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Learn Bids2Bank in one day.
A short course, a plain-English dictionary of government terms, and links to free official help. No experience needed.
One-day course
Seven short lessons, about 5 hours in total.
0 of 7 lessons done · about 290 min left
- 20 min
Lesson 1: Set up your company
Tell Bids2Bank who you are so it only shows work you can win.
- Create your workspace and sign in.
- Enter your company name, UEI and CAGE code (find them in your SAM.gov registration).
- Bids2Bank reads your NAICS codes and certifications (small business, 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, SDVOSB) from your SAM.gov record, so keep that record current.
- Invite your team and give each person a role.
- 45 min
Lesson 2: Find the work
Search open federal opportunities and save the ones worth a closer look.
- Open Find Opportunities and search by keyword, agency or NAICS code.
- Learn the notice types: Sources Sought and RFI (market research) come before an RFP or RFQ (the real competition).
- Check the set-aside and the response due date on each notice.
- Save promising notices as bids.
- 30 min
Lesson 3: Decide whether to bid
Use the bid score to spend your time on bids you can win.
- Open Should We Bid? to see each saved bid’s score.
- Read the reasons behind the score — fit, competition, deadline, deal-breakers.
- Mark each bid Go or No-go and note why.
- 60 min
Lesson 4: Understand the solicitation
Know exactly what the government is asking for and how it will score you.
- Open a bid and read its requirement list (the compliance matrix).
- Find Section L (how to format) and Section M (how you are scored).
- When an amendment is posted, compare it with the original so no change is missed.
- 60 min
Lesson 5: Write with proof
Build a proposal where every sentence is backed by your own records.
- Upload past performance write-ups, résumés and certificates to My Company Documents.
- Open a bid’s proposal and click any sentence to see its source, rule and evidence.
- Rewrite or remove anything the checks flagged.
- 45 min
Lesson 6: Check every rule
Confirm every sentence is sourced, accurate and allowed by the FAR.
- Open Rule Check to see how many sentences passed all three checks.
- Open anything that failed and read why.
- Look up any FAR clause in the built-in library.
- 30 min
Lesson 7: Approve, submit and stay on schedule
Get a human sign-off, package the files and never miss a date.
- Open Review & Submit, read the summary and approve.
- Download the package and upload it where the solicitation says (SAM.gov or an agency portal).
- Add every deadline to your own calendar from Deadlines & Reminders.
- Use Activity History to see who did what.
Your progress is saved in this browser only.
Glossary
Government words, in plain English.
46 terms. Links go to the official source.
- 8(a) Business Development
- An SBA program for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people. Some contracts are reserved for 8(a) firms. Official source
- Amendment
- An official change to a solicitation after it is posted — new dates, answers to questions or changed requirements. Always read every amendment.
- CAGE code
- A five-character ID the government assigns to your business when you register in SAM.gov.
- Capture
- Everything you do before writing a proposal to position yourself to win: learning the customer, the competition and the requirements.
- CMMC
- Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification — the Defense Department’s cybersecurity requirement for contractors that handle its information. Official source
- Color team review
- Scheduled internal reviews of a draft proposal, named by color — Pink team checks the outline, Red team scores it like the government would, Gold team gives final approval.
- Compliance matrix
- A checklist that maps every requirement in the solicitation to the exact place your proposal answers it.
- Contracting Officer (CO or KO)
- The government official with legal authority to sign, change or end a contract. Only the CO can bind the government.
- COR
- Contracting Officer’s Representative — the person who oversees the day-to-day work after award, but cannot change the contract.
- CPARS
- The system where agencies grade how well contractors performed. These grades become your past-performance record. Official source
- DCAA
- Defense Contract Audit Agency — audits contractors’ accounting systems and costs on many Defense contracts.
- Debrief
- A meeting or letter after an award decision explaining how your proposal was scored. Ask for one whether you win or lose.
- DFARS
- Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement — extra rules the Department of Defense adds to the FAR. Official source
- Discriminator
- Something true about your company that competitors cannot claim and the customer cares about.
- FAR
- Federal Acquisition Regulation — the main rulebook for how the U.S. government buys things. Official source
- FedRAMP
- The government-wide security approval process for cloud software used by federal agencies. Official source
- Go / no-go
- The decision whether to spend time and money bidding on an opportunity.
- Grant
- Money the government gives to support a public purpose, such as research. Unlike a contract, the government is not buying something for its own use. Official source
- GSA Schedule (MAS)
- A long-term government-wide contract with pre-negotiated prices. Agencies can order from companies on it quickly. Official source
- HUBZone
- An SBA program for small businesses located in, and hiring from, historically underutilized business zones. Official source
- IDIQ
- Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity — a contract that sets terms up front, then the government places individual task orders over time.
