By Nicole Wolfe on March 22, 2023 | Posted in Bid Protests
When a small business concern is competing for a government contract that is set aside for small businesses, the SBA determines a company’s size status on the date of self-certification in its proposal. However, long before this certification, companies need to take a close look at their family relationships in order to ensure that they will not be considered affiliated with companies owned by their spouse, parents, children or siblings, consequently risking their status as “small” for the purposes of the solicitation. The SBA rules on affiliation among spouses and close family members are quite specific and require good up-front planning of even the smallest items.
By Nicole Wolfe on October 27, 2021 | Posted in Bid Protests
If you reasonably believe the awardee of a small business set-aside is really a large business, then you can file a Small Business Administration (“SBA”) size protest. The federal government reserves a portion of its procurement dollars for purchasing products or services from small businesses. These set-asides help small businesses compete for federal government contracts. Not surprisingly, however, some businesses who are initially awarded these contracts are actually large businesses posing as small business concerns. A size protest presents a quick and economical option to challenge the award to such a large business.