What to do with company records when a government contractor loses a recompete

What should you assess when a contractor loses a recompete?

Assess the company's own corporate records before the contract team disbands and the systems tied to the program are switched off. A lost recompete does not erase a contractor's history, but it does start a clock: staff are released or reassigned, program tools are retired, and the people who know where things live leave.

Government-facing deliverables, customer-furnished data and anything the contract controls are not the company's to license. The assessment is about the contractor's own layer: finance, HR, proposal operations, internal engineering and IT service history held on systems the company controls. Whether any of it qualifies for a SourceX introduction depends on size, history, breadth and rights.

Partners make introductions and give basic fit information only. You never export, upload or describe confidential records.

Who is this playbook for?

Restructuring and wind-down professionals, interim executives, CFOs advising a contractor after a loss, and M&A advisors for contractors considering a sale after a lost program. The same steps apply whether the company will keep operating on other contracts, be acquired, or wind down. Status still operating, acquired or wound down can all qualify if the data still exists.

What is the timeline after a loss?

Contract terms, transition clauses and notice periods differ by agreement, so treat the table as a planning frame rather than a schedule.

The pattern mirrors other system-retirement moments: the cheapest time to save a record is before the account is closed.

Which records may remain the company's own?

When the classification is unclear, the company and its counsel decide, and anything uncertain stays out of the discussion.

The recompete 5-point screen

• Size: 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), counting the whole company, not only the lost program.
• History: several years of documented operations, including systems from earlier contracts.
• Corporate layer: the company controls its own accounting, HR, proposal and IT records outside the lost program.
• Authority: an owner, CEO, CFO or authorized representative can sponsor a decision. For a wind-down, add the court, trustee, assignee or lender who controls assets.
• Preservation: admin access and exports exist, or can be secured before accounts close.

A company that fails on size or authority is usually a stop. A company that fails only on preservation may still qualify if exports can be recovered quickly. Run the preliminary company fit checker for a non-binding screen.

What to say to the executive team

What changes if the company is winding down or in insolvency?

If a court, trustee, receiver or assignee controls the assets, that party must be involved before any introduction proceeds. A company in an insolvency process cannot simply decide alone, and approvals may be required. This is a red flag in the program rules until the controlling party agrees. If an acquirer is part of the picture, the buy-and-build sectors guide shows how sponsors think about add-ons. Professional-services contractors can compare their records with the architecture firm brief, and distribution-heavy contractors with the Epicor Prophet 21 system brief, which show how an inventory is framed by system. Advisors who work mainly with contractors can also read the GovCon advisor page.

What should be preserved, and by whom?

Name one internal owner, usually the CFO, controller or head of IT, and ask for a simple list rather than a data pull. For each corporate system, the list should show the platform, the years it covers, who holds administrator access, and whether a full export exists. Keep it free of record contents.

Do not ask the company to copy anything to you, and do not describe individual records in emails. The list is what the later data inventory builds on, and the data inventory builder can help structure it. Preservation notes should also say which systems are retained under legal hold, because those are handled by counsel first.

How do rewards work?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 cumulative per referred company. The reward is payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, and no reward is guaranteed. It is never deducted from what the company receives. Fiduciaries and court-appointed professionals should check whether accepting a referral payment is permitted or must be disclosed under their appointment and local rules. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel before acting.

When is this the wrong move?

• Most of the company's records live inside a customer-controlled environment.
• The loss triggered a dispute or investigation where preservation obligations apply; counsel must clear any activity first.
• Archives were deleted or tools cancelled without export.
• Data was already licensed for AI training.
• Under 50 full-time employees at peak.

Next step

If a client has just lost a recompete, have the CFO list which corporate systems exist and who holds admin rights, then run the fit screen. If it passes, register as a partner and make the introduction, or have the company apply at sourcex.si/apply. The who qualifies page lists the full baseline.