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Eligibility — are you small businesses?
Sourced from the official program page
- Meet SBA size standards for primary NAICS code (employee count or annual revenue)
- Registered in SAM.gov with active Unique Entity ID (UEI) and CAGE code
- Small business is the default eligibility for the 23% federal small business contracting goal
- No social or economic disadvantage required (unlike 8(a) or HUBZone)
- No certification needed — self-represent as small business in SAM
- Must remain under size standards throughout contract performance
Contracting advantages for small businesses
Why small businesses have a structural edge on federal opportunities.
- Eligible for Total Small Business set-asides — only small businesses compete
- Federal small business goal: 23% of all prime contract dollars
- Eligible for the Simplified Acquisition Threshold ($250K) reserved exclusively for small businesses
- Subcontracting opportunities — large primes must report small business subcontracting
- Free SBA business counselling via SBDCs, SCORE, and Women's Business Centers
- Pathway to advanced certifications (8(a), WOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB) once established
Where small businesses typically compete
Typical contract value: $25K – $4M per award
Top NAICS codes
Top contracting agencies
- Department of Defense (DOD)
- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- GSA Federal Acquisition Service
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Department of Energy (DOE)
Challenges small businesses face
The friction points we hear most from small businesses doing federal work.
- High signal-to-noise: SAM.gov posts 50,000+ annual opportunities; most aren't a fit
- Writing competitive proposals against firms with full-time proposal-writing staff
- Tracking past performance documentation for future bid references
- Balancing capture work (which wins) against day-to-day delivery (which pays the bills)
How WinAContract helps small businesses
What we built specifically for the small businesse workflow.
- AI search learns your fit criteria — only see opportunities aligned to your NAICS and capabilities
- AI drafts your proposal section by section in 4 hours instead of 40
- Past-performance library captures your wins for one-click reuse on future bids
- Pipeline + alerts so a deadline never sneaks up on you
Not registered on SAM.gov yet?
We handle done-for-you SAM.gov registration and set-aside certifications so you can start bidding sooner.
Frequently asked
How do I qualify as a "small business" for federal contracting?
Look up your primary NAICS code on the SBA size standards table. Each industry has either an employee threshold (e.g., 500 employees) or an annual revenue threshold (e.g., $19.5M average over 3 years). If you're under it, you self-represent as small in SAM.gov.
Do I need any certification to bid on small business set-asides?
No certification needed — self-representation in SAM.gov is sufficient. Advanced set-asides (8(a), WOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB) DO require certification, but plain "Total Small Business" set-asides only need a SAM record.
What is the Simplified Acquisition Threshold?
$250,000 — the federal threshold below which contracts are reserved exclusively for small businesses (unless an exception applies). Above that, contracts may go to large businesses unless a specific set-aside applies.
How long does SAM.gov registration take?
Initial registration: 7-10 business days for IRS verification. UEI generation: instant. CAGE code: 2-3 weeks. Full activation typically completes within 4 weeks.
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