For small federal IT contractors

Every requirement in your RFQ, found before you write.

A compliance matrix, scoring crosswalk, gap list and QA checklist for your next bid. Fixed fee, 72 hours.

compliance_matrix.xlsxUSGS RFQ 140G0326Q0205
IDTypeRequirementSource
E-001EvaluationQuotes will be evaluated based on the evaluation factors listed on page 14.Sol p.1
I-004InstructionAll amendments must be signed and included when the quote is submitted.Sol p.2
I-005InstructionAll interested parties must be registered and have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) at the time of submitting a quote to be considered for an award of a federal contract.Sol p.2
P-013PerformanceThe Period of Performance shall be October 1, 2026 through May 31, 2028.Sol p.8
E-004EvaluationEach offeror must submit sufficient documentation for the USGS to evaluate their experience and past performance.Sol p.14
5 of 88 lines extracted from a closed solicitation and its amendment.

The details that sink a quote are rarely technical.

Each of these comes from the three closed solicitations in our samples. None is hard. All are easy to miss at 11 p.m. the night before.

USGS, Amd 0001 p.2

An unsigned amendment

Amendment 0001 moved the due date from 09/22 to 09/30 and carries its own SF-30. “All amendments must be signed and included when the quote is submitted.”

VA, E.4 (Amd 0002)

A hard 10-page cap

Ten pages for six PWS sections and all of their subparagraphs, excluding cover, contents and appendices. Restating the PWS may be scored as insufficient.

VA, E.4

A 5 MB email limit

Quotes go by email, under 5 MB each, split and numbered. Hyperlinks and embedded files are not read.

VA, A.2, E.4, Amd 0002

Three different due dates

The base text left the date blank, section E said September 16, and the amendment cover said Friday, September 18. The latest amendment wins.

NOAA, Sol p.2, p.5; SOW p.3

A CLIN that disagrees with the SOW

CLIN 0001 lists tributary work in the base year. The SOW puts it in Option Year 1. Questions had closed, so the package prices to the SOW and states the assumption as a clarification.

Page 2 of USGS solicitation 140G0326Q0205, with the instruction that all amendments must be signed and included
Source: USGS RFQ 140G0326Q0205, page 2 (I-004).

What arrives in your inbox

Five documents and an Excel matrix, every line traced to a file and page in the solicitation. You stay the author. We make sure nothing is missing.

Compliance matrix

Every shall, must and submit line across the base solicitation, amendments and Q&A, sorted into instruction, evaluation, performance, clause and other rows, each with its file and page.

Page 14 of USGS solicitation 140G0326Q0205, showing the evaluation factors in FAR 52.212-2
Source: the evaluation page of USGS RFQ 140G0326Q0205. Each line here becomes a matrix row.

How you will be scored

Instructions mapped to evaluation factors, then to a response outline with a page budget per section.

FactorResponse sectionMatrix IDs
(d) Shoreline mapping, coastal change analysis, satellite-derived shoreline productsVol 1 §2, §4 Key PersonnelP-016, E-002
Corporate and key-personnel experience, 3+ years relevantVol 1 §4E-003
Past performance (3+ references with contact info; CPARS checked)Vol 1 §6E-004

From 01_crosswalk.md, USGS sample.

What you still need

Missing references, conflicting dates, LPTA traps, and subcontracting-limit and data-rights flags.

SampleIDWhat the package says you need
USGS 140G0326Q0205G1Key person(s) with 3+ years of relevant work, with dated resumes
G6Signed SF-18 and SF-30 (Amd 0001)
VA 36C10B26Q0804G7Due date conflict: A.2 blank, E.4 September 16, Amendment 0002 cover September 18
G8Hard copy asked for, but Q&A #2 says electronic only
NOAA 1305M326Q0368G1One key person with a computer-science-field degree, 10+ years of applied programming and C++ proof, with a dated resume
G4Active SAM registration, UEI, and small-business certification updated in SAM by the due date

A head start on the writing

Past-performance templates shaped to the evaluation language, or a page-budgeted technical outline for LPTA bids. Built from your facts, never invented.

QA checklist

  • Signed forms and every amendment
  • Page, file-size and format limits
  • Every email under 5 MB, numbered 1 of N
  • Deadline per the latest amendment

Three days, start to finish

Hour 0

Send the RFQ

The SAM.gov link plus anything the contracting office emailed you. Sign the agreement and NDA, pay half.

Hours 1 to 60

We read all of it

Software pulls every requirement. A person reads the solicitation, resolves conflicts and writes the crosswalk.

By hour 72

You get the package

Five documents and the matrix, with a delivery note that restates the due date per the latest amendment and the time remaining. Pay the balance.

Three real solicitations, already done

All three are closed. We built full packages on them so you can judge the work before paying for it.

Counts from each package’s shred.md.
SolicitationSource files readRequirement linesClauses referencedBasis for awardWhat the package flagged
Satellite shoreline processing systemUSGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science CenterRFQ 140G0326Q0205 4 88 30 Best-value tradeoff: experience and past performance outweigh price (Sol p.14 to 15) The 3-year experience floor and the shoreline-science factor are the real bid/no-bid screen.
Enterprise radiotherapy QA system and repositoryVA Technology Acquisition CenterRFQ 36C10B26Q0804 5 517 54 Lowest price, technically acceptable (E.3) Six PWS sections into a 10-page skeleton, and where FedRAMP costs belong in every option year.
Senior C++ programmer, COMPASS modelNOAA Northwest Fisheries Science CenterRFQ 1305M326Q0368 5 109 8 Best-value tradeoff: technical capability and price approximately equal, then past performance (Sol p.42) A base-year CLIN lists tributary work the SOW puts in Option Year 1.

Redacted copies are available. Ask for the files.

One price per solicitation. Nothing tied to the award.

Success fees on government contracts carry legal risk for you. We charge for the work, so the outcome is yours alone.

$2,500 per Bid Package

Your first package: $1,500

  • 50% when you send the RFQ, 50% on delivery
  • Delivered within 72 hours
  • Amendments received 24 hours before delivery are included
  • One client per solicitation, never a competitor on the same bid
Send an RFQ

Questions

Do you write the proposal?
No. You write, price, sign and submit. We give you the map, the outline and the checks. That keeps you in control of your quote, and keeps us out of the way of your relationship with the contracting office.
What information can you accept?
Public solicitation documents and your own business information under a mutual NDA. We do not accept Controlled Unclassified Information, classified material, export-controlled data or protected health information. If a file carries a CUI or FOUO marking, we return it.
How is this different from a proposal writer?
A proposal writer drafts the narrative, usually by the hour. We handle the part that comes first and gets skipped under deadline: reading every page, building the matrix, and catching conflicts and traps. You can write from the package yourself or hand it to a writer.
What if an amendment drops after you start?
If it arrives at least 24 hours before delivery, it is included. A later amendment can be added as a short follow-on.
Which bids is this built for?
Set-aside RFQs in IT services and software (NAICS 541511, 541512, 541519), typically under the $350,000 simplified acquisition threshold, for companies without a proposal team.

Have an RFQ due in the next two weeks?