Are you ready to bid on a federal contract?

Answer a short set of questions about your registrations, past performance, financial capacity, and compliance posture, and get a readiness score plus a ranked list of the gaps to close first. Most small businesses that lose early bids lose on fixable basics — an inactive SAM.gov registration, no capability statement, or no realistic size-standard fit — not on price. Free, no email required, results shown immediately.

Am I ready to bid on government contracts?

At minimum you need an active SAM.gov registration with a UEI and CAGE code, a NAICS code you can genuinely perform under, the financial capacity to deliver before you get paid, and a capability statement. Beyond those basics, readiness is about whether you can meet the specific solicitation’s requirements on time.

How long does it take to get ready?

The registrations are the slow part. SAM.gov does not publish a guaranteed processing time and entity validation can stall on name or address mismatches, so plan for weeks rather than days and start before you find a solicitation you want.

Do I need past performance to win my first contract?

Not always. Micro-purchases under $15,000 and simplified acquisitions under $350,000 carry lighter evaluation requirements and are where most first wins happen. Subcontracting to an established prime is the other common route to building past performance.

What disqualifies a small business most often?

An expired SAM.gov registration is the most common avoidable failure — registration must be renewed annually, and an inactive entity cannot be awarded a contract. Missing certifications for a set-aside and exceeding the size standard for the solicitation's NAICS code are the other frequent ones.

Is it worth pursuing federal contracts at all?

The government awarded roughly $179 billion — about 28% of prime contract dollars — to small businesses in FY2025 against a 23% statutory goal, per the SBA's FY25 Scorecard. Whether it's worth it for you depends on whether agencies buy your NAICS code, which the demand check answers.