- IFB
- Invitation for Bid — a sealed-bid solicitation where the lowest-priced responsive bid usually wins.
- NAICS code
- A six-digit code for your industry. Solicitations list one, and it decides which size rules apply. Official source
- NOFO
- Notice of Funding Opportunity — the announcement for a federal grant.
- Option year
- An extra year the government may choose to add to a contract without re-competing it.
- Past performance
- Proof you have done similar work well before. It is often one of the biggest scoring factors.
- Period of performance
- The dates during which the contract work happens.
- Prime contractor
- The company that holds the contract directly with the government.
- Protest
- A formal challenge to how a contract was awarded, filed with the agency, the GAO or the Court of Federal Claims. Strict deadlines apply.
- PSC
- Product Service Code — a four-character code describing what the government is buying.
- RFI / Sources Sought
- Request for Information — the government is researching the market and asking who could do the work. Answering helps shape the real solicitation.
- RFP
- Request for Proposal — a formal solicitation asking companies to submit proposals that will be scored.
- RFQ
- Request for Quote — usually a simpler, faster request for pricing on a defined need.
- SAM.gov
- System for Award Management — the official site where opportunities are posted and where your business must register to get paid. Official source
- SDVOSB
- Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business — some contracts are set aside for these firms. Official source
- Section L
- The part of an RFP that tells you exactly how to format and organize your proposal.
- Section M
- The part of an RFP that explains how proposals will be scored. Write to Section M.
- Set-aside
- A contract reserved for a certain kind of business, such as small, 8(a), HUBZone, women-owned or veteran-owned.
- Solicitation
- The government’s official request for bids, quotes or proposals — the document you respond to.
- Statement of Work (SOW / PWS)
- The description of the work the government wants done. A PWS (Performance Work Statement) describes results instead of methods.
- Subcontractor
- A company that does part of the work for the prime contractor.
- Task order
- An individual order placed under an IDIQ or schedule contract.
- Teaming agreement
- A written agreement between companies to pursue a contract together, usually as prime and subcontractor.
- UEI
- Unique Entity ID — the 12-character ID from SAM.gov that identifies your business to the government. Official source
- Win theme
- A short, repeated message in your proposal that ties your strengths to what the customer cares most about.
- WOSB
- Women-Owned Small Business — an SBA program with contracts set aside for women-owned firms. Official source
Keyboard shortcuts
Move faster.
Shortcuts work once you are signed in. They are optional — everything also works with a mouse or a finger.
| ⌘ K or Ctrl K | Search every page, bid and action |
|---|---|
| ? | Show every keyboard shortcut |
| g then m | Go to Mission Control |
| g then p | Go to My Bids |
| g then c | Go to Rule Check |
| g then s | Go to Review & Submit |
| / | Filter agents and alerts on Mission Control |
| Esc | Close any window or panel |
Install on your phone
Put Bids2Bank on your home screen.
iPhone or iPad
Open Bids2Bank in Safari, tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
Android
Open Bids2Bank in Chrome, tap the ⋮ menu, then “Install app” or “Add to Home screen”.
Computer
In Chrome or Edge, click the install icon at the right end of the address bar.
Free official help
When you want a human, these are free.
APEX Accelerators give free one-on-one coaching in every state. The rest are the government’s own sites.
SAM.gov Where the government posts contract opportunities and where your company registers to be paid.SAM.gov registration Get your Unique Entity ID (UEI) and register your business. Free — never pay a third party for this.The FAR The Federal Acquisition Regulation: the rulebook every federal contract follows.The DFARS Extra rules the Department of Defense adds on top of the FAR.SBA federal contracting How small businesses win government work, from the Small Business Administration.SBA certification programs 8(a), HUBZone, women-owned and veteran-owned set-aside programs explained.APEX Accelerators Free, one-on-one government contracting coaching in every state.Grants.gov Where federal grants (not contracts) are posted and applied for.USAspending.gov Who the government paid, how much, and for what — useful to size up a market.DLA DIBBS Where the Defense Logistics Agency posts requests for quotation for spare parts and supplies, searchable by stock number (NSN).NAICS codes Find the six-digit industry code that describes what your company does.GSA Multiple Award Schedule The government’s long-term catalog contract many agencies buy from.CPARS Where agencies grade contractors’ past performance.FedRAMP The security approval cloud software needs before agencies can use it.CMMC The Defense Department’s cybersecurity requirement for its contractors.