Government contracting questions, answered
Short answers for small businesses, each with the page or free tool that goes further. General guidance, not legal advice. Glossary · Free tools
How do I find federal contracts for my business?
Federal agencies post contract opportunities on SAM.gov. On SpendQuery, describe what you do in a few words and you get the open notices about that work (the ones whose titles say it, then the ones an AI read and found are about it), each with the contract it likely replaces, who holds it and what it was worth. Contracts ending soon and planned buys show work before it is posted.
Open opportunities → · Contracts coming up for re-bid → · Planned buys →
Which NAICS code should I use?
The contracting officer picks one NAICS code for each solicitation, so register every code you can actually do and choose your main one as your primary. The NAICS finder shows the codes buyers actually use for your kind of work on notices and contracts, with each code's size standard; you can also describe your business and let the AI pick from those codes.
How do I register in SAM.gov, and what does it cost?
Registration is free: SAM.gov charges nothing for a Unique Entity ID, a registration or a renewal. You sign in with Login.gov, enter your business details, codes, size and representations, and allow at least ten business days for the registration to become active. It must be renewed every 365 days. Companies that charge to register you are not the government.
Am I a small business?
It depends on the NAICS code of the contract. SBA sets a size standard for each code, either average annual receipts over your last five completed fiscal years or average employees over the last 24 months, and your affiliates count too. You can be small under one code and not another.
What is a recompete, and how do I find contracts coming up for re-bid?
A recompete is a new competition for work an agency already buys when the current contract ends. Knowing the end date, the incumbent, the contract's value and how many bid last time lets you prepare months before the solicitation appears.
How do I find out who holds a government contract and what it cost?
Federal awards are public on USAspending.gov. SpendQuery puts them in plain English: ask about an agency, a company or a kind of work and see the contracts, amounts and dates, or open an opportunity's brief to see the contract it likely follows and its holder.
Should I bid on this opportunity?
Weigh how well you know the customer, the incumbent, your past performance, the fit of your solution, price, eligibility, people, time and competition. The free bid/no-bid check scores ten weighted factors, fills in what the records show for a SAM.gov notice, and can suggest answers from the notice's own text.
What is a capability statement?
A one-page summary of what your company does: core competencies, differentiators, past performance, UEI, CAGE and NAICS codes, certifications and contact details, used for introductions and sources-sought replies. The free builder fills in your registration and award record and can draft your competencies from your own contracts.
Where do I find state and local government bids?
Each state, county and city posts bids on its own procurement site, and most of those sites don't allow automated reading. SpendQuery shows the open bids that governments publish as open data, including Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Washington DC and Delaware, and school and library technology buys nationwide through E-Rate, each linked to its source.
What are set-asides like 8(a), WOSB, HUBZone and SDVOSB?
Some federal contracts are reserved for small businesses, or for small businesses with an SBA certification: 8(a) Business Development, Women-Owned Small Business, HUBZone and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned. Certifications are free from SBA, and you must also be small under the contract's NAICS code.
How much do contracts in my industry usually run?
Award sizes vary widely by industry, agency and set-aside. The typical-award-size pages show what contracts in a NAICS code and state actually run, from the records, so you can tell whether an opportunity fits your capacity.
Where does SpendQuery's data come from?
From public records: USAspending.gov, SAM.gov, the FAR, SBA's size standards, and state and local governments' own open data. Every number comes from those records and links to its source; where AI explains or drafts something, it is labelled and grounded in the text it was given.