Recompetes are predictable because contracts end. Unless otherwise approved in accordance with agency procedures, the total of the basic and option periods shall not exceed 5 years in the case of services 1.
End dates still move. Under the Option to Extend Services clause, the total extension of performance shall not exceed 6 months 2.
Build the watch list
Bids2Bank's Contracts Ending Soon searches windows of 6, 12, 18 or 24 months 3 and leaves out contracts whose end date has already passed 4. It also reminds you that the end date is the current period, which unexercised options can extend 5.
Check the vehicle as well as the date. For orders under multiple-award contracts, the ordering rules tell the contracting officer to provide each awardee a fair opportunity to be considered for each order exceeding the micro-purchase threshold 6, and Contracts Ending Soon counts task orders separately from standalone contracts 7.
Plan backwards from the end date
Worked example. Contractor E finds a services contract whose current period ends 14 months from today. It records the end date, assumes the follow-on notice could appear well before then, and starts capture now: customer meetings this quarter, a teaming decision in six months and a draft outline before any notice appears.
Watch for the formal notices too. For the actions the publicizing rules cover, a notice goes out at least 15 days before issuance of a solicitation 8, and Find Opportunities has a "Coming soon (pre-solicitation)" filter for those notices 9.
Bids2Bank's Deadlines page has an "Option year decision" type for the date the government decides whether to extend a contract 10.
Build a watch list in Contracts Ending Soon →
Record option and capture dates in Deadlines →
Indented paragraphs are invented worked examples. Tool links open Bids2Bank and need a free account.
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