What is CPARS?

Prospective GSA contractors undergo many levels of evaluation before they are awarded a GSA Schedule contract, with GSA examining everything from financial statements to past performance. However, once you’ve successfully acquired a GSA Schedule contract, the evaluations don’t necessarily stop.

Certain GSA Schedule contractors receive annual evaluations through the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). CPARS ratings are performance reviews conducted by government agencies to track how well you are meeting contractual requirements. These reviews are important because they can influence future contract award decisions, and consequently, future business. Here’s what you need to know about how CPARS ratings work and whether they apply to you as a GSA Schedule contractor.

What is CPARS?

The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) is a web-based system that allows government agencies to report on and rate contractor performance. Similar to annual job evaluations or school report cards, the government evaluates how a contractor has performed during a specific timeframe and provides a detailed report in the form of a CPARS evaluation.

These evaluations are written by government officials such as Program Managers, Contracting Officers, and Contracting Officer’s Representatives. The reviewer is referred to as the Assessing Official (AO) on the CPARS evaluation itself.

Assessing Officials rate the contractor’s performance in the following categories as part of the CPARS evaluation:

• Technical/quality of product or service
• Cost control (for contracts that are not firm-fixed price)
• Schedule/timeliness
• Management or business relations
• Small business subcontracting
• Regulatory compliance
• Other (up to three “other” areas can be included, as deemed necessary)

In those contract areas above, contractors can receive the following possible CPARS ratings:

• Exceptional
• Very Good
• Satisfactory
• Marginal
• Unsatisfactory

Plus or minus signs may be used to indicate an improving or worsening trend if the evaluation status does not change from one report to the next.

Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), a CPARS evaluation needs to include detailed and complete statements about the contractor’s performance to support the ratings given in each category. CPARS ratings must also be based on objective data, or measurable, subjective data when objective data isn’t available. Data sources can include cost performance reports, quality reviews, financial solvency assessments, and earned contract incentives.

Both GSA Schedule and non-GSA Schedule government contractors may be eligible to receive CPARS ratings – we’ll get into what determines CPARS eligibility later in this blog.

What is the Purpose of CPARS?

CPARS ensures that current, complete, and accurate information on contractors’ performance is available to help the government make informed procurement source selections. In other words, CPARS is not only a performance record, but it’s also used for future award-making decisions. CPARS ratings enable agencies to award best value contracts and orders to contractors who provide high-quality products and services, with the goal of improving how government money is spent.

Contractors should take the ratings and narratives in CPARS seriously, because they will impact your future contract awards. The better you score in your CPARS evaluation, the more likely you are to be rewarded.

If you’re a prospective GSA contractor with prior government contracting experience, you can also use your past CPARS ratings to fulfill the past performance requirement of your GSA Schedule proposal. Keep in mind that you’ll need three or more CPARS ratings, unless you substitute any for questionnaires, and they’ll need to meet some criteria for recency and scope.

Which Contracts Are Given CPARS Ratings?

Not all government contractors, or even all GSA contractors, will receive CPARS ratings. Per FAR 42.1502, you will only receive past performance evaluations through CPARS if:

• Your contract exceeds the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) of $350,000 (excluding architect-engineer contracts). This includes single-agency and multiple-agency contracts.
• You have an architect-engineer contract greater than or equal to $45,000.
• Your architect-engineer contract was terminated for default, regardless of contract value.
• You have a construction contract greater than or equal to $900,000.
• Your construction contract was terminated for default, regardless of contract value.
• The government elects to complete an evaluation for your contract, even if your contract falls below the thresholds above. This decision is made on a case-by-case basis.

It’s important to remember that only the prime contractor’s performance is evaluated. Subcontractors on the project do not receive separate CPARS evaluations. However, the prime contractor’s CPARS evaluation has a place for the reviewer to note key subcontractors, their Unique Entity Identifiers (UEIs), and their efforts performed.

When Are CPARS Evaluations Completed?

The government completes CPARS evaluations annually throughout the life of the contract, as well as once work under the contract is completed.

For example, if you have a 5-year contract, you will have Interim Reports for years 1 through 4, and a Final Report for the 5th year. After the contract is completed, government officials can write an optional Addendum Report. Addendum Reports address performance in areas such as contract closeout, compliance with warranty requirements, and other administrative requirements.

What Happens When CPARS Ratings Are Released?

Once the Assessing Official finishes preparing an evaluation, they submit it electronically in CPARS.gov. You will then receive a system-generated notification when a CPARS evaluation is ready for comment. You have up to 14 days from the date of notification to submit any comments, rebutting statements, or additional information. If you notice any discrepancies in the ratings, the CPARS is sent to the official above the Assessing Official for further review.

For more context into this process, we’ll describe below the 6 steps that each CPARS evaluation goes through:

1. Contract Registration: the Assessing Official (AO) or another government POC enters basic contract/order award information into the CPARS system.
2. Enter Proposed Ratings: the AO enters the proposed ratings and narratives reflecting the contractor’s performance.
3. Validate Proposed Ratings: the AO reviews the proposed ratings and verifies that the narratives are detailed, comprehensive, complete, and accurate.
4. Contractor Comments: this is when contractors can provide any comments and indicate whether they disagree with the evaluation.
5. Review Contractor Comments: the Assessing Official can modify and close the evaluation, once the contractor concurs with it.
6. Reviewing Official Comments: if the contractor did not agree with the initial evaluation, the Reviewing Official above the AO will review the ratings and close the evaluation.

Ratings are made available for source selection purposes no later than 14 days after they are released in CPARS. Any contractor comments still pending review will be addressed as necessary. More specifics on this process can be found in the CPARS Guide.

Keeping Up with GSA Schedule Requirements

CPARS is an important way for you to build up credibility as a GSA contractor and secure future contract awards. But CPARS isn’t the only way you are evaluated as a contractor. In addition to CPARS, there are several other evaluations you will undergo as a GSA Schedule contractor, such as annual Contractor Assessment Visits (CAVs) and End of Term Assessments.

If you want to learn more about how to maintain your contract to ensure success during these assessments, you can check out our complete maintenance checklist. If you have any questions about CPARS or your GSA Schedule contract, one of our consultants would be happy to help you.