The money between the award and the payment
Federal contract financing for contractors, from 8(a) set-aside firms to established primes. Assignment of Claims, mobilization, retainage, set-asides, and protest delays. The mechanisms by name and by citation.
What we cover
Five subjects, all of them the same subject. A federal award is a receivable from the most creditworthy customer on earth, and every financing problem after the award is timing and process rather than credit.
Assignment of Claims
The statutory mechanism for pledging a federal receivable, at 31 U.S.C. § 3727 and 41 U.S.C. § 6305, with the process at FAR Subpart 32.8 and the clause at FAR 52.232-23. Most commercial lenders have never executed one, and the distinction between a lender who has and a lender who hasn't is the whole financing decision.
Mobilization
The capital between the award and the first payment. A $10M award needing $2M to stand up isn't a $2M credit question.
Retainage
Money earned and held. On federal fixed-price construction the ceiling is 10% under FAR 52.232-5(e), and it applies where satisfactory progress hasn't been achieved rather than by default. A prime holding $800K across four projects is holding four different stories, and which one it is changes what finances it.
Set-Asides
The 8(a) and small-business capital gap. $20M of set-aside access against a $3M balance sheet is the exact case balance-sheet underwriting can't price.
Protests and Delays
The carry. GAO has 100 calendar days to decide a protest under 31 U.S.C. § 3554, 65 on the express track, and the performance stay runs the whole time. A hired project team against zero revenue for that window is a payroll problem created by a process outside your control.
Who this is for
Owners and CFOs of federal contractors. An 8(a) firm holding $20M of set-aside access against a $3M balance sheet. A prime carrying $800K of retainage across four active projects. Anyone who has turned down work they had the capacity to perform.
What we assume
FAR. Your contract vehicles. Your past performance record. The date the contracting officer expects performance. Nothing here explains what a set-aside is, or defines retainage, or walks through how a prime differs from a sub. The financing is the subject. Your business is the assumption.
What we publish
Guides
One mechanism, start to finish. The kind of piece you send to your controller.
Articles
What a structure costs against a real contract, and where it fails.
Blog
One question, answered whole, in under five minutes.
Resources
The arithmetic, run against your award. Calculators, a comparison matrix, and a readiness assessment.
Backlog
The newsletter. Every other Tuesday, one mechanism, one figure, one thing to do this fortnight.
What we do not cover
Capture and proposal writing. Compliance programs. GSA schedule strategy. Contract vehicles as a subject in themselves. Other publications cover those well. This one covers the money.
Sources
The Federal Acquisition Regulation. The Assignment of Claims Act of 1940. The Small Business Administration. SAM.gov. GAO bid protest data.
Editorial: editorial@govcontractfinance.com