you will hear more and more about. The current rule requires all contractors to uniquely identify, through the use of Item Identification Marketing, all items to be delivered to the federal government. The policy was issued on July 29, 2003 and became effective January 1, 2004. UID has been established to identify tangible items, using all practical international standards and commercial item markings.

Now that you have reviewed and understand the contents of the bid package, it's time to start gathering information needed to complete the offer, including the technical data related to a particular bid.

Here is where you get to look at your first bid package. And here is where we let you in on the secret to winning and making a profit on the contract you are bidding on:

Currently, the use of UID (unique identification) and RFID (radio frequency identification) is just emerging within the government acquisition arena. This information would be included in Section D of the solicitation, if applicable, and possibly Section A, as well. The use of special product IDs dates back to the Vietnam War era, when containerized shipments were not well identified as to content. Moreover, because of the tremendous number of shipments coming in, this method of inventory tracking often made it quicker to reorder, instead of wasting time going through the containers for the supply item. There are many cost-saving reasons to use UID and RFID.

Let's take a closer look at a typical bid using a common form as an example, Standard Form 33 (SF 33), and we'll show you how to look for what is important.

Solicitation packages usually range anywhere from 10 to 50 or more pages, depending on dollar value, the Statement of Work and other requirements. They will include clauses and instructions and other information that will tell you the who, what, where and how of the contract.

Find out the government's needs and specs. The first, and most important, sections you should review are Part I Section B (Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs) and Part IV Section L (Instructions, Conditions and Notices to Offerors). These sections are crucial, so read them together carefully and check out the information to see whether this is a product or service that you can provide, and whether you comply with the requirements. Take notes!

Some buying offices refer to "purchase agreements," which are pre-arranged agreements signed prior to doing business with the agency. DSCR requires no such agreements, only that you are registered on the CCR. These purchase agreements are often confused with Blanket Purchase Agreements.

Marketbaskets are long-term contracts for large groupings of multiple items with National Stock Numbers (NSN) that are lumped together based on manufacturing processes. Due to the variety and size of these buys, they are evaluated on a line-item basis, enabling a vendor to respond to one, few or all of the items needed. Most of these buys contain competitive item descriptions and are solicited as some type of set-aside (SB, HUBZone or 8(a)).

In order to cover emergency situations, many DoD long-term contracts now specify surge quantities. Surge requirements are excess requirements (above the basic quantity) that must be available with an accelerated delivery. These would typically be utilized during times of war or unforeseen surges in demand. Vendors must be capable of supplying any normal contract quantities at the same time as any surge requirement.

There are two new bidding techniques that the government is using that the small business needs to be aware of: