A government bid/no-bid checklist for small teams

First, check the hard stops

• Identify the current notice, attachments and latest amendment.
• Check required eligibility, registrations, certifications and qualifications against your actual status.
• Confirm whether required site visits or other milestones have already passed.
• Record the deadline with its time zone and the specified submission method.
• Escalate a missing mandatory requirement instead of letting a high fit score hide it.

Then assess whether the pursuit makes sense

• Scope fit: can you explain the deliverables in your own words?
• Capacity: are the people, equipment and geographic coverage available?
• Evidence: do you have relevant experience and the information needed for the response?
• Pricing: are quantities, supplier costs and subcontractor quotes sufficiently supported?
• Timing: is there enough time for questions, drafting, review and submission?
• Risk: what remains uncertain, who owns it and when must it be resolved?

Record a decision, not just a score

Use three outcomes: pursue, decline or hold for a named clarification. Record the decision owner, date, evidence and unresolved items. A hold needs a review date before the actual bid deadline; otherwise it becomes an invisible decline.

Review the decision when an amendment changes the scope, when a quote fails to arrive or when capacity changes. An older AI explanation may describe a different deadline or earlier set of documents. Use the current source and current record.

Make the next step explicit

For a pursuit, assign the requirements checklist, pricing owner and final reviewer. For a decline, record a short reason you can use to improve future targeting. For a clarification, write the question and send it only through the buyer's permitted process. This checklist is a working aid, not a substitute for the solicitation or professional advice.

Put the next step in one place

BrostCo helps organize supported opportunity analysis, subcontractor coordination and draft bid work. Your team verifies source requirements and submits the response. Local notice imports require your own amendment checks.

A worksheet for your next step

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