---
title: "The price index is in the bid. Where is the proof?"
description: "When a public buyer requires an index-based price, the right number in a spreadsheet is only part of the response. Check the source, the buyer's required evidence and the path into the quote."
date: "2026-11-02T13:38:44.779310+00:00"
canonical: "https://g2x.com/blog/verify-price-index-proof-government-quote"
---

# The price index is in the bid. Where is the proof?

When a public buyer requires an index-based price, the right number in a spreadsheet is only part of the response. Check the source, the buyer's required evidence and the path into the quote.

Original article: https://g2x.com/blog/verify-price-index-proof-government-quote

A pricing team can have a complete-looking workbook and still be missing the evidence the buyer asked to see. For an index-based bid, start by separating the supplier's price from the published index that the solicitation requires. They may be related, but one is not automatically proof of the other.

An Army request for bulk propane at Dugway Proving Ground illustrates the distinction. This [historical solicitation](https://sam.gov/opp/7aaf0b0b5f7f4655bb468fe452b1bb04/view) closed on May 6, 2026; it is not an open opportunity. Its revised instructions required offerors to use the April 23, 2026 Butane-Propane News posting for AePEX Energy in Las Vegas as a common pricing baseline. The buyer also required verifiable proof of that specific published price as an attachment to Volume III. The instructions said a quote would be unacceptable without the proof.

The buyer listed three acceptable forms: an authorized excerpt from the newsletter, a screenshot of the pricing table, or a certified letter from the bulk supplier confirming the published rate for the specified date and hub. A current supplier quote by itself does not establish what that historical index showed. Neither public pricing template contains an offeror's actual index input.

For a current opportunity, start with the latest issuer instructions and check what evidence they actually accept. With account access, a team can use [G2X's SAM.gov opportunity filters](https://g2x.com/docs/find-work/filter-sam-opportunities) to find federal work, then follow the original notice and attachments. An issuer's public site and a local worksheet offer a manual route. No G2X search was executed for this example.

## Match the evidence to the current amendment

The Dugway buyer first specified the April 23 posting for Altamont, Utah. A later amendment said that posting was no longer published and replaced it with the Las Vegas location while keeping the date. The notice also replaced the pricing schedule. A team using the earlier workbook could have the correct date and still be tracing the wrong location.

The two [buyer-provided workbooks](https://sam.gov/opp/7aaf0b0b5f7f4655bb468fe452b1bb04/view#attachments-links) show the change on the Pricing Schedule: C4 holds the date, and C5 changes the location. In the revised file, the named input \`BPN\_Index\_Price\` points to B6. The first price line uses that input in D11, adds the offeror's markup in F11 and multiplies the resulting rate by the estimated gallons in G11. Those formulas were inspected as supplied; no price was entered or recalculated.

For your own quote, have the pricing owner match the evidence to the required source, date, location and unit, then confirm that the supported value reaches the appropriate workbook input. Place the permitted evidence where the current solicitation requires it. Keep the buyer's original template intact and involve the estimator before treating a discrepancy as resolved.

## Check the summary before relying on it

The line calculation is not the whole workbook. In both Dugway templates, a Summary sheet labels a link to the propane total as “All CLINs,” even though separately priced phase-in and phase-out work is excluded from that cell. A second summary labels the total evaluated price as “Propane CLIN Total” and points other summary entries to blank cells. These observations do not prove any submitted quote was wrong. They are reasons to trace labels and references back to the pricing schedule and seek clarification through the buyer's stated process.

The revised instructions also say the markup remains fixed for the life of the contract while requesting a proposed markup for the base year and each option year. If that wording matters to an estimate, record the question rather than making the spreadsheet decide it. The contemplated pricing arrangement was fixed price with economic price adjustment based on established prices; the evaluation baseline alone does not establish a current market price or how a later adjustment would operate.

The useful deliverable is a short review record: which amendment and workbook control, what evidence supports the required index, where it is used, and what still needs an answer. With access to [G2X Lumen](https://g2x.com/docs/lumen/ask-a-good-question), an authorized user can compare permitted public instructions and ask for source passages. Confirm that any uploaded file is permitted for Company Library storage, is ready and was actually used; check the result against the original. Keep confidential supplier prices in the team's approved estimating environment.

