SUBLIMIT · GUIDE

Tracking the subcontracting limit in a spreadsheet.

Most small primes track this in Excel, and on one contract that's reasonable. Here's what the tracker has to contain to be worth anything — and the four things that turn it into a liability during a review.

What the tracker has to contain

The calculation

Counted subcontracting ÷ eligible government payments, compared with the limit for the contract type — 50% services, 50% supplies, 85% general construction, 75% special trade. Materials come out of the numerator on supply and construction contracts, not on services. Measured over the period of performance, not per month. The detail is in the full guide, and you can run your own numbers in the free calculator.

When the spreadsheet is enough

One contract, a couple of subcontractors whose status you verified yourself, no lower-tier subcontracting, and a person who understands the clause maintaining it. That's a real and common situation.

The four ways it fails

1. Status is assumed. A sub is marked similarly situated because of their marketing or their certification years ago. If you can't produce dated verification, it counts against you — and the percentage you've been reporting was never right.
2. Lower tiers go missing. A similarly situated sub's own subcontracting comes back into your numerator. Almost no spreadsheet tracks it, because nobody asked the sub for the figure.
3. Hours creep in. Someone starts tracking labour hours because that's what the workforce report wants. The two are different calculations and mixing them produces a number that answers neither question.
4. The evidence isn't attached. The percentage is in the sheet; the payment records, the allocation logic and the verification are in email, in the accounting system, and in someone's memory. When a contracting officer asks on short notice, you're rebuilding, not producing.