One of the most common things I hear from founders and technical leads when the topic of government contracts comes up is some version of: “We’d love to pursue it, but we don’t even know where to start.”
And honestly, that’s a completely fair response. The barrier to entry in government contracting isn’t just about writing a great proposal. Before you ever put a single word into an RFP response or an SBIR application, there’s a whole layer of foundational setup that has to happen first: registrations, eligibility checks, team alignment, and a handful of decisions that will shape everything downstream. Getting this right early saves you from scrambling later (and trust me, you do not want to discover a missing registration the week a solicitation closes).
I put together a readiness checklist that walks through exactly what you need to get started. Here’s what it covers, and why each piece actually matters.
1. Business Eligibility
Before anything else, make sure your business is structured in a way that qualifies you to pursue federal work. First, you’ll need to be a U.S.-based legal entity – an LLC, C-Corp, or similar – with a registered EIN and a U.S. business bank account.
You also need to have your NAICS codes selected. These are the industry classification codes that agencies use to categorize your business, and they need to align with what you actually do and what you’re bidding on. This step trips people up more than you’d expect. Choosing the right NAICS codes matters not just for eligibility but for visibility. It affects which opportunities you’ll surface in searches and databases.
SBIR-Specific: Eligibility Rules That Are Easy to Miss
If you’re pursuing SBIRs, there are additional requirements layered on top of the basics: fewer than 500 employees, and at least 51% of the company must be owned and controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. There’s also a VC/PE-backed pathway that’s agency-dependent and worth understanding if that describes your cap table. These aren’t suggestions – they’re hard eligibility gates, and they’re checked.
2. Team and Principal Investigator
For government contracts broadly, you need to be able to demonstrate that your team is qualified to do the work, even if you have no government past performance. That means relevant experience, credible credentials, and a clear picture of who is doing what. The proposal assessors need to be able to trust that the team doing the work is capable of delivering what is being asked. You may be asked to provide resumes or references for the people involved in executing the work.
SBIR-Specific: The PI Requirement
For SBIRs, one of the most important eligibility questions isn’t about your company, it’s about your Principal Investigator. The PI is the person who will be executing and managing the technical work under the award. Most agencies require that the PI be primarily employed by the applicant company (not a university or another organization), be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and have the relevant technical expertise to credibly lead the work.
If you don’t have a clear PI identified and you’re thinking about pursuing SBIRs, that’s one of the first things to sort out.
3. Federal Registrations
This is where a lot of small businesses get tripped up. Not because the registrations are complicated or expensive (they’re free!), but because they take time and have to be in place before you can submit.
The most important is SAM.gov, the System for Award Management. This is the central federal contractor database, and you cannot receive a government award without an active registration. When you register, you’ll be assigned a UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) and a CAGE Code, and you’ll need to complete your Representations and Certifications. Plan for this to take a few weeks if you’re starting from scratch.
One thing many companies don’t realize: SAM.gov registration expires annually. Letting it lapse can disqualify you from an award even if everything else is in order. Make sure to put a recurring reminder on your calendar.
And if your company qualifies for any small business set-aside certification listed below, make sure you apply through the Small Business Association’s (SBA’s) certifications portal. This can open up a significant additional universe of opportunities.
- 8(a): socially and economically disadvantaged
- HUBZone: Historically Underutilized Business Zone
- WOSB: Women-Owned Small Business
- SDVOSB: Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
SBIR-Specific: Additional Registrations Required
For SBIR applicants, you’ll also need to register on SBIR.gov, the central hub for tracking topics, solicitations, and applications across participating agencies. Beyond that, portal requirements vary by agency: NSF uses Research.gov, NIH uses eRA Commons, and DoD agencies use DSIP and their own submission portals. If you know which agency you’re targeting, getting ahead on those registrations is worth doing early. Some require institutional setup that takes time.
4. Know Your Capabilities
Before you start evaluating specific opportunities, you need an honest picture of what your product or service can actually do today. This isn’t about underselling yourself, it’s about not wasting time pursuing opportunities your company isn’t positioned to win or execute.
Take the time to map out what you do, what you can credibly deliver with your team size, and what you’re not ready for yet. Gather your product spec pages, and outline your company systems and certifications (ie Quality Management System, Security Systems, Accounting Systems). That clarity will save you far more time than it takes to develop it.
SBIR-Specific: Know Your TRL and What Funding Will Do for You
For SBIRs specifically, this self-assessment goes a step further. You should know your Technology Readiness Level (TRL). This is where your technology sits on the scale from early concept (TRL 1–3) to demonstrated prototype (TRL 4–6) to mature system (TRL 7–9). Phase I solicitations typically target earlier-stage technologies, while Phase II assumes you’ve already validated the core concept.
Additionally, you should have a genuine vision for what you want the funding to accomplish. For a SBIR Phase I what specific question are you trying to answer? What will you prove, build, or validate in 6 months? For a SBIR Phase II, what does meaningful product or technology advancement look like in 2 years? These answers will be the core of your SBIR proposal. Agencies are funding a plan, not just a technology. Companies that have thought this through before they start writing are the ones that produce compelling, focused proposals.
Don’t Skip the Setup
None of this is the exciting part of government contracting. The exciting part is winning. But the setup is what makes winning possible.
I’ve seen companies have to walk away from solicitations or scramble through the submission process in a panic because they hadn’t taken care of the foundation. Most of these to-dos are not difficult – they just require time and preparation. The good news is that most of this setup can be done proactively, well before you have a specific opportunity in front of you. And once it’s done, it’s done… you’re ready to get in the game.
Want the Full Checklist?
I put together an easy SBIR & Government Contract Readiness Checklist that covers all of this in one place. If you’d like a copy, subscribe to the blog below or reach out directly at amisha@proposalarc.com and I’ll send it your way.
And if you’re looking at a specific opportunity and want help thinking through whether you’re ready to pursue it, I’m happy to talk.
– Amisha Prakash, Proposal Architect
Leave a comment