Five short lessons, free to read, about four minutes each. Each one ends with one thing to do in WARNO.
1. How federal contracting works
About 4 minutes
The government is a customer like any other. It needs things done and things delivered, and it buys them from private companies through contracts. A contract says what you will deliver, by when, and what you will be paid.
Three questions explain most of it.
Who buys? Agencies, and inside each agency, small contracting offices. A contracting officer is the person who is allowed to sign a contract for the government. Offices buy the same kinds of things again and again, so a buyer who bought what you sell last year is the best lead you can have.
Where do you find the work? Most larger purchases are announced in public. The official place is SAM.gov, in its Contract Opportunities section. WARNO reads those notices and the ones from other countries, and scores each one against the codes and words in your profile.
How do you get paid? You deliver, the buyer accepts the work, and you send an invoice. The contract says how and where to invoice. Nothing is paid for work the contract does not cover, so read it before you start.
Not every purchase is a big proposal. Small purchases are often quick: a quote, a government card, a short form. Bigger ones ask for a written proposal that the buyer scores against published rules. The notice tells you which kind you are looking at, and lesson 3 shows how to read it.
Some work is set aside: only small businesses, or only businesses with a certain status, may bid. A set-aside can help a new company because only eligible firms compete, but you must qualify.
You do not need past government contracts to start. You do need to be registered (lesson 2), to look at the right notices (lesson 3), and to choose your opportunities with care (lesson 4).
About 5 minutes. Start the registration today: it takes the longest.
To bid as a prime, your company must be registered in SAM.gov. Registration is free. There is no charge to get a Unique Entity ID, register, or renew. Anyone who asks for money is filling in the same forms for you.
When you finish you get a UEI, the Unique Entity ID: a 12-character number that names your company in every federal system. A UEI on its own lets you appear as a subcontractor, but you cannot bid as a prime without the full registration. Choose the type that covers "all awards" so you can bid on contracts and apply for grants.
Have these ready before you start:
Your legal business name and physical address, as the IRS has them. A P.O. box is not accepted.
The date and state of incorporation, and your tax ID.
Your bank's routing and account number, for payments.
Your NAICS codes: the industry labels that say what you sell. Choose a few you really sell, with your main one first. WARNO can find them from a sentence about your work.
Points of contact, and answers to the representations and certifications questions.
Plan for time. The official guidance is to allow at least 10 business days (10-15 on average) after you submit before the registration becomes active, and longer if validation needs documents. A wrong name or address is a common cause of delay. The registration must be renewed every year, so put the date in your calendar.
If your company has a small-business status, the Small Business Administration lists the contracting assistance programs (8(a), HUBZone, women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned) and you apply at certifications.sba.gov. Not having one is fine: in your WARNO profile, "none" is a valid answer, and it is better to say so than to leave it blank.
Every opportunity starts as a notice. You can read one in a minute if you know where to look. Start with the type, because it tells you what to do.
Sources sought (also called a request for information). The buyer is asking who could do the work. You are not bidding yet. Answering tells the buyer you exist and can help shape the requirement; it does not guarantee an invitation.
Presolicitation. Advance notice that a solicitation is coming.
Combined synopsis/solicitation. The notice and the request for quotes in one. Treat it as a solicitation.
Special notice. Other information from the buyer, such as an industry day.
Solicitation. The real request. It has the instructions, the due date, and how offers will be scored.
Award notice. Who won. Useful later: it shows who your competitors are and what the buyer pays.
Then check five things, in this order:
The response date. A late offer is usually not looked at. If you cannot finish in time, skip it.
The set-aside. If it is reserved for a status you do not have, you cannot win it. WARNO marks these.
The NAICS code and what is being bought. Does it match what you sell? Read the description, not only the title.
The place of work. Some jobs must be done on site. Others are remote.
The attachments. The real requirements are usually in the attached documents, not in the notice text.
Last, look at how the buyer will choose. Some buy on lowest price among offers that meet the minimum. Others weigh quality and past work against price. Also check whether past performance is required. If it is and you have none, a team with a company that does is a normal answer.
You will not win every notice. Reading many, quickly, is how you learn which ones suit you. A saved search with an alert does that work for you each day.
A proposal takes real time. Bidding on everything is the most common mistake. Before you write anything, answer four questions about a notice.
Can we do it? Do you have the skills, the staff and the places the work needs?
Can we win it? Is it set aside for a group you belong to? Does the buyer ask for experience you can show or borrow?
Do we know the buyer? A buyer who has heard of you before the solicitation comes out has a real advantage. Look up the office in WARNO: what it bought, how much, and who won.
Is the price worth it? Count your hours. A win you lose money on is not a win.
Then choose the door. There are three common ones for a company that is new.
Directly, as a prime, on small purchases and on notices set aside for small businesses.
Through a contract vehicle. Some buyers only order from a pre-approved list, for example a GSA schedule. Getting on one takes time, and it has its own entry conditions, so treat it as a second step, not a first one.
As a subcontractor or teaming partner to a company that already holds the contract or is bidding on it. This is a valid way to get your first past performance. WARNO's People Finder and Company Research show who wins in your field.
Past performance is your record of finished work, for the government or for anyone else. Buyers ask for it because it is the best sign you will deliver. Write down every job you can describe with a result, so you are ready when a notice asks.
A good proposal answers what the buyer asked, in the order the buyer asked it, and makes it easy to score. It does not need to be long. It needs to be complete.
Read the instructions twice. They tell you the format, the page limits, what to include and where to send it.
Build a compliance matrix. A simple table: every requirement on the left, the page where you answer it on the right. It stops you missing something and it helps the reader.
Show, do not claim. Say what you will do, who will do it, and one example where you did something similar.
Price clearly. Follow the buyer's price format exactly. Add up your real costs first.
Submit early. Use the method the notice names, and keep the receipt. Do not wait for the last hour.
If you lose, ask for a debrief. On most larger buys you can request one, and the answers make the next offer better.
If you win, the work begins. Deliver what the contract says, when it says it, and invoice the way it says. Keep your records. For larger contracts the buyer's evaluation (CPARS) is added to the government's past-performance record, and the next buyer can read it. A good first job is worth more than the first payment.
You do not have to start from a blank page. WARNO can draft a first version of a proposal from a notice and your profile, and you can add the finished job to your past performance so it scores in future matches.