How to Get Started with Government Bidding as a Contractor

The U.S. federal government spends over $700 billion on contracts every year, and a legally mandated 23% of that is reserved specifically for small businesses. Yet most small contractors never tap into it — not because they can't compete, but because they don't know where to start. This guide walks you through exactly what to do, in order, without the fluff.

Step 1: Get Your Business Legally and Structurally Ready

Before you can bid on a single government contract, you need to complete a few foundational registrations. Skipping these will disqualify you immediately.

• Get a DUNS Number / UEI: The federal government transitioned from DUNS numbers to Unique Entity Identifiers (UEI) in 2022. You'll obtain your UEI when you register in SAM.gov — it's free and assigned automatically.
• Register on SAM.gov: The System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is the federal government's primary vendor database. Registration is free but takes 7–10 business days to activate. You'll need your EIN, banking info for direct deposit, and NAICS codes that describe your business. You must renew annually or your registration lapses and you're ineligible to receive payments.
• Identify Your NAICS Codes: North American Industry Classification System codes define what your business does. Choosing the right codes is critical — agencies use them to find vendors and to determine whether you qualify as a small business under size standards. A roofing contractor, for example, falls under NAICS 238160, with a small business size standard of $19 million in average annual receipts.
• Consider Certifications: If your business qualifies, certifications like 8(a) (socially and economically disadvantaged businesses), HUBZone, WOSB (Women-Owned Small Business), or SDVOSB (Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned) open set-aside contracts that reduce your competition dramatically. The SBA administers most of these, and some can be self-certified.

Pro tip: Many first-time contractors underestimate the time SAM.gov registration takes. Start this process 3–4 weeks before you plan to submit any bids.

Step 2: Find the Right Opportunities to Bid On

Not all government contracts are created equal. Bidding on the wrong ones wastes time and money. The goal is to find contracts where you have a realistic chance of winning and where the contract value justifies the effort of preparing a proposal.

Where to find opportunities:

• SAM.gov: All federal contracts above $25,000 must be posted here. You can search by NAICS code, agency, set-aside type, and location. Below $25,000 (micro-purchases), agencies can buy directly from vendors without a formal competition.
• State and local portals: Each state has its own procurement portal (e.g., COMMBUYS in Massachusetts, BidSync in Texas). Municipal contracts are often posted separately. This layer of government is frequently overlooked and has less competition.
• Agency-specific portals: The DoD uses DIBBS for certain parts and materials. NASA uses SEWP. GSA has its own MAS (Multiple Award Schedule) program. Some of the best opportunities live inside agency-specific systems, not on SAM.gov.

The practical challenge: monitoring all of these simultaneously is a full-time job. Most small contractors either miss opportunities or waste hours manually checking portals. Tools like GovSignal use AI to monitor government procurement sources continuously and alert you when relevant contracts are posted — filtering by your NAICS codes, location, agency, and contract size so you only see what matters to your business.

How to evaluate an opportunity before you bid:

• Is this a new contract or a re-compete? Re-competes often go back to the incumbent unless there's a problem.
• What's the incumbent's performance record? Check USASpending.gov to see who currently holds the contract.
• Is the scope realistic for your team size and capacity?
• Is the timeline for proposal submission achievable given your current workload?

Step 3: Write a Competitive Proposal

Government proposals are structured documents that follow specific instructions laid out in the solicitation (the RFP or RFQ). Ignoring those instructions — even partially — can result in automatic disqualification.

Every proposal has two critical components: technical and price. Many small contractors win on price and lose on technical, or vice versa. You need both.

Technical volume: Demonstrate that you understand the requirement, have a clear approach to delivering it, and have relevant past performance. Past performance is often the hardest section for new contractors. If you're new to government work, document relevant commercial work that mirrors what the government needs. Agencies understand that everyone starts somewhere.

Price volume: Government buyers often use competitive range analysis. Prices too far above or below the median raise red flags. Research historical pricing on similar contracts using USASpending.gov and GovWin (a paid tool) before you build your pricing model. Understand whether the contract is firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials, or cost-reimbursable — each affects how you structure your bid.

Common mistakes to avoid:

• Not asking questions during the Q&A period — those answers become part of the official solicitation
• Proposing a team or personnel you don't actually have access to
• Submitting late — the government does not accept late submissions, period
• Using marketing language instead of factual, measurable claims

Step 4: Build Relationships and Understand the Pipeline

Government contracting is a relationship business — legally constrained, but still a relationship business. Agencies publish Sources Sought notices and Requests for Information (RFIs) before formal solicitations. Responding to these gets you on the agency's radar and sometimes shapes the eventual RFP in your favor.

Attend industry days. Meet contracting officers and program managers at trade shows like the SAME Small Business Conference or agency-specific events. Join your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) — they offer free or low-cost counseling specifically for contractors entering government work.

Teaming is another powerful strategy. If a contract is too large for your company alone, partner with a prime contractor as a subcontractor to build past performance. Then pursue primes yourself once you have a track record.

Government contracting rewards persistence. Most contractors don't win their first bid — or their second. The companies that succeed treat it as a long-term business development channel, not a one-time transaction. Staying consistently aware of what's being posted, who's buying, and when contracts are coming up for renewal is what separates contractors who grow a government book of business from those who give up.

If you're serious about making government contracting a reliable revenue stream, monitoring the market consistently is non-negotiable. GovSignal is built specifically for small contractors who can't afford to hire a full-time business development team — it tracks federal, state, and local opportunities using AI, surfaces the ones most relevant to your business, and alerts you before deadlines so you never miss a bid worth winning.