Bidding on government contracts for the first time is intimidating. The jargon is dense, the processes are bureaucratic, and one wrong move can get your proposal disqualified before anyone reads it.

But here is the thing: thousands of small businesses win their first government contract every year. The process is learnable. You just need someone to walk you through it without the fluff.

This guide covers everything from prerequisites to proposal submission. Follow it step by step.

Step 1: Get Your Prerequisites in Order

Before you can bid on anything, you need three things. Do not skip these — your proposal will be rejected without them.

Register in SAM.gov

SAM.gov (System for Award Management) is the federal government's official contractor database. You must be registered to receive a contract award. Registration is free but can take 2-4 weeks due to validation steps. Read our SAM.gov registration guide for a detailed walkthrough and how to avoid common delays.

During registration you will receive your UEI (Unique Entity Identifier), which replaces the old DUNS number. You need this for everything.

Identify Your NAICS Codes

NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes classify what your business does. Contracting officers use them to categorize opportunities, and your SAM.gov profile lists which codes apply to your business.

Pick the right codes. If you choose codes that do not match your actual capabilities, you will either miss relevant opportunities or bid on things you cannot deliver. We have a complete NAICS code guide that walks through how to pick the right ones.

Get Your Financial House in Order

You will need:

  • An EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS
  • A business bank account
  • Basic financial statements (some contracts require audited financials)
  • General liability insurance (amounts vary by contract)

Step 2: Find Opportunities

Now you need to find contracts worth bidding on. Here is where to look:

SAM.gov Contract Opportunities

Every federal contract above the micro-purchase threshold ($15,000) must be posted on SAM.gov. You can search by keyword, NAICS code, set-aside type, agency, and location.

The problem: SAM.gov's search is unreliable. Saved searches break. Results are noisy. Important opportunities get buried. Our guide on finding government contracts covers better strategies.

Start Small: Micro-Purchases and Simplified Acquisitions

This is the most important advice in this entire guide: do not start by going after a $5 million IDIQ contract.

Start with:

  • Micro-purchases (under $15,000) — These do not even require competitive bidding in most cases. Agencies can buy directly from any qualified small business. Get on GSA Advantage or contact agency small business offices directly.
  • Simplified acquisitions ($15,000 - $250,000) — Shorter proposals, faster decisions, less competition. These are explicitly designed to be accessible to small businesses.

Your first government contract should be small. Win something. Deliver it well. Build past performance. Then go after bigger work. This is how every successful government contractor started.

Set Up Alerts

Do not rely on manually checking SAM.gov every day. At minimum, set up saved searches on SAM.gov. Better yet, use a dedicated alert tool that sends you matching opportunities daily so nothing slips through the cracks.

Step 3: Read the Solicitation (RFP/RFQ/RFI)

You found an opportunity. Now you need to understand what they are actually asking for. Government solicitations come in several flavors:

  • RFI (Request for Information) — The agency is just gathering information. No contract will be awarded. Respond if you want to be on their radar for the actual solicitation.
  • RFQ (Request for Quotation) — They know what they want and need a price. Common for products and simple services.
  • RFP (Request for Proposal) — They want a detailed proposal explaining how you will do the work and what it will cost. This is the most common type for services.

What to Look for in Every Solicitation

  1. Due date and time — Government deadlines are absolute. One minute late and you are out. No exceptions.
  2. Evaluation criteria — This tells you exactly how they will score proposals. If technical approach is worth 50% and price is worth 30%, spend your effort accordingly.
  3. Scope of work / Performance Work Statement (PWS) — What they actually want done. Read this multiple times.
  4. Set-aside type — Is this restricted to a specific category (8(a), SDVOSB, etc.)? If so, you must have that certification.
  5. NAICS code and size standard — Confirms you qualify as a small business for this specific opportunity.
  6. Contract type — Firm fixed price, time and materials, cost reimbursement. This affects how you price your proposal.
  7. Required certifications or clearances — Security clearances, specific certifications, past performance requirements.
  8. Questions deadline — You can submit questions about the solicitation. Use this. Clarify anything that is ambiguous.

