When filing out Standard Form 30 in order to satisfy an Invitation For Bid (IFB), the second section is filled out by the bidder.
Block 12: Acceptance Period: This block will give you the opportunity to mark how long your bid will be good for. If you don't put in a specific number, it will default to 60 days.
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Work Smart
If you give the government too long an acceptance period, prices can change and so can your costs. Make sure you don't get bitten: Be competitive, but set your limits.
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Block 13: Discounts for Prompt Payment: This block is where you will put the size of the discount, if any, that you will give the government if it pays you promptly.
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Work Smart
The government passed the Prompt Payment Act in the mid-1980s, which requires the government to pay small businesses within 30 days if the business completes its end of the contract! Check to see whether your competitors are offering a discount. If they are, then you should do so as well in order to be competitive. If they aren't . . . why leave money on the table?
One important catch with the Prompt Payment Act: The clock on this Act starts only if your invoice, when received, is correct. If your invoice is not correct, it gets kicked back until it is corrected and received by the government. Therefore, the definition of "prompt" under this Act is directly tied to the accuracy of your invoice.
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Block 14: Acknowledgments of Amendments: In this block you will let the buyer know that you have received all the amendments that it sent out. If the buyer mailed out four and you list only three, the buyer will throw out your bid as non-responsive if the omitted amendment impacts on the material aspects of the solicitation.
Block 15a: Name and Address of Offeror: Here is where you will enter your company name, address and, in the little box marked "code," your Cage Code and your facility code, if you have one.
Block 15b: Telephone Number: Enter the appropriate phone number.
Block 15c: Remittance Address: If you want the government to send the check for payment to an address different from the one you provided in Block 15a, mark this box and enter the address on the schedule.
Block 16: Name and Title of Person Authorized To Sign Offer: In this block enter the name and title of the person "authorized" to sign the contracts. Please don't have someone sign the contract if they are not listed in CCR (Central Contractor Registration) as the "authorized signor." You will lose the award.
Block 17: Signature: This is where the authorized person must sign the contract.
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Warning
Caution
More than a few companies that carefully prepared their bid lost out just because the contract was not signed. Don't forget to sign the contract.
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Block 18: Offer Date: Enter the date on which you are sending the contract.