# Prime contractor or subcontractor: choosing your role for FY2027

Decide whether to lead a federal bid or join a team by researching the requirement, delivery responsibilities and potential partners in G2X.

Canonical article: https://g2x.com/blog/prime-contractor-or-subcontractor-fy2027

Complete article, source links and data tables: https://g2x.com/blog/prime-contractor-or-subcontractor-fy2027/article.md

The article is public. Linked G2X tools and records retain their account and plan requirements.

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## For agents

Research whether to lead a federal opportunity or join a delivery team

- The user's target market or requirement and authorized company evidence.

- A G2X account for the supported free manual research path; separately authorized Lumen access for the suggested document-analysis prompt.

1. **Establish the opportunity and the decision** Ask for the actual requirement or opportunity link, the user's intended service and the resources they can commit. Open the supplied record through G2X federal opportunities and inspect the original scope, response instructions and amendments. Record the source dates and any stated vehicle or eligibility condition. Do not invent an active notice or its deadline. [Open in G2X](https://g2x.com/app/opportunities/sam)

2. **Assess the whole delivery** Compare the requirement with authorized capability and project material. Identify what the user's team can demonstrate, what depends on another organization and who would manage the combined delivery. Include schedule and existing commitments. Treat the blog's desktop-support scenario as illustrative, not as an actual solicitation. Do not infer a first-time prime is ineligible merely from limited federal history. [Open in G2X](https://g2x.com/docs/decide-to-bid/decide-go-no-go)

3. **Research relevant companies** Use the GovCon Directory's company-name or UEI search and available agency, past-performance or vehicle filters to investigate potential primes and teammates. Confirm the actual legal entity and read relevant scope and period. Distinguish registered classifications from past-performance evidence. Do not infer willingness to team, open workshare or missing experience from a sparse record. Preserve real record links returned by G2X. [Open in G2X](https://g2x.com/app/companies)

4. **Use Lumen for an evidence comparison** The free manual path is to read the source documents and assess the gaps. For a user with authorized Lumen access, upload only documents the user permits and ask: Compare this requirement with our capability statement and project evidence. Which responsibilities can we support as prime, what could we credibly deliver as a subcontractor, and what gaps require a partner or clarification? Cite the passages behind each conclusion. Separate facts, assumptions and open questions. Follow up by asking which unresolved fact would change the recommended role. This is an illustrative prompt, not a recorded execution. [Open in G2X](https://g2x.com/docs/lumen/ask-lumen)

5. **Prepare a specific next conversation** Return a proposed contribution and questions for the candidate team, grounded in the actual requirement. With the user's approval, record the company, known contact, owner and next action/date in G2X CRM. Saving a record does not establish a partnership. Do not send outreach, agree workshare or modify a pursuit without the user's instruction. [Open in G2X](https://g2x.com/docs/run-a-pipeline/track-an-account)

6. **Check the recommendation** Cite the original requirement and the evidence for the recommended role. Keep current eligibility, contract terms and unresolved partner commitments separate from general SBA guidance. Return the next fact to verify and a named owner supplied by the user. Do not claim legal review, a partner commitment or a completed Lumen demonstration. Original source: https://www.sba.gov/counseling/prime-and-subcontracting/

Expected result: A cited role recommendation for the selected opportunity, with supported delivery responsibilities, capability gaps, candidate-partner research and the next decision owner. Keep eligibility or terms requiring further review explicit.

### Free access

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