Funding a field connectivity purchase

Purchasing departments do not need a pitch. They need a cost, a justification and a document trail. This guide is about the third one.

Start with the gap

Funders approve equipment that closes a named gap. Write one paragraph: the towers that go down or saturate, the post that has no path out, the jobsite with no service address. Name the gap before you name the product.

Match the equipment to the program

Preparedness and emergency communications programs commonly allow communications equipment. Read the notice of funding opportunity and confirm two things:

1. Is the category allowable?
2. Is there a cost share or a cap?

If the category is not clearly allowable, ask the program officer in writing and keep the answer.

Build the budget line

A clean budget line has a unit price, a quantity, a shipping cost and a note about tax. FIELDHOLD quotes by email within 24 hours, so you can get a written figure for that line. Volume tiers apply from three units and from ten.

Keep the paperwork

• The written quote and the date you received it.
• The written quote for your exact configuration and quantity.
• The order acknowledgement with lead time.
• The invoice, which names the seller of record.

A note on sole source

If your process requires competition, get two or three quotes and keep them. If it allows a sole source justification, we can provide a letter describing the specific capabilities, such as closed-lid operation and automatic failover, that alternatives do not match.

FIELDHOLD is a brand of Ceasoned Inc. Purchase orders are made to Ceasoned Inc.