Cost Proposal & Pricing Service

Develop cost proposals and competitive pricing for government contracts

Startup Cost
$8,000-$35,000
Difficulty
Advanced
Time to Profit
6-12 months
Profit Potential
$15,000-$83,000/month

Overview

Pricing analysts charge $100-$250 hourly or $10,000-$75,000 per cost proposal.

Pricing 15-40 proposals annually generates $180,000-$1,000,000 with 70-85% margins.

In 2025, competitive pricing wins cost-sensitive contracts.

Revenue from cost proposal development ($10,000-$75,000 per proposal), pricing strategy and should-cost analysis ($8,000-$40,000), rate development and approval ($12,000-$60,000), basis of estimate (BOE) development ($8,000-$35,000), cost volume preparation, and pricing model development ($15,000-$75,000).

Services include cost proposal preparation and pricing, labor rate development and justification, basis of estimate (BOE) documentation, pricing strategy and competitiveness analysis, subcontractor pricing and evaluation, and cost realism and reasonableness.

Successful analysts understand government cost principles (FAR Part 31), develop competitive yet compliant pricing, create defensible bases of estimate, analyze should-cost, and price to win.

Government contractors bidding cost-reimbursable and fixed-price contracts as clients.

Marketing through proposal consultants, government contractors, pricing expertise, cost proposal track record, and contractor networks.

Required Skills

  • Government Cost Principles (FAR 31)
  • Pricing Strategy
  • Cost Estimating
  • Basis of Estimate (BOE)
  • Labor Rate Development
  • Cost/Price Analysis

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • High fees for cost proposal development
  • Every government proposal needs pricing
  • Specialized pricing expertise in demand
  • Recurring work with active contractors
  • Critical for winning competitive contracts

Cons

  • Need government accounting and FAR expertise
  • Pricing errors can lose contracts or profit
  • Complex cost accounting requirements
  • Tight proposal pricing deadlines
  • Competition from pricing specialists

How to Get Started

  1. Build government pricing and cost estimating expertise
  2. Study FAR Part 31 cost principles
  3. Develop pricing models and templates
  4. Market to government contractors
  5. Develop competitive pricing strategies
  6. Create cost proposals and BOEs
  7. Support cost/price analysis and negotiations

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