Akros Strategy reviews finished government submissions against the solicitation that governs them and returns a written report: what would disqualify the bid, what would cost points, and what to fix first with the time remaining.
Two solicitation types call for two different reviews. A proposal is scored by an evaluation committee against published criteria, so the review targets how it will be read and scored. An Invitation to Bid awards to the lowest responsive bidder with no criteria at all, so the review targets responsiveness instead. Proposal review is the main service and is covered first.
A proposal review is a structured assessment of a finished or near-finished submission against the solicitation it answers. The reviewer is not on your proposal team and wrote no part of the document. That distance is the point. An evaluation committee reads your proposal cold, without the context in your head, and scores only what is on the page. The review reproduces that reading while there is still time to act on it.
The output is a written Evaluation Readiness Report. It records where the submission misses a mandatory requirement, where an evaluation criterion is thinly covered relative to its weight, where an evaluator has to hunt for an answer, and what to correct first given the days you have left.
Every finding is tied to the solicitation. We work from the document the agency issued and every addendum it published, not from general best practice.
Scored by an evaluation committee against published criteria. Six areas make up the review, and every engagement covers all six.
A comprehensive assessment of how well your proposal maps to the solicitation’s evaluation criteria — where an evaluator would gain or lose points.
Core of every engagementA section-by-section check against solicitation instructions, formatting, and mandatory requirements to reduce the risk of avoidable disqualification.
Whether your credentials, staffing, and references are documented in the form the solicitation asks for, and whether an evaluator can verify them without inference.
Improvements to structure, headings, and flow so evaluators can locate and confirm your responses quickly and confidently.
Guidance on framing strengths, discriminators, and value in language aligned with how public buyers assess competing offers.
A prioritized, plain-language action list — the highest-impact changes to make before you submit, ranked by effort and effect.
Proposal reviews run $425 to $3,800, set by opportunity size, page count, and turnaround. Invitation to Bid reviews are a flat $99, covered further down. Prices are per review, with no subscription and no minimum, and every figure is published in full on the pricing page.
Not every bid needs one. These are the situations where an independent read reliably earns its fee.
Findings fall into five groups. The first group ends bids outright. The others cost points.
The last group reflects work on the government side after award. Commitments written to score well and impossible to deliver create problems that surface long after the evaluation is over.
Findings are documented from the evaluation committee’s perspective — structured, specific, and ready to act on before you submit.
Mechanical checks are automated. No report is issued without human review.
An overall readiness rating for your submission, from the scoring side of the table.
A careful review of mandatory requirements and submission documents.
How your response positions against the solicitation’s evaluation criteria.
Whether your credentials come through clearly to a reviewer.
How your proposal reads to the people who score it.
Clear, ranked guidance on what to address before you submit.
Four ways to get a government submission checked or produced. They solve different problems at very different prices, and one of them is free.
| Category | Akros StrategyIndependent review | Review platformSoftware subscription | Proposal writing firmOutsourced production | APEX AcceleratorGovernment-funded counseling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you receive | A written Evaluation Readiness Report: score, findings tied to the solicitation, and a ranked list of fixes. | A software workspace, AI-generated working outputs, and a set number of staff-verified reviews each month. | A written or co-written proposal, often with capture support. | Counseling on registration, opportunity matching, and general bid guidance. |
| Who does the work | The Akros Strategy review team. Reviewers who have worked the government side of federal, state, and county procurement, including evaluation and award. Every report is issued under the founder’s review. | Vendor staff, with AI-assisted preparation. | Staff proposal writers and capture managers. | Counselors funded to serve every registered vendor in the region. |
| Writes your proposal | No. The content stays yours. | AI drafting is included on higher tiers. | Yes. That is the service. | No. |
| Typical cost | $425 to $3,800 per proposal review, set by opportunity size, page count, and turnaround. Published in full. | From roughly $12,500 for a year, paid upfront. One extra review beyond the monthly allowance is $699. | Not published. Quoted per pursuit. | Free. |
| Commitment | None. Pay per review, bid by bid. | Annual, paid in full. Unused monthly reviews do not carry over. | Per pursuit, or a monthly retainer. | None. |
| Turnaround | Five business days standard. 72-hour and 48-hour available at published rates. | One to three business day targets, beginning after the vendor accepts the package. Stated as targets rather than guarantees. | Weeks. Engaged early in the bid cycle. | By appointment. Availability varies with regional demand. |
| Suited to | Organizations bidding occasionally that want the finished submission checked before it goes. | Proposal teams bidding continuously, with several people working in the same system. | Organizations that want the document produced for them. | Organizations getting registered and learning the process. |
Scroll the table sideways to compare all four.
Platform figures are taken from SourceFlag’s published pricing page and were checked on 3 September 2026. Writing-firm pricing is not published by the firms reviewed, so no figure is stated here.
Worth reading before you pay rather than after.
An Invitation to Bid awards to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. There are no evaluation criteria and no scoring committee, so a strong narrative earns nothing. A single missing form, an unacknowledged addendum, or an altered bid schedule is enough to have the lowest price rejected without consideration.
The ITB review is a fixed checklist rather than an assessment. There are no evaluation criteria to map and no narrative to judge, so the work does not grow with page count the way a proposal review does. We work the bid package against the solicitation’s mandatory submittals and confirm each one is present, current, and in the form the agency asked for. One flat price at any size.
$99 flat, three business days. $199 for 48-hour turnaround. Any bid package up to 100 pages; larger packages are quoted individually.
No sales call and no scoping exercise. Send the solicitation and your draft, and the report comes back on the turnaround you paid for.
Enter opportunity size, pages, and your due date, then pay for the turnaround you need.
The solicitation, every addendum, and the draft you intend to submit.
Mechanical checks are automated. No report is issued without human review.
Findings, scoring exposure, and a ranked list of what to fix first.
A colleague reads with the context already in their head, which is exactly the context an evaluation committee does not have. The review is run against the solicitation by reviewers who have worked the government side of it, and the output is a documented report rather than a conversation.
Send it if you want it reviewed. We check that pricing is presented on the cost form as issued, that arithmetic reconciles, and that assumptions or exceptions do not create a responsiveness problem. We do not advise on what to charge.
Send it as soon as you have it. If it arrives before the report is issued it is incorporated. If it arrives after, tell us and we will say plainly whether it affects any finding.
Yes, and it is a common reason to book. A review of a submitted or unsuccessful proposal tells you what to change on the next one. It cannot alter the submission already with the agency.
Standard turnaround is five business days from receipt of a complete document set. Priority is 72 hours and expedited is 48. For anything under 48 hours, contact us before booking so availability can be confirmed.
No. We decline the second engagement on any solicitation we are already working. If a conflict surfaces after payment, we withdraw and refund in full. The rule is written into our terms of service.
Yes, for mechanical checks. Human review is a required step and no report is issued without it. Your bid materials are never reused as samples.
Client bid materials are confidential, are never shown to another client, and are retained for twelve months before deletion. Full detail is in our privacy policy.
Its contract value, page count, and due date return an exact figure, and you can book from the same screen.