Vendor Qualification Standard

When GASQ says a vendor is prequalified, this is the standard being applied.

Every vendor that responds to a buyer opportunity on GASQ must clear two separate tests before their response reaches the buyer: a responsive test and a responsible test. These are the same two tests used in formal public procurement. Failing either one blocks the submission — it is not recorded as a warning for the buyer to weigh later.

1. Responsive — can the vendor actually perform this scope?

The vendor must affirmatively confirm every one of the following for the specific opportunity. A blank, a “no,” or an unanswered item is a failure:

• Licensed to provide security services in the jurisdiction of the work
• Able to meet the requested start date
• Able to meet the requested coverage hours
• Able to staff the requested personnel
• Able to meet uniform requirements
• Able to meet reporting requirements
• Able to meet technology and compliance requirements
• Able to meet the stated insurance minimums
• Able to meet the stated wage requirement
• Able to meet training requirements
• Able to meet the required response time
• Has reviewed the full scope of work
• Accepts the terms, the pricing basis, and the schedule
• Confirms the pricing is sustainable — not a rate the vendor cannot hold
• Has declared at least one technology capability

2. Documentation — all seven, every time

A response cannot be submitted until all seven documents are on file for that opportunity:

• State Security License
• Certificate of Insurance
• W-9
• Capability Statement
• Workers’ Compensation Certificate
• General Liability Certificate
• Business License

Documents already held on the vendor’s GASQ profile are carried forward automatically, but the set must be complete for the opportunity in question.

3. Responsible — is the vendor financially and operationally sound?

The following are disqualifying. A vendor that answers yes to any of them is blocked from submitting:

• Has failed to make payroll
• Has lost a contract over staffing performance
• Has negligent-security litigation history
• Has had a security license suspended

The vendor must also affirmatively demonstrate:

• Three verifiable references
• Documented past performance
• Workers’ Compensation and General Liability insurance in force
• 30–45 days of payroll sustainment — the ability to pay officers before the first invoice is settled

That last requirement is the one most often missing elsewhere. An underfunded vendor is the most common root cause of the understaffing, turnover, and service failures that a low bid appears to avoid.

Jurisdiction matters

Security licensing and insurance requirements are set state by state. GASQ verifies a vendor’s standing for the jurisdiction where the work will actually be performed. Qualification is not a universal or nationwide badge, and a vendor qualified for one state’s opportunity is not automatically qualified for another’s.

What qualification does not mean

Being prequalified on GASQ is a screening standard, not a warranty. Specifically, it is not:

• A guarantee of service quality or contract performance
• An endorsement or recommendation of one vendor over another
• A substitute for the buyer’s own due diligence, site visit, or reference checks
• A credit rating or a guarantee of ongoing financial condition

Qualification reflects what the vendor attested to and documented at the time of submission. Buyers receive the completed questionnaire and supporting documents so they can review the evidence directly rather than rely on a badge.