Contracting advisor working templates

1. Short business intake

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• Business label and confirmed legal name:
• Formation state; city/county; service geography:
• Proposed business, existing entity, or DBA? Parent/affiliate relationships:
• What specific deliverable do you sell, to whom, and with what proof?
• Formation / EIN / banking / accounting: unknown, in progress, complete; evidence location:
• SAM: none, UEI-only, draft, submitted, active, inactive, unknown; checked date/expiry:
• City/county/state registrations and access status:
• Certifications actually approved; applicant entity; entry/expiry; evidence:
• Relevant commercial/government/subcontract/personal project experience, separately labeled:
• Staff, licenses, equipment, suppliers, geographic/technical constraints:
• Available delivery capacity and cash constraints (range or conclusion, not account numbers):
• Desired first route: local / state / federal / subcontract / GSA / certification preparation:
• One opportunity or buyer of interest:
• Authorized decision maker and preferred next milestone:

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2. Evidence register

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Do not store secrets in this register. If an owner says SAM is active, mark owner-reported until the record/status evidence is inspected. Record the exact type of evidence: a submission receipt does not prove active status.

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3. Next three actions / 30-day plan

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Dates are internal targets unless explicitly labeled agency deadlines. Record expected wait separately from follow-up date.

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4. Capability statement

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[Verified legal name] · [DBA only if accurate]

What we deliver: [One sentence tied to buyer outcome.]

Core capabilities: [Three to five proven services/products.]

Evidence: [Project, actual performer/entity, scope, date, measurable result. Label key-person prior-employer experience accurately.]

Differentiators: [Specific verifiable advantage; no unsupported superlatives.]

Contracting data: [Accurate codes; UEI/CAGE when appropriate; verified certifications only; relevant geography.]

Public contact: [Authorized business contact, email, phone, site.]

Never publish EIN, SSN, bank details, private financials, or “GSA certified” when only an offer was submitted.

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5. Buyer research brief

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• Buyer/office, jurisdiction, official URL:
• Purchase need and evidence:
• Comparable awards, dates, actual spending versus ceiling:
• Incumbent and vehicle; likely recompete/forecast (label estimate):
• Matching capability and references:
• Permitted contact route and restrictions:
• Question for small-business office or forecast POC:
• Next milestone, assigned owner, and review date:

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6. Bid/no-bid memo

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Use the interactive Go / No-Go guide to calculate and download the financial decision memo. Attach or securely reference the underlying evidence.

Entity / notice ID / amendment / reviewed timestamp:

Decision: Research hold / No-bid / Pursue / Ready for owner review

Why we can win: [Evidence, not optimism.] Scope/period and revenue if won: [Exclude total ceiling and speculative options.] Future pursuit: [Hours × loaded rates, external help, travel and other costs; source/date.] Already-spent pursuit: [Separate sunk costs from the next decision.] Delivery cost / delivery profit: [Match the modeled scope; do not double-count pursuit.] Forward profit / all-in profit and margin if won: Win probability / evidence / less optimistic case: [A business judgment, not an agency forecast.] Future expected value / break-even probability: Personal margin target / next pursuit budget / maximum loss if unsuccessful: Cash forecast date / peak need / available committed funding / delay case: Opportunity cost: [Other work or bids displaced; staff/time/capital constraints.] Next spend milestone / stop condition / review date: Open questions and cutoff: Owner decision and date:

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7. Solicitation compliance matrix

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Add rows for each form/signature, acknowledgment, technical criterion, price line, required event, submission format, question channel, and time zone. Keep text excerpts short; link back to the source package.

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8. Price and cash worksheet

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Use this detailed worksheet as input to the Go / No-Go calculator. Keep economic costs separate from cash outflows and already-spent pursuit separate from remaining pursuit.

Illustrative arithmetic only: $10,000 costs and a 20% target gross margin require $12,500 price (10,000 ÷ 0.80), not $12,000. A 20% markup is a different measure. Tax, allowability, fee caps, pricing instructions, and cost-accounting treatment depend on the actual contract.

Model acceptance and payment delays; identify the peak financing need. Do not assume loans, factoring, or progress payments are approved.

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9. Draft introduction / question

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Subject: [Specific capability or notice ID] — [brief purpose]

[Office/contact],

[Legal entity] delivers [specific outcome] in [geography]. Relevant experience: [verifiable example]. We are seeking [permitted assistance or clarification].

[One to three precise questions tied to the forecast or solicitation section.]

Please advise the appropriate next step or contact. [Authorized public contact.]

Draft only until authorized to send. Check solicitation restrictions before any procurement outreach. Do not attach sensitive financial, personal, or proprietary documents without a verified need and appropriate channel.

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10. Submission and status log

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Final file names/hash or version: Official destination: Notice/amendments included: Signer authority: Receipt/case reference: No record may jump from draft to awarded merely because an upload completed.

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11. Post-award obligations

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Track funding, period, scope, required reports, authorized changes, staffing, flowdowns, security/labor duties, customer acceptance, invoices, actual payment, options, and closeout. Maintain a separate renewal calendar for SAM, certifications, licenses, insurance, and vehicle requirements.

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12. GSA business-case decision

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• Actual target buyers purchasing via MAS:
• Proposed SIN(s), current scope evidence, current solicitation version:
• Comparable awarded prices and differentiation:
• Financial/performance evidence available:
• Startup exception, if relevant: exact current requirement and documented applicability:
• Bid/offer preparation cost and staff capacity:
• Expected sales model with assumptions; downside case:
• Catalog, reporting, fee, modification and compliance owner:
• Alternative first route and opportunity cost:
• Proceed / defer / seek official clarification, with reasons:

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13. Certification evidence review

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• Program and applicant legal entity:
• Governing rule/current portal guidance and review date:
• Required criteria mapped to genuine evidence:
• Ownership/control or affiliation issues for professional review:
• Missing documents; sensitivity; protected submission destination:
• Application stage and agency information requests:
• Approval evidence, if actually approved; ongoing obligations:

This is a preparation record. The advisor does not certify eligibility, invent disadvantages, or imply approval from an intake questionnaire.

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