INDOT Now Requires Indiana Contractors To Submit Prequalification Applications in ITAP

In order for the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to establish the amount and type of work that contractors can bid on, contractors must apply for prequalification. This rule pertains to prime contractors bidding on INDOT or Local Public Agency projects, or subcontractors with more than $300,000 in total INDOT projects under contract. The prequalification process is based on a contractor’s financials and experience and must be completed prior to bidding on any INDOT work.

INDOT recently rolled out a new process for submission of the prequalification application which is causing some heartburn among contractors. The following information addresses some of the most common questions we have received on this matter.

The prequalification application must now be submitted via the INDOT Technical Application Pathway (ITAP) by registering a user account. The prequalification application consists of three information tabs in ITAP: general, financial, and technical, which must all be completed prior to submission.

Information in the financial tab is to be populated based on audited/reviewed financial statements. Additionally, audited/reviewed financial statements are to be uploaded in the financial tab. The information that is entered in the general and technical tabs will auto-populate when a contractor applies for prequalification next year. The information contained in the general and technical tabs can be updated periodically throughout the year.

This new submission process will make it easier for contractors to submit prequalification applications in future years. However, submitting a prequalification application in 2021 will require additional time to learn the new submission process and work through certain ITAP nuances. INDOT has been very helpful in walking contractors through any ITAP prequalification issues. Some common software program concerns include:

• Entering negative numbers for equity accounts: Currently ITAP does not allow contractors to enter negative numbers for any of the equity accounts such as treasury stock or stockholders’ deficit. In these situations, INDOT recommends leaving those line items blank, which will throw the balance sheet out of balance on a contractor’s statement of financial condition. However, INDOT will use the uploaded financial statements to account for equity accounts that were not entered in the financial tab.
• Uploading PDF documents in the financial tab: Currently ITAP does not allow PDFs to be uploaded in the financial tab (e.g., a PDF of an accounts payable listing cannot be uploaded as support for the accounts payable number entered on line 18). In these instances, INDOT recommends uploading a PDF in the general tab under the “other” section and leave a note in the financial tab saying “see attached PDF in the general tab.”
• Fixed assets listing: Another issue that contractors face is that the fixed assets listing must be in Excel format to be uploaded to line 12, 13, and 14. Some of the fixed assets software programs have limitations that only produce a PDF report of a fixed assets listing, which cannot be uploaded in the financial tab. Again, INDOT recommends uploading a PDF of the fixed assets listing in the general tab and enter the net book value of fixed assets in the financial tab, stating “see attached PDF in general section.”

As contractors learn about this change in the prequalification submission process, INDOT is working to fix some of the bugs in ITAP. There will be a system update and ITAP upgrade on April 26, 2021. All users will need to create an Access Indiana account and link their company’s ITAP business registration to their new Access Indiana account.

If you have any questions regarding this new prequalification application process, please reach out to Zee Malik.