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Mandra

New to federal work?

Federal agencies buy what you already sell.

Agencies post the job, you quote it, and small businesses get first call on most of it. If you have never bid on government work, this is what to do before your first one.

How federal buying works

An agency that needs work done posts a notice on SAM.gov, the government’s public contracting site. The notice says what the job is, where it is, and when quotes are due.

The documents attached to it are the solicitation: the agency’s full description of the work and exactly how to respond. You read it, decide whether it fits, and send your price the way it asks. There is no invitation to wait for.

A large share of these jobs are set aside: only small businesses may bid, or only businesses in a particular program, such as veteran-owned or women-owned. That is what “first call” means. It is required by federal rules, not a courtesy.

Three reasons people have not bid yet

You did not know they buy what you sell.

They buy almost everything. Roofs, paving, cleaning, grounds, HVAC service, cabling, lab equipment repair, freight, supplies. If a business pays for it, an agency probably does too.

You assumed it was for bigger companies.

Much of it is reserved for small businesses, and the size limit is a revenue limit most independent companies are under. Plenty of jobs are one building, one season, one crew.

You looked, and it seemed too complicated.

Registering is a one-time job of a few weeks. After that, the heavy part is reading solicitations, and that is the part Mandra takes off your desk.

Before your first bid

Three steps, in this order

  1. 1

    Register your business on SAM.gov

    Registration is free. You sign in with a Login.gov account and enter your business’s legal name, address, taxpayer ID and the bank account you want paid into. Two numbers come out of it:

    • UEI (Unique Entity ID), the 12-character number the government uses to identify your business.
    • CAGE code, a second five-character identifier assigned as part of the same registration.

    Allow a few weeks. The government checks your details before the registration goes active, and you cannot be awarded a contract until it does. It has to be renewed every year. Sites that offer to register you for a fee are not the government; you never have to pay for this.

    Register on SAM.gov

  2. 2

    Find your NAICS codes

    A NAICS code is a six-digit number that names a line of work: 238220 is plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, 561720 is janitorial services. Every federal notice carries one, and your registration lists yours. Choose every code that describes work you actually do. Most businesses have a few.

    Each code also sets the size limit for small-business work in that industry: a revenue limit most independent companies are under, or for some industries a head count. SBA publishes the limit for every code. Check yours there before step three.

    SBA size standards

  3. 3

    Choose your set-asides

    A set-aside is a job only certain businesses may bid on. The widest is small business: if you are under the size limit for the code, you say so in your SAM.gov registration.

    The others are programs for particular kinds of business, and each has its own certification through SBA that you apply for separately: service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB), veteran-owned (VOSB), women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB), 8(a) for businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people, and HUBZone for businesses in designated areas. Start with what you hold today. You can add the others as they come through.

    SBA contracting programs

Free, one-to-one help with all three is available from APEX Accelerators, which advise small businesses on registering and bidding at no charge. Find one near you.

You can look before you register

The trial does not ask for a UEI. Tell Mandra what you do and where you work, and watch real notices come in while your registration goes through.

Setup lets you pick your line of work by name, such as plumbing or janitorial, rather than by number, and each set-aside you hold becomes a tab on your list. Eligibility is what you declare. Mandra does not check it, and holding the set-aside you bid under is your responsibility.

You need an active registration to be awarded a contract. You do not need one to see what agencies near you are buying.

See what agencies near you are buying.

Set your line of work and your states. Tomorrow morning the notices that fit are waiting.

Start free trial How it works

7 days free with three reads. Card required at signup, charged on day 8. Reminder email on day 5. Cancel any time.