Your Responsibility As a Contractor

You've just won the contract! Congratulations!

This doesn't mean though that your work is done; in fact, it is just the beginning.  Before you even began the bidding process, you should already make sure that you are capable of performing all the terms and conditions of the contract once you chanced upon in snagging it. Once the contract is yours and you under-perform, you might as well consider the possibility that this could be your last business venture with the government.

Step one is to thoroughly and carefully read the contract before putting your name on the dotted line. Some contracts can be formidably long, especially ones that involve huge and complex projects, so you might be tempted to skip some provisions. Don't do this though as this might result into something legally troublesome in the long run. Make sure you read and understand every term, every provision, every page before sealing the deal.

General Responsibilities of a Contractor

The Federal Acquisition Regulation 9.104 and 9.105 (FAR) prescribes the standards for the responsibilities and requirements of a contractor. Here is what you need to be a responsible contractor:

• Money. As the contractor, you must make sure that you have the financial resources to carry out the terms of the contract.

• Great sense of time. Get things done at the time the contract says they should be done. Remember that the government has a schedule, so make sure you take into account the agency's commercial and governmental commitments.

• Integrity. Business without ethics is nothing short of a scam, so a reputable history would work to your advantage.

• Experience.  The government can be a meticulous client, so experience in operational processes such as organization, management, accounting, and technical aspects of the job is necessary. You should also have sufficient working knowledge on production control procedures, property control systems, quality assurance measures, and safety programs.

• Resources. To carry out the terms of the contract, you of course need to have the facility, equipment, and technological resources to do the job. If you won the contract to build a hospital for the State of Idaho, make sure you have enough sacks of cement, enough engineers to work on the building, and other important determinations to get the job done.

• Legal qualifications. Check yourself first against regulations if you're qualified to accept the contract as well as perform it.