Capture
Everything a company does to position itself before a contract is announced: researching which agencies buy what it sells, meeting the buyers, and shaping the offer so the company is known before the competition opens. Good capture is why some bids feel won before they are written.
Proposal
Your written response to a government solicitation. It has to follow the government's format exactly, answer every requirement, and give the evaluators reasons to score you highly. A proposal that misses a required element can be rejected without being read.
Solicitation
The document an agency publishes when it wants to buy something. It states what the agency needs, how it will evaluate offers, the deadline, and the format your response must take. RFQs, RFPs, and invitations for bid are all solicitations.
RFQ, RFP, RFI
Request for Quotation: the agency mainly wants a price. Request for Proposal: the agency wants a full written approach plus price and will evaluate on more than cost. Request for Information: the agency is researching the market and is not yet buying; answering one puts you on the buyer's radar.
Sources sought notice
An early notice in which an agency asks which companies can do a job, often to decide whether to set the contract aside for small business. Responding is one of the cheapest ways to shape a future contract in your favor.
Set-aside
A contract that only certain small businesses may compete for, such as women-owned, veteran-owned, disadvantaged, or businesses in designated areas. Set-asides exist because federal law directs a share of contracting dollars to small firms.
Certification
The government's confirmation that your business qualifies for a program such as 8(a), WOSB, SDVOSB, or HUBZone at the federal level, or MWBE, HUB, SWaM, DBE, and SBE at the state level. Certification is what lets you compete for set-asides.
Capability statement
A one-page summary of your company that contracting officers ask for before anything else: what you do, your codes and certifications, past performance, differentiators, and contact details.
Past performance
Your record of doing similar work well, written up with the customer, contract value, dates, and results. Evaluators use it to judge whether you can deliver, so new companies build it deliberately, including through subcontracts and commercial work.
SAM.gov, UEI, and CAGE code
SAM.gov is the federal government's free registration system; no company can be paid by a federal agency without an active record. The UEI is the identifier SAM assigns your business. The CAGE code is a second identifier used in federal contracting and payment systems.
NAICS code
The industry classification number the government uses to describe what you sell and to decide whether you count as a small business for a given contract. Most companies list several.
Micro-purchase and simplified acquisition
Federal purchases up to $15,000 can be made with little or no competition, often on a government card. Purchases up to $350,000 use simplified procedures and are reserved for small businesses. Both lanes are where first federal awards usually happen.
Prime contractor and subcontractor
The prime holds the contract with the government. A subcontractor works for the prime. Many new companies win their first federal work as a subcontractor, then use that past performance to bid as a prime.
Teaming and joint venture
Teaming is an agreement between companies to pursue a contract together, usually as prime and subcontractor. A joint venture is a separate entity two or more companies form to bid, which programs such as the SBA Mentor-Protégé program allow small firms to use with larger partners.
Compliance matrix
A table that lists every requirement in a solicitation and points to where your proposal answers it. It is how you make sure nothing is missed and how evaluators find what they need.
Contract vehicles: GSA MAS, IDIQ, BPA
Pre-approved arrangements agencies use to buy quickly. The GSA Multiple Award Schedule is a long-term contract with pre-negotiated prices. An IDIQ (indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity) contract lets an agency place orders over years. A Blanket Purchase Agreement is a standing account for repeat small purchases.
Cooperative contract
A contract one government entity awards that other entities may also buy from, so a single state award can be used by cities, counties, school districts, and nonprofits without a new competition. National cooperatives include NASPO ValuePoint, Sourcewell, and OMNIA Partners.
Procurement portal
The online system a state or local government uses to register vendors, post solicitations, and receive bids. Every state has one, under its own name, and most cities and counties run their own or use a shared platform.
Ready to put the vocabulary to work?
The Federal Contracting Foundations course walks through every term above with the systems open on screen.