Government contracting, explained clearly
Practical guides for finding public-sector work, qualifying the opportunity, and preparing a compliant bid.
Build a matching profile
Start where you are
Government contracting rewards preparation. These guides cover the parts of the process that help a small business decide what to pursue before proposal work starts.
Start here
How public buying works, and the vocabulary the rest of the process uses.
What is government contracting?
How public bodies buy, who is allowed to sell to them, and what a contract actually obliges you to do.
How public bidding works
Move from qualification to compliance review with a clear public bidding process.
Procurement glossary
Every acronym you will meet in a US or Canadian solicitation, defined in one sentence.
Find the work
Where opportunities are published, and how to narrow them to the ones worth your time.
Find government contracts
Build a focused opportunity list from federal notices, early signals, and fit criteria.
Canadian government tenders
Find public-sector opportunities across Canada with a search built around your delivery capacity.
Contracts by NAICS code
Use NAICS, PSCs, size standards, and award history to find more relevant work.
Set-aside contracts
Find opportunities reserved for small business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, and WOSB contractors.
Government contract alerts
Set a watchlist that surfaces relevant opportunities instead of every new notice.
Best SAM.gov alternatives
Compare free and paid tools for matching, alerts, market intelligence, and broader coverage.
Systems, programs, and vehicles
The registrations, set-asides, and contract structures that decide what you can bid.
SAM.gov guide
Register your entity, keep it active, and use the federal system effectively.
CanadaBuys guide
Supplier registration and tender search for Canadian federal procurement.
Set-aside programs explained
US small business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB and WOSB set-asides alongside the Canadian PSIB.
Contract vehicles explained
IDIQ, BPA, GWAC, GSA Schedule, and Canadian standing offers, and when each is worth chasing.
FAR basics
How the Federal Acquisition Regulation is organised, and which clauses carry real obligations.
Bid and win
Reading the solicitation properly, then writing the response that gets scored.
What is an RFP?
What the document contains, how evaluators read it, and how to survive compliance review.
RFP vs RFQ vs RFI
Three documents, three different things being asked of you, and how to answer each.
Writing a winning bid
Answer the requirement rather than describe your company, and write for the person scoring.
Past performance and CPARS
How your delivery record is evaluated, and how to build one from a standing start.
Government subcontracting
No government record yet? Win work under a prime who hires subs, and build your own from there.