SSJ under FAR part 8.4 - OLAB_Redacted.pdf

ingestion, automated calculations, document production, version control, access controls, workflow tracking, and reporting necessary to execute ACF’s budget responsibilities. Continued operation of BFS is critical to maintain data integrity, workflow continuity, audit traceability, and compliance with Federal budget submission requirements.

Services are currently provided by VertoSoft, LLC under GSA Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) / Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) Task Order No.: GS-35F-688GA/75ACF121F80014. The task order consists of a 12-month base period and four (4), 12-month option periods, and will expire on May 13, 2026.

3. Description of Supplies and/or Services:

The BFS is a mission-embedded operational platform supporting recurring, time-sensitive budget deliverables. The services to be acquired under the resulting task order include:

• Secure hosting of the BFS within a FedRAMP Moderate authorized cloud environment;

• Ongoing operations and maintenance of the existing application;

• Configuration support and maintenance of existing workflows and reporting functions;

• Sustained support for data ingestion, validation, and processing;

• Continuation of user access management and security controls;

• Maintenance of reporting outputs required for HHS, OMB, and Congressional submissions; and

• Ongoing technical support and training consistent with current operations.

The period of performance shall consist of one (1), 12-month base period, four (4), 12-month option periods, and one (1) option to extend services by up to six (6) months as follows:

Base Period: May 14, 2026 – May 13, 2027 Option Period 1: May 14, 2027 – May 13, 2028 Option Period 2: May 14, 2028 – May 13, 2029 Option Period 3: May 14, 2029 – May 13, 2030 Option Period 4: May 14, 2030 – May 13, 2031 Option to Extend Services: May 14, 2031 – November 13, 2031

4. Authority Cited and Rationale: Authority of the FSS Program, Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251, et seq.); Title 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies, as implemented at FAR 8.401 and GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b)(1).

GSAM/R 538.7104-3(b)(1)(iii)- The order should be issued on a sole source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an FSS order already issued on a competitive basis.

This acquisition will be conducted under Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul (RFO) Subpart 8.4, following the ordering procedures at GSA Acquisition Regulation

(GSAR) Subpart 538.71. Pursuant to the authority at GSAR 538.7104-3(b)(1)(iii), the resulting task order will be awarded on a sole source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency, because it is a logical follow-on to an FSS/MAS order already issued on a competitive basis.

Previously competed order:

The proposed task order is a direct continuation of services currently performed by VertoSoft, LLC under Task Order GS-35F-688GA/75ACF121F80014, which was awarded on a competitive basis. The current Task Order established VertoSoft, LLC as the provider responsible for the implementation, configuration, and ongoing maintenance and operational support of the Budget Formulation System (BFS) platform on behalf of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

Connection Between the Previous Order and the Current Requirement:

This requirement does not introduce new or materially different capabilities; rather, it supports the continued operation, maintenance, and support of the existing BFS platform that has been fully implemented, tailored to ACF’s requirements, and maintained over multiple fiscal years.

The previously competed Task Order built and operationalized the BFS platform from the ground up, establishing all system architecture, configurations, integrations, and workflows.

The proposed task order continues that same work of sustaining the platform through ongoing hosting, maintenance, and operational support services necessary to keep the system fully functional for ACF's mission-critical budget formulation activities. These essential operational services are inseparable from the effective use of the platform.

The current platform is deeply integrated into ACF’s budget formulation processes and reflects significant agency-specific configuration, including customized alignment to ACF’s budget structure, embedded financial formulas and automated data relationships, established CJ workflows aligned to HHS and OMB requirements, and historical data sets spanning multiple fiscal years. In addition, the system supports multiple program offices through established user roles, access controls, and workflow dependencies that have been validated through repeated budget cycles.

Efficiencies Gained Through Logical Follow-On Award:

Awarding this Task Order to VertoSoft, LLC as a logical follow-on produces direct and measurable efficiencies for the Government:

• Elimination of redundant startup costs. VertoSoft, LLC possesses complete institutional knowledge of the BFS platform, including its architecture, configuration logic, embedded financial formulas, data relationships, and workflow dependencies. A new vendor would require extensive ramp-up time and cost to reach the same level of operational understanding. Based on prior estimates, development and configuration of a new tool would require approximately 3 months and result in additional costs of approximately , duplicating the Government's investment under the current Task Order.

• Preservation of existing investment. The BFS platform has been configured, validated, and refined over multiple fiscal years specifically to ACF's requirements. This represents a substantial Government investment. Continued performance by the incumbent contractor preserves that investment and ensures its ongoing utility, rather than requiring the Government to fund reconstitution of equivalent capabilities under a new vendor.

• Operational continuity. The incumbent contractor is currently operating the system in an active budget execution environment. A logical follow-on award ensures zero disruption to ongoing budget formulation activities tied to recurring HHS and OMB submission timelines, eliminating the scheduling inefficiencies and performance risks inherent in any transition period.

Avoidance of Substantial Duplication of Cost and Unacceptable Delays

Competing this requirement at this time would result in substantial duplication of costs already incurred and would impose unacceptable delays on mission-critical operations. Specifically, an award to any vendor other than VertoSoft, LLC would necessitate the following re-performance of work already completed and paid for under the prior competed Task Order:

• Migration and validation of historical data spanning multiple fiscal years, which is currently resident in and structured around the existing BFS environment;

• Reconstruction of embedded financial logic and data relationships that were developed, tested, and validated through live budget cycles under the prior order;

• Reconfiguration of workflow architecture, including CJ workflows aligned to HHS and OMB requirements that were purpose-built under the competed order;

• Reestablishment of user access and security controls across multiple program offices, including role definitions and workflow dependencies;

• Development of new Agency-specific templates to replace those already produced and operationalized;

• Execution of parallel system testing to validate a replacement system against existing BFS outputs; and

• User retraining across all program offices to ensure continued reporting accuracy and audit reliability.

