Wednesday, May 9, 2018

By Ann Burns


If you want to succeed in the construction, electrical, plumbing, or road repair business, finding reliable repeat customers, with substantial orders, is the best way to do it. You might become a preferred contractor for architects and developers. You may have considered bidding on public works projects, but do not know how to go about it. Municipalities can be great sources of business, but you have to know what agencies are looking for and how the decision makers think.

Municipalities are looking for responsive bids. Your bid won't be considered responsive unless it is submitted within the allotted time and includes all the information asked for. This is mostly a matter of taking your time and following directions to the tee. Your deadline is determined by the bidding clocks that hang on the walls of agency offices. No other clocks matter. If you don't get your bid in on time or leave it at the wrong office, you're non-responsive.

In addition to a complete bid form, you need to include all the documentation the agency requests. This can include a bid guarantee and an acknowledgement that you were at all the required pre-bid meetings. This information is easily checked. You may have to include a bid responsibility questionnaire.

Another prerequisite for getting a contract is to show you are an responsible bidder. You must have a tax number making you a registered contractor. You have to show you have up to date industrial insurance and workers comp. Violating labor laws and being disqualified under the rules and regulations of the city will preclude you from winning the bid.

The city will go through and verify all this information. They can do it in a number of ways. The state's website will give them all the registered contractors with tax numbers. It will show whether or not the contractor is currently insured as required. The website will list all disbarred contractors. The municipality will check with the Department of Revenue to see if you are registered.

Some agencies will apply supplemental criteria to the bid award process. They can void applicants with outstanding state tax delinquencies, federal debarment, and wage violations. If you have previously violated public bidding regulations or been terminated for cause, your bid could be thrown out. Some agencies also require that you've got previous experience with a similar project.

On the day advertised, city staff will open bids and pick the lowest responsive one. If you are awarded the bid, you will get an official notification anywhere from thirty to forty-five days later. Once you receive the notification you must respond with a signed contract within ten to twenty business days. Your certificate of insurance and payment and performance bonds have to go along with the contract.

When you are a successful bidder, a government contract can be a great source of business. You need to know how to bid correctly though. If you make one mistake, it could put you in the non-responsive category and out of a job.




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