Sometime reader P. Manning of Denver, CO writes, “We discovered that one of our subcontractors has been providing untrained newbies, but billing us for experienced veterans. How do we make this right with the customer and get rid of the sub?” First, good for you all for having systems in place to discover this problem, P. Many prime contractors provide loose, if Read more
Federal ethics laws sometimes make a hash of common sense. Regardless, they must be followed if your company is to stay on the right side of the compliance ledger. Don’t assume your sales team, or your C-suite executives know the rules. In fact, assume they don’t. Make sure that a well-intentioned favor, like the real example in this headline, doesn’t get you and your government customer in hot water. Allen Federal can help. We provide half-day ethics training that can be tailored to your firm, whether its sales, executives, or contract people (the ones who usually know better). Contact us today to make sure you don’t get taken for an ethics ride. E-mail us at info@allenfederal.com to see about the ethics training we can do for your company.
As promised, GSA has issued a new contract clause that allows contractors to fulfill orders for 60 months after the base contract has expired. This is one of several changes the agency is making to Schedule contracts in order to make them easier for buyers and contractors. The change aligns the Schedules with other GWAC’s and MAC’s, including GSA’s own Alliant and OASIS contracts. One outcome of the new clause is that Blanket Purchase Agreements may Read more
GSA Schedule teaming agreements can be wonderful things that allow companies to qualify for business they otherwise could not compete for. Teaming agreements are used in every part of the Schedules program from IT to furniture to services. It is absolutely critical, though, that your teaming agreement be formal and created with advice of legal counsel. Recent issues include timeframes for how team members, whose role may be just one part of a big project, Read more
Everyone but Congress has gotten the message: Consistent, and variable, delays to the start of each fiscal year cause harm to the effective operation of government. Inability to plan, or spending time planning for contingencies, harms missions, causes delays, and leads to cost overruns. Congressional leaders are currently discussing the FY’17 appropriations process with Read more