Government contracting means selling goods or services to federal, state, or local government agencies. Nearly every industry is represented — from janitorial and construction to IT, staffing, food service, and consulting. If your business is legally registered, you can pursue government contracts. GovDirections helps you find opportunities, and GovSchool teaches you how to win them.

To bid on federal contracts, you need to register in SAM.gov (System for Award Management) and obtain a UEI number. For state and local contracts, requirements vary by agency. You'll also want to identify your NAICS codes — the industry classification codes that match your services. GovSchool covers registration step-by-step in its live and on-demand training sessions.

Yes — a Capability Statement is your company's government contracting resume. It's a one-page document that highlights your core competencies, past performance, differentiators, and contact information. Government buyers use it to evaluate whether your company is a fit for their needs. It's essential for any serious government contractor. GovAdvice and RFPDelivery both offer professional Capability Statement design services. Learn more here.

Several small business set-aside certifications give you a competitive edge:

• 8(a) — SBA's Business Development Program for socially/economically disadvantaged businesses
• SDVOSB — Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
• WOSB — Women-Owned Small Business
• HUBZone — Businesses in Historically Underutilized Business Zones
• MBE/DBE — Minority/Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (state/local)

GovSchool offers training on how to apply for and leverage these certifications.

GovDirections is a family of platforms designed to help businesses find and win government contracts:

• GovDirections.com — Search 50,000+ active government bids across all industries
• RFPDelivery.com — Daily RFP alerts delivered to your inbox + mobile app
• GovAdvice.com — Micro-consulting: RFP writing, Capability Statements, AI tools
• GovSchool.com — Live and on-demand training to learn the game

RFP (Request for Proposal) — government asks for a detailed proposal including approach, qualifications, and price. Most complex and competitive.

IFB (Invitation for Bid) — government seeks the lowest price for a clearly defined product or service. Price is the primary factor.

RFQ (Request for Quote) — simpler, smaller purchases. Government collects price quotes from multiple vendors.

GovDirections and RFPDelivery track all three types across federal, state, and local agencies.

RFPDelivery.com monitors thousands of government procurement sources daily and delivers matching RFPs, bids, and contracts to your inbox every morning. You set your industry categories and geographic preferences, and the system finds opportunities that match. There's also a mobile app (iOS and Android) for on-the-go access, plus a map view to see bids by location.

GovDirections currently tracks over 52,000 active government bids at any given time, covering all 50 states and spanning hundreds of industries. New bids are added continuously. You can search the full database at GovDirections.com or receive daily matched alerts through RFPDelivery.com.

Yes. GovDirections and RFPDelivery actively monitor emergency and disaster contract opportunities including FEMA-related work, hurricane cleanup, wildfire recovery, debris removal, and other emergency procurement. GovSchool also offers specific training on Disaster Contracting — how to prepare and respond quickly when emergency contracts are issued.

Pricing is one of the most critical — and most misunderstood — aspects of government contracting. GovAdvice offers a bid pricing research service where our analysts review recent contract award data and provide specialized pricing reports to help you be competitive without leaving money on the table. Call 800-492-8523 to discuss your specific situation.

The GovDirections RFP Writer is a free AI-powered tool that helps you analyze RFPs and write winning proposal content. You upload your Capability Statement and DSBS profile, then paste or upload any RFP — and the AI provides expert analysis, drafts proposal sections, identifies key questions, and suggests a win strategy. It's available powered by Claude AI (no account needed) or ChatGPT.

Yes — Free to Use, Free to Win. The Claude AI version at govadvice.com/rfpwriter requires no account or login. The ChatGPT version at govadvice.com/rfpwriter-gpt requires a free ChatGPT account. Both are provided as a free resource to help government contractors compete more effectively.

Both are trained with GovDirections' government contracting expertise. Key differences:

• Claude AI — No account needed, runs in your browser, uploads your Capability Statement and DSBS Profile as PDFs for personalized responses
• ChatGPT — Works inside your existing ChatGPT account, familiar interface, great if you already use ChatGPT daily

Visit govadvice.com/rfpwriter-ai to compare and choose.

The AI is a powerful starting point and productivity tool — it can analyze RFPs, generate draft content, check compliance, and surface key questions in seconds. However, for high-value, complex proposals, our human proposal writers bring decades of experiential knowledge that AI alone can't replicate. We recommend using the AI tool for day-to-day work and our professional RFP writing service for your most critical bids.

The Claude AI version processes your documents directly in your browser session and does not store them on our servers. Your Capability Statement and RFP documents are sent securely to the AI for analysis and are not retained after your session ends. We recommend not uploading documents containing classified or highly sensitive proprietary information to any AI tool.

GovAdvice offers tiered professional RFP writing services designed to fit your budget and needs — from companies just getting started to those with full backhouse production requirements. Our writers bring decades of technical writing experience and assist with the full development of RFP/bid templates and submittals. We don't just write — we teach you to win. Learn more about our writing services.

A graphic designer and intake consultant will work with you to create a Capability Statement that stands out. The process includes a consultation to gather your company information, NAICS codes, certifications, past performance, and differentiators — then our team designs a professional document that POPs. Call 800-492-8523 or visit RFPDelivery.com for more information.

Absolutely. You can schedule a free demonstration and strategy session with our team via Zoom. We'll walk you through the tools and services most relevant to your business and answer your questions. Schedule a Demo or call us directly at 800-492-8523, Monday–Friday 9am–5pm.

Yes! The RFP Delivery app is available for both iOS and Android. It provides instant bid matches, search, and map views of government opportunities on the go. Download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

GovDirections offers several membership tiers to fit different needs and budgets. Visit govdirections.com/pages/members/options for current pricing, or call 800-492-8523 to discuss which plan is right for your company. A free demo is available before you commit.

RFPDelivery has its own pricing structure separate from GovDirections. Visit rfpdelivery.com/home/prices for current plans, or call 800-492-8523. You can also request a live demonstration before subscribing.

Yes. The GovDirections RFP Writer tools at govadvice.com/rfpwriter-ai are completely free — no subscription, no trial period, no credit card. They are provided as a free resource to the government contracting community. Professional RFP writing services and Capability Statement design are separate paid services.

Many GovSchool sessions are free to attend via YouTube Live — including the regular ZoomCast open microphone sessions. Some on-demand courses and specialized training may have fees. Visit govschool.com/schedule for the current schedule, or subscribe to the GovDirections YouTube channel to be notified of live sessions.

GovSchool.com is the education arm of GovDirections — a platform dedicated to teaching businesses how to win government contracts. It offers live YouTube ZoomCast sessions with subject matter experts, on-demand courses on RFP writing, pricing, registration, certifications, and disaster contracting. Sessions are open microphone style where your questions are the focus.

Live sessions air on the GovDirections YouTube channel. Check the current schedule at govschool.com/schedule and subscribe to the channel so you get notified when sessions go live. Sessions are free and open to anyone — no registration required for YouTube Live.

GovSchool covers the full spectrum of government contracting, including:

• How to grow your business by winning new contracts
• How to register with the right agencies (SAM.gov, state portals)
• How to identify the right contracts for your business
• RFP writing skills and winning proposal techniques
• Pricing using past performance data
• Disaster and emergency contracting (FEMA, hurricanes, wildfires)
• Certifications: 8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, HUBZone

All past sessions are archived on the GovDirections YouTube channel. Subscribe and browse the library for hundreds of videos on government contracting topics. You can also follow us on Facebook and X (Twitter) for updates on new content and live session announcements.