Each of these activities represents a direct cost duplication without any commensurate new benefit. Together, they would constitute a significant and unjustifiable expenditure of appropriated funds estimated to exceed

Beyond cost, competing this requirement would introduce unacceptable schedule risk. The BFS platform directly supports ACF's participation in recurring budget formulation cycles governed by statutory HHS submission deadlines. Any transition period overlapping with an active budget cycle would increase the likelihood of reporting errors, compromise audit traceability, and risk the Government's ability to meet its statutory obligations. A new Task Order must be awarded by May 13, 2026 in order to prevent a lapse in services.

Given the continuity of the requirement, the absence of new development needs, and the substantial cost, schedule, and performance risks associated with transition, competing this requirement at this time would not be in the best interest of the Government. An award to VertoSoft, LLC on a logical follow-on basis ensures uninterrupted support of a mission-essential platform and associated services, preserves prior investment, and maintains continuity of operations during a critical budget execution period.

5. Market Research:

Prior to submitting the acquisition package to OMAS, the ACF/OLAB Program Officials conducted market research consistent with the nature, timing and scope of this acquisition.

ACF/OLAB Program Officials have direct operational knowledge of the Budget Formulation System (BFS) platform and associated services currently performed under the existing Task Order.

The Government’s research included (1) a review of available GSA FSS/MAS contract holders under relevant IT Special Item Numbers (SINs), and consideration of required sources in accordance with FAR Part 8, (2) identification and evaluation of comparable, commercially available SaaS-based financial workflow and reporting platforms, and (3) an assessment of the technical and operational feasibility of transitioning performance to an alternative contractor.

Market research indicated that multiple small business FSS/MAS contract holders offer comparable solutions that provide financial workflow and reporting capabilities. However, the Government’s requirement is not for a new or replacement solution, but for the continued operation, support, and administration of the existing BFS environment in its current configured state, without reimplementation. Further analysis determined that these alternative solutions cannot meet the Government’s requirement without modification and reimplementation due to the configured and integrated nature of the current BFS environment. Specifically, the existing BFS platform includes cumulative system configurations, embedded formulas, customized workflows, historical data structures, and user-specific functionality.

The Government evaluated the level of effort required for a new contractor to assume performance, including data migration, reconstruction of formulas and workflows, validation testing, deployment and user training. As discussed in section 4 above, this analysis concluded that transition to another contractor would require a substantial system rebuild and revalidation effort, resulting in unacceptable delays and risk to continuity of operations.

Given the time-sensitive nature of the requirement and the criticality of uninterrupted BFS operations, market research supports the conclusion that only the incumbent contractor can continue performance without unacceptable disruption. Other contractors, while capable of providing similar services in a general sense, cannot meet the Government’s requirement within the required timeframe without significant duplication of cost, schedule delays, and performance risk. Therefore, the award will be issued on a sole source basis.

A copy of the Market Research Report is attached to this SSJ.

6. Procurement history:

a. Contractor: VertoSoft, LLC Contract/Order Number: GS-35F-688GA/75ACF121F80014 Award Date: May 14, 2021 Period of Performance:

Base Period: 05/14/2021 - 05/13/2022 Option Period 1: 05/14/2022 - 05/13/2023 Option Period 2: 05/14/2023 - 05/13/2024 Option Period 3: 05/14/2024 - 05/13/2025 Option Period 4: 05/14/2025 - 05/13/2026

Value (including all options): $1,250,000 Competitive Status: Awarded on a competitive basis among qualified GSA FSS vendors.

7. Actions to Foster Competition for Future, Similar Requirements:

To promote competition in future acquisitions, the ACF/OLAB will continue to assess its requirements and the ability of the current BFS platform and services to meet evolving mission needs. The Government will also conduct ongoing market research to evaluate whether to continue with the current solution, transition to an alternative platform, or adopt a more advanced capability if available in the marketplace. This includes assessing whether other sources, specifically small businesses, are capable of meeting the government’s needs.

In addition, the Government will reassess the requirement during the current period of performance, with a focus on reducing transition barriers and enabling broader competition.

These actions are expected to be initiated during the base period and refined throughout contract performance. Planned actions include:

• Improve documentation and standardization of system configurations, business rules, and data structures to reduce transition barriers;

• Assess data export and portability options to enable efficient migration or integration with alternative solutions;

• Monitoring the marketplace for commercially available platforms and opportunities to modularize requirements where feasible, to meet agency requirements with minimal reliance on customization; and

• Aligning any future competitive acquisition with a natural break in the budget formulation cycle to allow sufficient transition time and minimize operational risk.

9. Technical or Requirements Program Management Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

10. Best Value Determination: As the contracting officer, I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action represents the best value for the Government.

The Government will evaluate price quotations for award purposes by adding the total price for all option periods to the total price for the basic requirement; evaluate the price quotation for consistency with the technical quotation; and confirm that the proposed pricing is contained in the contract holder's respective GSA Schedule contract prior to Task Order award.

11. Contracting Officer (CO) Certification and Approval: I hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge. [Always required; CO approval authority is limited to $900 thousand.]

ELEVATED REVIEWS & APPROVALS

FINAL APPROVAL

12. OMAS Advocate for Competition Review and Approval: I reviewed this justification and find that it adequately supports a sole source acquisition. [Division approval authority is limited to $20 million.]