Your first 30 days in government contracting: a checklist

Your first 30 days in government contracting should accomplish four things: get registered in SAM.gov, build a one-page capability statement, set up opportunity alerts, and submit your first bid or at least identify a target solicitation. That’s the whole month. Everything else can wait.

I remember the first week after I decided to go after government contracts. I had 47 browser tabs open. SAM.gov. SBA.gov. Three different consultant blogs. A YouTube playlist titled “GovCon 101” that was mostly sales pitches. I felt like I was drinking from a fire hose, and none of it told me what to do first.

So here’s the checklist I wish I’d had. It’s organized by week, it’s specific, and it assumes you’re starting from zero.

Week 1: get registered

This is the foundation. Nothing else matters until SAM.gov shows your entity as “Active.”

Days 1-2: gather your documents

Before you touch SAM.gov, pull together everything you need. Starting registration without your documents ready is the single biggest time-waster in this process.

• Your IRS CP-575 or 147C letter (the one that shows your EIN and legal business name, character for character)
• Your EIN (Employer Identification Number). Don’t have one? Get it free in 10 minutes at irs.gov.
• Your business bank account routing and account numbers
• Your physical business address (P.O. boxes won’t work as primary)
• 3-5 NAICS codes that describe what your business actually does today

That last item trips people up. NAICS codes are six-digit numbers that tell the government what you sell. Don’t pick 50 codes hoping to cast a wide net. Contracting officers see a company registered under “IT consulting,” “construction,” and “food services” and they move on. Three to five focused codes is the right starting point.

Days 2-3: create accounts and start registration

1. Create a Login.gov account using your business email. This is the login system for all federal websites. If you already have one from USAJOBS, use it.
2. Start your SAM.gov entity registration. Go to SAM.gov, click “Sign In,” then navigate to Entity Registrations and select “Register New Entity.”
3. Get your UEI. SAM.gov generates your Unique Entity Identifier during registration. It’s a 12-character code that replaces the old DUNS number. Write it down somewhere permanent.

The registration walks you through several sections: core data, entity type, IRS TIN validation, financials, representations and certifications, and points of contact. Budget 2-4 hours with your documents in front of you.

One thing that catches almost everyone: the “Legal Business Name” field must match your IRS records exactly. Not your DBA. Not the name on your website. The name on your CP-575 letter. Even “LLC” versus “L.L.C.” will fail validation. Our complete registration guide walks through every field if you want step-by-step details.

Days 3-14: wait (but don’t just wait)

After you submit, SAM.gov sends your info to the IRS for TIN validation. This takes 3-7 business days. Then comes entity validation, which usually requires a notarized letter. Total realistic timeline: 2-4 weeks for a clean submission.

While you’re waiting, don’t sit around. Move on to week 2 tasks. You can do everything else in parallel.

Heads up: If your registration gets rejected, don’t panic. It happens to a lot of first-time registrants. The SAM.gov rejection troubleshooting guide covers every common error and exactly how to fix it.

Week 2: build your capability statement

Your SAM.gov registration is processing. Use this week to create the single most important marketing document in government contracting: your capability statement.

A capability statement is a one-page PDF that functions as your company’s resume. Every contracting officer expects you to have one. Every networking event, every matchmaking session, every “industry day” hosted by a federal agency will ask for it. Show up without one and you’re invisible.

What goes on it

Your capability statement needs six sections, all on one page:

Company overview. Two to three sentences about what your company does. Be specific. “We provide IT services” tells a contracting officer nothing. “We manage endpoint security for organizations with 50-500 users, specializing in zero-trust architecture for hybrid work environments” tells them exactly whether you’re relevant to their needs.

Core competencies. Three to five bullet points of your strongest capabilities. Match these to the NAICS codes you registered under.

Past performance. Two to three examples of relevant work you’ve completed. Include the client name (if allowed), a one-sentence description of what you did, and the outcome. No government past performance yet? Use commercial work. A $200,000 IT migration for a regional bank is still proof you can do the work.

Differentiators. What makes you different from the other 500 companies with similar NAICS codes? Security clearances, specialized certifications, geographic location near a military base, proprietary tools, bilingual staff. Be concrete.

Company data. Your UEI, CAGE code (assigned during SAM.gov registration), NAICS codes, business size, any set-aside certifications (WOSB, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB), and your SAM.gov registration status.

Contact information. One point of contact with name, title, email, and phone number.

Format matters

Keep it to one page. Use your company colors and logo. Save it as a PDF. Contracting officers receive dozens of these and spend about six seconds on each one before deciding whether to keep reading. If yours is three pages of dense text, it goes in the trash.

Week 3: set up your opportunity pipeline

You’re registered (or close to it). You have a capability statement. Now you need to find contracts to bid on.

Set up saved searches in SAM.gov

SAM.gov’s Contract Opportunities section is where agencies post solicitations. Here’s how to set up alerts so opportunities come to you instead of you hunting for them every day:

1. Log into SAM.gov and go to Contract Opportunities
2. Filter by your NAICS codes, your state or region, and the set-aside types you qualify for
3. Click “Save Search” at the top of the results
4. Name it something useful (“IT Security - Small Business Set-Asides - DC Metro”)
5. SAM.gov will email you when new opportunities match your criteria

Create 2-3 saved searches with different filter combinations. One broad (just your primary NAICS code), one narrow (NAICS + location + set-aside), and one agency-specific if there’s a particular agency that buys what you sell.

