Winning the award is the milestone everyone celebrates — but the contract is where your reputation is actually made. Perform well and you earn the past performance and CPARS rating that win your next bid; stumble, and both follow you. Here’s what contract administration involves and how not to trip.
Know who’s who
Three roles run every contract, and confusing them is a classic new-contractor mistake:
- Contracting Officer (CO/KO). The only person with authority to bind or change the government. If it’s not in writing from the CO, it isn’t a change — full stop.
- Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). Handles day-to-day technical oversight and monitors performance, but cannot change scope, price, or terms.
- Your Program/Project Manager. Owns delivery on your side and is the primary point of contact with the COR.
Start with the kickoff
Most contracts open with a kickoff meeting: align on scope, deliverables, schedule, reporting cadence, invoicing mechanics, and points of contact. Use it to surface assumptions early. Read your contract in full — especially Section C (the SOW/PWS), Section F (deliverables and period of performance), and the CDRLs in the attachments — so you’re delivering exactly what was bought.
The thing that sinks new contractors: scope
Do the work in the contract — and only the work in the contract — unless the CO directs a change in writing.
- A friendly customer asking for “just one more thing” is not authorization. Extra work directed by anyone but the CO can go uncompensated.
- If the government’s direction effectively changes your work, that may be a constructive change — flag it to the CO promptly and get a modification before proceeding. Document everything.
Modifications (mods) are how the contract legitimately changes — added scope, funding, schedule, or contract type adjustments — and they come only from the CO.
Options and performance
Many contracts include option years — the government’s unilateral right to extend. You don’t automatically get them; strong performance is how you earn the option exercise. Throughout performance, expect to:
- Deliver against the schedule and CDRLs, and report as required.
- Invoice correctly through the government’s system, and manage cash flow — see how contractors get paid.
- Stay compliant with the contract’s clauses — security, reporting, and the limitations on subcontracting (and any subcontracting plan on larger awards).
Your report card: CPARS
At least annually, the government rates your performance in CPARS — quality, schedule, cost control, management, and compliance. These ratings are visible to other contracting officers and directly shape your future past performance. Manage to a great CPARS from day one: communicate proactively, fix problems fast, and never let a surprise land in your evaluation.
Closeout
When performance ends, the contract is closed out — final invoicing and payment, property and deliverable reconciliation, and release of claims. A clean closeout protects you and tidies the record for the next competition.
The bottom line
Contract administration is where wins turn into a track record. Know that only the CO can change the contract, deliver exactly what’s in scope (and get a mod for anything more), invoice cleanly, and manage to a strong CPARS. This is the stage tools like PursuitAI’s contract tracking help you stay on top of — deadlines, option decisions, and CPARS-worthy performance — so your first win becomes the foundation for the next.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Your contract’s specific terms and your CO’s direction always govern.