Should Your Small Business Bid? A 7-Question Government Contract Checklist

1. Does the work match what your company actually provides?

Start with the scope of work. Look for a direct connection between the requested products or services and the work your business performs today. Similar wording alone does not prove that the opportunity fits.

• Record which requirements are confirmed by the solicitation.
• Separate reasonable interpretations from verified facts.
• Mark missing or unclear information as Needs Verification instead of guessing.

2. Is your company eligible to compete?

Check every published eligibility requirement, including set-aside status, certifications, licenses, registrations, location requirements, and experience thresholds. Never assume that your company qualifies because an opportunity appears in a search result.

3. Can you meet the deadline and every required milestone?

The final submission deadline is only one date. A solicitation may also contain deadlines for questions, mandatory site visits, supplier quotes, registrations, samples, or amendment acknowledgments. Build a calendar and work backward from the official submission time.

4. Can you perform the contract if you win?

Consider staffing, equipment, suppliers, subcontractors, cash flow, insurance, bonding, delivery capacity, and reporting obligations. A proposal should be supported by capabilities your business can document and deliver.

• Confirm the resources available now.
• Identify capacity gaps before promising performance.
• Do not invent experience, certifications, personnel, or partnerships.

5. Can you develop a defensible price?

A workable price should account for direct labor, materials, suppliers or subcontractors, overhead, risk, and profit. Confirm the solicitation's required pricing format and identify every assumption that could change the final amount. Pricing remains a customer decision and must be reviewed before submission.

6. Can you comply with the submission instructions?

Government solicitations may require specific forms, signatures, certifications, file names, page limits, delivery methods, and proposal sections. Build a compliance matrix that connects each requirement to an owner, source, status, and final location in the response.

7. Is this opportunity worth the effort?

Compare fit, competition, expected value, strategic importance, preparation cost, performance risk, and the probability of producing a compliant response. A disciplined no-bid decision can protect time for a stronger opportunity.

• Use the free Kentucky bid-readiness checklist for an initial review.
• Use DEEBid to connect opportunity analysis, requirements, pricing, proposal work, and final customer review.
• DEE Strategic Solutions LLC is an independent consulting service, not a government agency. The official solicitation and its amendments always control.