Check agency procurement forecasts

Most federal agencies publish forecasts of contracts they plan to award in the current and upcoming fiscal years. The GSA Acquisition Gateway at acquisitiongateway.gov/forecast is a searchable database of these forecasts across all agencies. You can filter by NAICS code, set-aside type, and estimated award date.

Forecasts aren’t commitments. An agency can change or cancel a planned procurement. But they give you a 3-6 month head start on opportunities that haven’t been formally solicited yet. That lead time is gold when you’re building relationships and preparing proposals.

Register with your SBA profile

Your SAM.gov data feeds into the SBA’s Small Business Search tool (which replaced the old Dynamic Small Business Search). This is a separate database that contracting officers and prime contractors use specifically to find small businesses.

Log into connect.sba.gov with your Login.gov credentials and fill out your supplemental profile. Write a strong capability narrative. Add keywords that describe your services in plain language, not just NAICS code titles. A contracting officer might search for “help desk support” rather than “541512.”

Contact your local APEX Accelerator

APEX Accelerators (formerly called PTACs) provide free one-on-one counseling for businesses pursuing government contracts. There are over 90 locations with more than 400 counselors nationwide. They’ll review your capability statement, help you find opportunities, and walk you through your first bid.

Find yours at napex.us. This is the single most underused free resource in government contracting. A counselor who knows your local contracting landscape and the agencies in your area is worth more than any $2,000 course.

Week 4: identify your first target and start bidding

By now your SAM.gov registration should be active or close to it. You have a capability statement. You have saved searches delivering opportunities to your inbox. Time to get specific.

Pick one target opportunity

Don’t try to bid on everything. Look through your saved search results and find one solicitation that matches your capabilities closely. Ideal first targets:

• Small purchase orders under $25,000. These use simplified acquisition procedures and shorter proposals. Less paperwork, faster decisions.
• Set-aside contracts matching your certifications. If you qualify for small business set-asides (or specific certifications like WOSB or SDVOSB), the competition pool is smaller.
• Subcontracting opportunities. If prime contracting feels like a big leap, subcontracting is a lower-barrier way to build past performance. Prime contractors with large federal contracts are often required to subcontract a percentage to small businesses. They need you.

Read the solicitation carefully

Download the full solicitation package from SAM.gov. Read the Statement of Work (what they want done), the evaluation criteria (how they’ll score proposals), and the submission instructions (format, page limits, deadlines). Miss a formatting requirement and your proposal gets thrown out before anyone reads it.

Submit your bid (or prepare to)

If your SAM.gov registration is active, submit your first bid. If it’s still processing, use this time to draft your response so you’re ready the moment your status goes active. Your first proposal doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be compliant with the solicitation requirements, honest about your capabilities, and submitted on time.

The 30-day checklist (all in one place)

Here’s everything above as a single checklist you can print:

Week 1: Registration

• Gather IRS letter, EIN, bank details, physical address, and NAICS codes
• Create Login.gov account
• Start SAM.gov entity registration and get UEI
• Submit registration and begin validation wait

Week 2: Capability statement

• Write company overview, core competencies, past performance, differentiators
• Add company data (UEI, CAGE code, NAICS codes, certifications)
• Format as one-page PDF with company branding

Week 3: Opportunity pipeline

• Set up 2-3 saved searches in SAM.gov Contract Opportunities
• Check agency procurement forecasts at acquisitiongateway.gov/forecast
• Complete your SBA Small Business Search profile at connect.sba.gov
• Contact your local APEX Accelerator at napex.us

Week 4: First bid

• Confirm SAM.gov registration is Active
• Identify one target solicitation matching your capabilities
• Read the full solicitation package
• Draft and submit your first proposal

What not to waste time on this month

I see new contractors spend their entire first month on things that don’t matter yet. Don’t fall into these traps:

Don’t buy a $2,000 “GovCon training course” before you’ve registered. Register first. Find your APEX Accelerator. The free counseling is better than most paid courses because it’s tailored to your specific business.

Don’t chase GSA Schedule contracts in month one. GSA Schedules are powerful but the application process takes months and requires significant documentation. Get your feet wet with open-market bids first.

Don’t spend weeks perfecting your capability statement. Get a solid version done in week 2 and improve it over time. A decent capability statement in hand beats a perfect one you’re still editing in month three.

Don’t pay a consultant to do your SAM.gov registration. The process is free. If you get stuck, the Federal Service Desk (fsd.gov) provides free support. If a company is charging you $1,500 for SAM.gov registration, they’re filling out the same free forms you can do yourself.

Your next move after day 30 depends on where you stand. If you’ve submitted a bid, start preparing for the next one. If your registration is still processing, keep building relationships and refining your capability statement. Either way, you’re further ahead than 90% of businesses that “think about” government contracting for a year before doing anything.

For the full SAM.gov registration walkthrough, start with the complete registration guide. If your registration hits a snag, the rejection troubleshooting guide has every common fix. And once you’re registered, look into which set-aside certifications might give you a competitive edge.