Answers
Government contracting answers
Straight answers to the questions every new (and not-so-new) federal contractor asks.
How do I get government contracts?
Register your business in SAM.gov, identify your NAICS codes, find relevant opportunities, and submit compliant proposals - ideally after building relationships with the buying agency.
How do I register my business in SAM.gov?
Create a Login.gov account, get a Unique Entity ID, then complete the free entity registration in SAM.gov - including your business details, NAICS codes, and representations & certifications.
What is a set-aside contract?
A set-aside is a contract the government reserves for competition only among a specific group of small businesses, such as 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, or SDVOSB firms.
What is a NAICS code and how do I choose one?
A NAICS code classifies your industry. Choose the codes that best describe what your business does - they determine which opportunities you match and whether you qualify as a small business.
Where can I find government contract opportunities?
Most federal opportunities are posted on SAM.gov. Tools like FastTender aggregate them and match each opportunity to your company so you don't have to search manually.
What is a Unique Entity ID (UEI)?
The UEI is a free 12-character identifier assigned in SAM.gov that identifies your business to the federal government. It replaced the DUNS number in 2022.
How does the government evaluate proposals?
Agencies evaluate against the criteria stated in the solicitation - typically some mix of technical approach, past performance, and price - using methods like best value tradeoff or lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA).
What is past performance and why does it matter?
Past performance is your track record on similar prior work. It's a major evaluation factor, so new contractors should build it through subcontracting, small contracts, and commercial references.
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