How to Get Government Contracts: A Step-by-Step Guide for Small Businesses

1. Know who buys what

Federal, state, county, city, school district and university buyers all purchase services and products from private companies. Federal agencies post most opportunities on SAM.gov; states and local governments use their own bid portals. The work ranges from lawn care and janitorial service to HVAC repair, construction, IT, and training. If you do it for commercial customers, there is almost certainly a government buyer for it.

2. Pick your NAICS codes

Every opportunity is tagged with a NAICS code that describes the work, and each code has an SBA size standard that decides whether you count as a small business. Choose the two or three codes that best match what you actually do. Use our NAICS code lookup to see each code's size standard and open jobs.

3. Register in SAM.gov (free)

To be paid on a federal contract you need an active registration in SAM.gov, which gives you a Unique Entity ID (UEI). Registration is free; anyone charging you to register is a private company, not the government. Plan for it to take a few weeks, and renew it every year. State and local buyers have their own vendor registrations, also usually free.

4. Check which set-asides you qualify for

Many contracts are reserved for small businesses. Some are reserved further for specific groups: the SBA 8(a) program, women-owned small businesses (WOSB), HUBZone firms, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB). Certifications take time, but even without one, plain small-business set-asides are open to you once you are registered.

5. Find opportunities that fit

Search by your NAICS codes and your area. Start with smaller, local jobs: short requests for quotes (RFQs) with a simple statement of work are the easiest to win and to deliver. You can search open government contracts by trade and state on XL Eagle, free and with no login.

6. Read the solicitation carefully

Read the whole package before you price anything: the scope of work, the period of performance, the place of performance, the evaluation criteria (lowest price, or best value), the due date and time zone, and every attachment. Note any site visit and the deadline for questions. Most losing bids miss something written in the solicitation.

7. Price it to win and to profit

Build your price from the bottom up: labor (on service contracts, at least the rates in the attached wage determination), materials, equipment, travel, insurance, overhead and profit. Then check past award prices for similar work on USAspending.gov so you know where the market is.

8. Write a quote that is easy to score

Answer exactly what was asked, in the order it was asked, using the same headings and terms as the solicitation. Fill in every form, sign where required, and include past performance from commercial work if you have no government history yet. A clear, complete short quote beats a long, polished one that skips a requirement.

9. Submit on time and follow up

Submit in the exact way the solicitation says (portal, email, or both), before the deadline, and keep proof of submission. If you lose, ask for a debrief; it costs nothing and tells you how to win the next one.

10. Two shortcuts to your first contract

If you want to bid in your own name but need help writing the quote, XL Eagle writes proposals for vendors for $19.99.

If you would rather skip registrations and federal paperwork entirely, team with a prime. XL Eagle LLC (UEI K6SYWSWZAMY9, CAGE 11R42) is a federal prime contractor: you give us your price, we write and submit the bid under our registrations, and if we win, you do the work as our subcontractor. It is free to you; our margin is added on top of your price. We have won $2.3 million across 47 federal awards from 7 departments, all public record on USAspending.gov.

Frequently asked questions