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## For agents

Verify price-index evidence for a government quote

- Help a pricing team document the buyer's required index evidence and trace it into the correct workbook. Do not contact the buyer, submit an offer or modify a record without the reader's authorization.

1. **Find the current notice** If the reader has access, use the G2X SAM.gov filter guide to find relevant federal work, then follow the issuer's current notice. The reader can also work directly from the public issuer files. No G2X search was executed for this example. [Open in G2X](https://g2x.com/docs/find-work/filter-sam-opportunities)

2. **Review amendments and pricing files** Read the current solicitation, all relevant amendments, pricing instructions and current workbook together. The Dugway notice (https://sam.gov/opp/7aaf0b0b5f7f4655bb468fe452b1bb04/view) is historical and closed. Its second amendment replaced Altamont with the April 23, 2026 AePEX Energy: Las Vegas baseline and replaced the pricing schedule.

3. **Document the required proof** Record the required evidence and submission location. In the historical example, the buyer required proof as a Volume III attachment and listed an authorized newsletter excerpt, a pricing-table screenshot or a certified supplier letter confirming the published rate for the date and hub. Missing proof made the quote unacceptable under those instructions. Do not invent the rate or equate a supplier's offered price with the published index.

4. **Trace the workbook** Compare C4 and C5 in the two Pricing Schedule sheets. In the revised workbook, trace \`BPN\_Index\_Price\` from B6 to D11, F11 and G11. Inspect the summary labels and referenced cells against the schedule, and record the markup-language question. Do not change the original template, fabricate inputs or claim a recalculation or submitted quote.

5. **Check sources with Lumen** If a permitted Lumen upload is available, confirm Company Library authorization, file readiness and actual source use. An illustrative, unexecuted prompt is: “Cite the current index source, date, location, proof and submission requirements; identify the workbook version and unresolved questions.” Check every citation and involve the pricing owner before any external clarification.

Expected result: A source-linked evidence and workbook check with missing proof and open questions visible, not a submitted offer, a calculated market price or a post-award adjustment decision.

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### What does "Match the evidence to the current amendment" include?

The Dugway buyer first specified the April 23 posting for Altamont, Utah. A later amendment said that posting was no longer published and replaced it with the Las Vegas location while keeping the date. The notice also replaced the pricing schedule. A team using the earlier workbook could have the correct date and still be tracing the wrong location.

The two [buyer-provided workbooks](https://sam.gov/opp/7aaf0b0b5f7f4655bb468fe452b1bb04/view#attachments-links) show the change on the Pricing Schedule: C4 holds the date, and C5 changes the location. In the revised file, the named input \`BPN\_Index\_Price\` points to B6. The first price line uses that input in D11, adds the offeror's markup in F11 and multiplies the resulting rate by the estimated gallons in G11. Those formulas were inspected as supplied; no price was entered or recalculated.

For your own quote, have the pricing owner match the evidence to the required source, date, location and unit, then confirm that the supported value reaches the appropriate workbook input. Place the permitted evidence where the current solicitation requires it. Keep the buyer's original template intact and involve the estimator before treating a discrepancy as resolved.

### What does "Check the summary before relying on it" include?

The line calculation is not the whole workbook. In both Dugway templates, a Summary sheet labels a link to the propane total as “All CLINs,” even though separately priced phase-in and phase-out work is excluded from that cell. A second summary labels the total evaluated price as “Propane CLIN Total” and points other summary entries to blank cells. These observations do not prove any submitted quote was wrong. They are reasons to trace labels and references back to the pricing schedule and seek clarification through the buyer's stated process.

The revised instructions also say the markup remains fixed for the life of the contract while requesting a proposed markup for the base year and each option year. If that wording matters to an estimate, record the question rather than making the spreadsheet decide it. The contemplated pricing arrangement was fixed price with economic price adjustment based on established prices; the evaluation baseline alone does not establish a current market price or how a later adjustment would operate.

The useful deliverable is a short review record: which amendment and workbook control, what evidence supports the required index, where it is used, and what still needs an answer. With access to [G2X Lumen](https://g2x.com/docs/lumen/ask-a-good-question), an authorized user can compare permitted public instructions and ask for source passages. Confirm that any uploaded file is permitted for Company Library storage, is ready and was actually used; check the result against the original. Keep confidential supplier prices in the team's approved estimating environment.

- **Where is this page?** https://g2x.com/blog/verify-price-index-proof-government-quote