When is a subcontracting plan required for a federal contract, and what must it include?

A subcontracting plan is required for a federal contract when a solicitation is expected to exceed $900,000, or $2 million for construction, and has subcontracting possibilities (FAR 19.702(a)(1)). Your grounds maintenance contract, NAICS 561730, is not a construction NAICS, so the $900,000 threshold applies. Since your company is an other-than-small business, and you plan to use subcontractors, you will need to submit a subcontracting plan with your proposal if the contract value is expected to exceed that amount.

The plan must include percentage goals for the use of small businesses, including specific goals for small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. It needs to describe the principal supplies and services you will be subcontracting and identify the methods used to develop the subcontracting goals. You also need to explain the efforts you will make to ensure that small businesses have an equitable opportunity to compete for subcontracts, and include a description of the records you will maintain to demonstrate compliance with the plan.