Proposal Adequacy - Table 15-2 - General Instructions

This is the second in our series on pricing proposal adequacy. Table 15-2 of FAR 15.804 contains detailed instructions to prospective contractors on how to prepare and submit adequate proposals. These requirements are more than guidance or mere formality. Failure to comply with with the regulations risks the Government rejecting your proposal as inadequate. Although Table 15-2 applies to solicitations that require the submission of certified cost or pricing data, it has been called out by contracting officers for other types of procurements as well (e.g. data other than certified cost or pricing data).

The first general instruction requires the following information to be included on the first page of your pricing proposal. This might seem linke a somewhat mundane requirement but it is a requirement and it is the Number 1 item on DoD's adequacy checklist.

• Solicitation, contract, and/or modification number
• Name and address of offeror
• Name and telephone number of point of contract
• Name of contract administration office (if available)
• Type of contract action (i.e. new contract, change order, price revision, letter contract, etc)
• Proposed cost, profit or fee and total
• Whether you will require the use of Government property in the performance of the contract, and if so, what property
• Whether your organization is subject to CAS, has submitted a CAS Disclosure Statement, whether it has been determined adequate, and whether you have been notified that you are or may be in noncompliance
• The following statement

This proposal reflects our estimates and/or actual costs as of this date and conforms with the instructions in FAR 15.403-5(b)(1) and Table 15-2. By submitting this proposal, we grant the Contracting Officer and authorized representative(s) the right to examine, at any time before award, those records, which include books, documents, accounting procedures and practices, and other data, regardless of type and form or whether such supporting information is specifically referenced or included in the proposal as the basis for pricing, that will permit an adequate evaluation of the proposed price.

• Date of submission
• Name, title, and signature of authorized representative.

The second general instruction is a requirement to include an index, appropriately referenced, of all the certified cost or pricing data and information accompanying or identified in the proposal. In addition, you must annotate any future additions and/or revisions, up to the date of agreement on price, or an earlier date agreed upon by the parties, on a supplemental index (Item #3 on the DoD Adequacy Checklist).

Solicitations generally require specific information that must be included in the proposal. Often this information is unique to each solicitation. In addition to these specific requirements, the third general instruction requires an explanation of your estimating process including

1. The judgmental factors applied and the mathematical or other methods used in the estimate, including those used in projecting from known data; and
2. The nature and amount of contingencies included in the proposed price.

There are a few other general requirements to keep in mind; costs by contract line item (and a total of all line items), incurred costs, if any, and whether you have an FPRA (Forward Pricing Rate Agreement)

Don't take these requirements lightly. As we stated earlier, the Government, especially DoD, has been requiring a much higher level of compliance with these requirements. Save yourself time and grief by getting it right the first time.