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Solicitation no. 19MJ1923Q0008 Q&A nr. 2
In accordance with SOW, contractor prepares monthly calculations of mandatory contributions, payroll taxes and municipal taxes for Locally Employed Staff employees based on US Embassy’s Earning and Leave Statements; prepares tables, electronic and paper forms, IOPPD and all additional documentation that needs to be submitted to local funds etc., all in accordance with Montenegrin legislation.
Q: In your answer within Pre‐Proposal Conference from 6 July 2023 regarding the model of the contract you stated:
Contract will contain same clauses as the Solicitation Document contains. Clauses from Section 2 which will be applicable to the subsequent Contract are already contained in Solicitation Document shared with you.
We would like to ask you for more information on contents of the contract, if possible, to be able to understand basic rights and obligations of the contractual parties. It seems to us that the provisions linked to the Section 2 are general and do not bring us closer to the contents of our particular service contract.
| A: | As previously explained, the contract will have the same Clauses as the Solicitation document. The content of the contract will be the SF-1449, Section I – The Schedule, The Continuations to SF-1449 which includes the Pricing part and the Performance Work Statement. Besides that, the Section 2 – Contract Clauses are mandatory part of the Contract. |
| The services to be furnished under this contract shall be ordered by issuance of task orders by the individuals or activities designated in the Schedule. Such orders may be issued from approximately September 1, 2023, through August 31, 2028, but the first year would be the Base year which would be starting September 1, 2023 ending August 30, 2024. Afterwards, the extension of the Option years will be consequent to availability of funds for the next fiscal year and contractors well performance. |
| Q: | Should the offeror be aware of an certain page limit to the proposal? |
| A: | No page limit to the proposal. |
| Q: | Should the offeror be aware of a certain font size to the proposal? |
| A: | No size limits to the proposal. |
| Q: | Can the buyer identify the software currently being used? |
| A: | Buyer has no information other than software developed by Montenegrin institutions is used, to make sure to comply with Montenegrin laws |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise if there will be a transition period between the current offeror and new offeror if selected? |
| A: | There will be no transition period. |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise if there will be a parallel final run? |
| A: | Not sure what this refers to – if referring to having final month processed by both current and newly selected contractor, that will not be the case |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise how time is currently being tracked? |
| A: | If referring to time and attendance, this is responsibility of the US Embassy Podgorica – contractor will receive from US Embassy Podgorica Earning and Leave Statements with net/gross amounts and leave balances. |
| Q: | Can the buyer provide information on how the benefits deduction is being funded to the provider? |
| A: | Not applicable. Contractor is paid monthly fee for their services. |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise if there are any bonus payroll runs? If so, how many and when? |
| A: | There are no bonus payroll runs. There are twelve monthly payroll runs. |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror if payroll is weekly, bi-weekly, or semi monthly? |
| A: | Employees are paid biweekly. As per Montenegrin regulations, contributions are paid monthly. For example, the contractor will receive two Earning and Leave Statements per employee for June, so that based on cumulative gross amount they can calculate mandatory contributions, payroll taxes and municipal taxes etc. |
| Q: | Can the buyer identify how much time the current payroll process takes for one run? |
| A: | No, information is not available to us |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror how many hourly and salaried employees are currently on the existing payroll? |
| A: | Currently 3 hourly (When Actually Employed) and 192 salaried. |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror if any contractors are processed with payroll? |
| A: | Currently no contractors processed with payroll |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror who will file third quarter payroll reports? |
| A: | Not applicable – all reports to be submitted in accordance with Montenegrin regulations (monthly and yearly). |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror of the current payment methods provided to the staff? i.e. direct deposit, pay card, or check. |
| A: | Payment processed internally, no Contractor involvement |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror if there is an internal payroll approval process to occur prior to submission? |
| A: | Payment processed internally, no Contractor involvement. |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror what the current pay cycle is? |
| A: | Can the buyer advise the offeror what the current pay cycle is? - Employees are paid biweekly. As per Montenegrin regulations, contributions are paid monthly. For example, the contractor shall receive two Earning and Leave Statements per employee for June, so that based on cumulative gross amount they can calculate mandatory contributions, payroll taxes and municipal taxes. |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror of any current payroll challenges with the current process? |
| A: | N/A |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror of the current data storage capabilities for payroll reports? |
| A: | Data exchange done in person, by Embassy Representative’s visit to contractor office in Podgorica for data transfer via USB device. |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror if the current provider will create W-2's for the months that they processed? |
| A: | No Contractor’s involvement |
| Q: | Can the buyer advise the offeror what your PTO and Benfits policy currently consist of? |
| A: | These details will be disclosed to the selected contractor. |
Department of State