Step 4: Make the Bid/No-Bid Decision

Not every opportunity is worth pursuing. Proposals take 20-80+ hours to write. Before you invest that time, honestly assess:

  • Can you actually do this work? Do not bid on things you cannot deliver. Your reputation matters more than one contract.
  • Do you meet all mandatory requirements? If the solicitation says "must have Top Secret clearance" and you do not, move on.
  • Do you have relevant past performance? For your first contract, this is tough — which is why starting with simplified acquisitions is smart.
  • Is the timeline realistic? Can you actually write a quality proposal before the deadline?
  • Is the competition manageable? A full-and-open $50M contract will attract the big players. A small business set-aside for $150K has far less competition.

Step 5: Write Your Proposal

Proposal writing is where most first-timers struggle. Here are the fundamentals:

Follow the Instructions Exactly

Government proposals are evaluated against specific criteria. If they say "submit a technical volume not exceeding 15 pages, single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman," that is exactly what you submit. Page limits, font requirements, file naming conventions — follow all of them. Evaluators look for reasons to disqualify proposals. Do not give them one.

Structure Your Response Around Evaluation Criteria

Mirror the structure of the solicitation. If they list five evaluation factors, your proposal should have clearly labeled sections addressing each one in the same order.

Be Specific, Not Generic

Do not write "our team has extensive experience in IT modernization." Write "our team completed a $250K cloud migration for [client] in 2025, moving 15 applications from on-premise servers to AWS GovCloud over 6 months." Specifics win. Generalities lose.

Address Past Performance

If you have government past performance, great. If not, use commercial work that is similar in scope and complexity. First-time bidders can also state that they have no past performance, and evaluators are required to rate this as "neutral" — not negative.

Price It Right

Your price needs to be competitive but realistic. Lowballing to win and then failing to deliver is worse than not winning at all. The government evaluates price for reasonableness — if your price is significantly below others, they will wonder how you plan to actually do the work.

Step 6: Submit Your Proposal

Most proposals are submitted electronically through SAM.gov or the specific portal mentioned in the solicitation. Key rules:

  • Submit early — Systems crash, uploads fail, formats get rejected. Submit at least 24 hours before the deadline.
  • Confirm receipt — Make sure you get a confirmation. If the system does not confirm, contact the contracting officer immediately.
  • Follow the submission instructions exactly — If they say "submit via email to this address with this subject line," do exactly that. If they say "upload to this portal," use that portal.

Common First-Timer Mistakes

After all the steps above, here are the traps that catch most beginners:

  1. Bidding on contracts that are too large — Start with simplified acquisitions under $250K. Build from there.
  2. Missing the deadline — Government deadlines are not flexible. Set reminders. Submit early.
  3. Not reading the entire solicitation — Requirements are buried in attachments, amendments, and annexes. Read everything.
  4. Ignoring amendments — Solicitations get amended. If you do not acknowledge all amendments, your proposal may be rejected.
  5. Generic proposals — Copy-paste proposals that do not specifically address the evaluation criteria will score poorly.
  6. Not asking questions — If something is unclear, submit a question during the Q&A period. The answers benefit you and become part of the official solicitation.
  7. Forgetting required forms — Solicitations often require specific forms (SF-33, SF-1449, etc.) signed and included. Missing one form can disqualify you.

After Submission: What Happens Next

Evaluation timelines vary wildly — from a few weeks for simplified acquisitions to several months for larger procurements. You may receive:

  • Award notification — Congratulations. Now you have to actually deliver.
  • Competitive range determination — You made the shortlist. They may request a revised proposal or oral presentation.
  • Rejection — Request a debrief. The government is required to tell you why you were not selected. This feedback is gold for your next proposal.

Losing your first bid is normal. Most contractors lose several before they win one. Each debrief teaches you something. Each proposal you write gets better. The key is to keep bidding.

Government contracting is a long game. Get registered, start small, bid consistently, and learn from every submission. The opportunities are there — $700+ billion in annual federal spending, with 23% reserved for small businesses. Your share is waiting.