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Free guides for small businesses that are new to selling to the US government — from your first SAM.gov registration to defending your first recompete. No jargon without a definition, no assumptions about what you already know.
01
What federal contracting is, how to register, and the programs that give small businesses a real advantage.
The US federal government buys roughly $700 billion of goods and services every year — and it is required by law to steer a meaningful share of that spending to small businesses. Here is how the market works and why you can compete in it.
SAM.gov registration is the mandatory first step for federal contracting — and it is completely free. A walkthrough of UEI, CAGE codes, the registration steps, annual renewal, and the paid-registration scams to avoid.
Set-asides reserve contracts for small businesses — and socioeconomic programs like 8(a), WOSB, SDVOSB, and HUBZone reserve them further. Who qualifies, how certification works, and why these programs are the fastest path to your first win.
02
How agencies classify what they buy, and how to read a solicitation without drowning in it.
NAICS codes classify what industry you are in; PSC codes classify what the government is buying. Together they determine which opportunities you see, whether you count as small, and whether agencies can find you.
Federal solicitations look intimidating, but they follow a predictable structure. What RFQs, RFPs, and IFBs are, what Sections C, L, and M actually mean, how CLINs work, and why amendments and Q&A periods matter.
03
Compliance-first proposal writing, evaluation factors, and the mistakes that get new bidders eliminated.
04
Performance ratings, recompetes, and the contract vehicles that turn one win into a pipeline.
CPARS is the government's report card on contractors, and its ratings follow you into every future competition. How evaluations work, why strong ratings compound, and how to respond when you disagree with one.
Most federal work is not new — it is existing contracts coming up for recompete. How incumbency works, what IDIQs, GWACs, and GSA Schedules are, and when a growing contractor should invest in a contract vehicle.
05
The terms you'll see on solicitations and inside Govetract, in one or two sentences each.
Matched SAM.gov opportunities, RFP parsing, AI-drafted proposal sections you review and export, and tracking for your own contracts' recompetes.