Methodology · version 1.0.0
How the Contractor Score works
A transparent 0–100 score for every organisation that holds New York State contracts. Eight factors add or subtract points from a base of 50, and every contribution is shown on the profile.
The Contractor Score measures public contracting activity on record: how much, how broad, how long and how recent. It is not a rating of quality or performance, and it is not an endorsement.
- Extensive 80–1004,809 · 13%
- Established 65–795,346 · 14%
- Moderate 50–6410,510 · 27%
- Limited 35–4913,970 · 36%
- Minimal 0–343,707 · 10%
Labels describe the amount of contracting activity on record, not how good a company is.
What it measures
The Contractor Score summarises a company's public contracting record with New York State agencies: how much contract value it holds, how many agencies it works with, how long it has held contracts, how recently it won one, and the mix of work. When we can match the company to a registered business, its federal award history and federal registration add a bonus.
It is computed the same way for every contractor, it is the same for every visitor, and nobody can pay to change it.
What it is not
- Not a quality rating. It says nothing about workmanship, service, safety, compliance or customer satisfaction.
- Not an endorsement or a recommendation to hire, and not a prediction that a company will win a bid.
- Not a credit or financial-strength rating. Contract value is not revenue.
- Certifications are not scored. M/WBE, SDVOB and similar certifications appear as badges for reference only.
The formula
Every contractor starts at 50. Each factor has a weight w, a sub-score s between 0 and 1, a confidence c (0 when the data is missing) and a typical value p (the median sub-score of all scored contractors). Its contribution is K × w × c × (s − p) with K = 1.3, rounded to one decimal. The score is 50 + Σ contributions, rounded and held between 0 and 100. A factor with missing data contributes exactly 0, so gaps in the record never push a score up or down.
The eight factors
| Factor | Weight | Typical (p) | Most it can add / subtract | What it looks at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contract volume | 25 | 0.33 | +21.8 / −10.7 | Total current contract value, on a logarithmic scale between the 10th and 99th percentile of all scored contractors, so a $2M contractor and a $200M contractor are both placed fairly. |
| Recent activity | 20 | 0.17 | +21.6 / −4.4 | How many contracts are active today (end date today or later), blended with how recently the latest contract was approved. |
| Agency breadth | 15 | 0.20 | +15.6 / −3.9 | How many different state agencies and facilities the contractor holds contracts with. |
| Experience | 15 | 0.80 | +3.9 / −15.6 | Years since the first contract on record started. |
| Contract-type mix | 10 | 0.33 | +8.7 / −4.3 | How many contract types the contractor holds, and how much of its value is in goods-and-services contracts (construction, consulting, services, commodities, equipment, printing) rather than grants, leases or transfers. |
| Spending vs. value | 5 | 0.73 | +1.8 / −4.7 | On completed contracts, spending recorded to date compared with the contract value. Weighted lightly and worded neutrally: finishing under the full value is common and is never treated as a failure. |
| Federal award history | 6 | 0.00 | +7.8 / 0 | Federal award history, when the contractor is matched to a registered business. A bonus only: it can add points, and not having one is neutral. |
| Federal registration | 4 | 0.00 | +5.2 / 0 | An active registration to do business with the federal government, when matched. A bonus only. |
Curves
- Active contracts: 0 → 0.00 · 1 → 0.45 · 2 → 0.58 · 3 → 0.66 · 5 → 0.76 · 10 → 0.88 · 25 → 1.00 (60% of recent activity), with recency since the latest approval: 0 y → 1.00 · 1 y → 0.85 · 2 y → 0.70 · 3 y → 0.55 · 5 y → 0.35 · 8 y → 0.15 · 12 y → 0.00 (40%).
- Agencies: 1 → 0.20 · 2 → 0.42 · 3 → 0.55 · 5 → 0.70 · 10 → 0.85 · 20 → 0.95 · 40 → 1.00.
- Years of history: 0 y → 0.00 · 1 y → 0.12 · 2 y → 0.25 · 5 y → 0.50 · 10 y → 0.72 · 15 y → 0.85 · 20 y → 0.93 · 30 y → 1.00.
- Contract types: 1 → 0.30 · 2 → 0.55 · 3 → 0.70 · 5 → 0.85 · 8 → 1.00 (60%), plus the goods-and-services share (40%).
- Spending vs. value: 0% → 0.35 · 25% → 0.45 · 50% → 0.55 · 75% → 0.65 · 90% → 0.72 · 100% → 0.75 · 115% → 0.72 · 150% → 0.60; confidence grows with the number of completed contracts (full at 5).
- Federal award history: logarithmic from $25K to $50M (80%) plus the number of awards (20%).
Grades and labels
Labels describe the amount of contracting activity on record, not how good a company is.
| Score | Grade | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 80–100 | Extensive | |
| 65–79 | Established | |
| 50–64 | Moderate | |
| 35–49 | Limited | |
| 0–34 | Minimal |
Data confidence
Next to every score: the share of the weight backed by data, Σ w × c. High from 75, Medium from 50, Low from 0. Contractors we can't match to a registered business have no federal factors, which caps their confidence below 100 without changing their score.
Who gets a profile
Organisations only. Vendors whose name is a person's name (individual grantees, landlords, sole proprietors trading under their own name) get no public page, no score and no contact details; their contracts still count in agency totals. Profiles with very little on record (one small, ended contract and no confirmed company details) stay readable but are not offered to search engines. Company details and contacts are shown only when we match the contractor to a registered business with confidence, and only business contact information: never a person's private email or phone.
Live distribution
38,342 contractors are scored today; the median is 51.
| Grade | Contractors |
|---|---|
| A | 4,809 |
| B | 5,346 |
| C | 10,510 |
| D | 13,970 |
| F | 3,707 |
FAQ
Why is a well-known company scored lower than I expected?
Does a lower score mean a company did something wrong?
How often does it change?
This is my company. Can I change the score?
RFP Detector is an independent service and is not affiliated with any government agency. Scores are informational.