How to find federal subcontracting work
Subcontracting is how most small service companies get their first federal work. The hard part is not finding a list of primes. It is getting in front of the right one, for the right contract, before they have already picked their team.
Start with who already holds the work
Every federal contract award is public. USASpending.gov lets anyone search awards by place of performance and by the kind of work, so you can see which companies hold the janitorial, grounds, guard or food service contracts near you, how large they are, and when their current period of performance ends.
That list is your prospect list. A prime that already holds a contract in your county, for the work you do, is far likelier to need a local subcontractor than one found by searching a directory. We publish the largest service awards by category and state as a starting point, with a link from each award to its official record.
Where primes look for subcontractors
- SBA SubNet. The Small Business Administration’s database where prime contractors post subcontracting opportunities. Free to search.
- Interested vendor lists on SAM.gov. Many contract opportunities on SAM.gov let companies add themselves to a public list of interested vendors. Primes read those lists when building a team, and adding yourself costs nothing.
- Industry days and sources-sought notices. When an agency holds an industry day or issues a sources-sought notice, it is often months before the actual solicitation. That is the window in which primes are still putting teams together.
- Large-business subcontracting plans. Large primes on bigger federal contracts are required to have small business subcontracting plans with goals attached. SBA publishes a directory of those prime contractors, and each has a small business liaison whose job includes meeting firms like yours.
Why the vendor portal goes nowhere
Almost every large prime runs a supplier registration portal, and almost everyone who registers on one hears nothing back. That is not because the portal is broken. A portal registration tells a prime you exist; it does not tell them you are the answer to a specific contract they are bidding or performing.
What works better is specific: a named contract, in a named place, and a short note on the part of it you can perform. “We do grounds maintenance within twenty miles of the base and can staff the mowing on your grounds contract there” gets read. “We are a service-disabled veteran-owned small business interested in teaming” mostly does not.
Have your numbers ready
When a prime does respond, the first real question is price. On Service Contract Act work your labor cost has a legal floor set by the wage determination for the place of performance, and a prime will expect your rates to be built on it. Know your fully burdened rate for each role before the conversation, not after — the free pricer does that from the current determination.
And know how long you can carry the payroll. Subcontractors are usually paid after the prime is paid, which can stretch the gap well past the 30 days a prime waits on the government. Work out how much cash that takes.
Free help
APEX Accelerators (formerly Procurement Technical Assistance Centers) offer free one-to-one help with finding opportunities, registration and teaming, in every state. Most agencies also have an Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization whose staff will tell you what the agency buys and who from. Neither charges, and neither is selling anything — which is worth remembering the next time someone offers to find you contracts for a fee.
Informational only, and not legal advice. The wage determination incorporated into your solicitation governs, and coverage turns on the facts of your particular contract. When real money rides on the answer, confirm it with the contracting officer or counsel.