Bidding on Broward County contracts

How a bid gets in

• Bids go through the BPRO portal

  Broward County posts and takes its bids on its BPRO portal. Two of the rejections we recorded were for late or incorrectly submitted bids, so do not wait for the last hour.

• A bond copy can sometimes be waived

  Unlike Miami-Dade, Broward may waive an electronic copy of the bond if the bond was uploaded or executed by the submittal time. It is the County's choice, not your right.

• Every unit price filled in

  Omitted unit prices, for example a blank Year 2, make a price sheet non-responsive. It cannot be waived.

• A mandatory meeting is mandatory

  Missing a mandatory pre-proposal meeting makes your proposal non-responsive for that group. It cannot be waived.

• Financial statements follow the addendum

  Financial statements must follow the addendum's description. One firm was rejected on an airport janitorial bid for this.

Small business programs

• Some bids are reserved for CBE firms

  Broward uses certified business enterprise (CBE) goals and reserves. On the 6 CBE Reserve bids where we know the number of bidders, 2 to 5 firms bid, 3.3 on average.

• A CBE goal can sink a bid

  We recorded 4 rejections for not meeting a CBE goal. Line up certified subcontractors before you bid.

• Certifications are county by county

  A Miami-Dade SBE certification does not count in Broward. Check which county's program the bid uses.

Why Broward bids get rejected

We recorded 50 rejections on Broward bids from public award records and evaluation minutes. All 50 are confirmed in the source documents.

• 13Certification problemsSBE, CBE and CIMS status, and a CBE subcontractor plan if there is a goal. Check them before you write a word.
• 8Price sheet incomplete or unbalancedCheck every unit price, in every year, before you submit.
• 6Bid bond or bid security problemsStart with your surety early and upload the bond with the bid.
• 5Financial documentsRead the addendum on financial statements and follow it exactly.
• 5Evaluation criteria left outAnswer every criterion the County scores. Leaving one out can cost the whole proposal.
• 4Licenses and authorityMake sure every license and authority the bid asks for is current and attached.
• 9Everything elseInsurance documents, late submissions, missed mandatory meetings, exceptions to the terms and other single-issue rejections.