How to Sell Software to the Government as a Small Business

Short answer: Register in SAM.gov, pick your NAICS codes, confirm you are a small business under SBA's revenue limits, then go after small purchases first: anything under the $15,000 federal micro-purchase threshold, state and city deals, and subcontracts. Big schedules, FedRAMP and UK frameworks come later, once a buyer is actually asking for them.

Every number below comes from an official page (SBA, the FAR, Treasury, GSA, FedRAMP, gov.uk or the UK Government Commercial Agency), checked on 11 Nov 2026. The advice in between is ours and is marked as such. This is not legal or procurement advice.

TL;DR#

• Register first. SBA says "you must register your business in the federal government's System for Award Management (SAM)" (SBA). SAM assigns your Unique Entity ID and you renew every 365 days (SAM.gov).
• Small is generous for software. SBA's size standard is $34.0 million in annual receipts for 541511 and 541512, and $47.0 million for 513210 Software Publishers (SBA table).
• Start under $15,000. FAR 2.101 says the micro-purchase threshold "means $15,000" and the simplified acquisition threshold "means $350,000" (FAR 2.101).
• Schedules and FedRAMP are later moves. The GSA schedule is optional and takes "several weeks to months" (GSA). FedRAMP matters when an agency puts federal data in your cloud.
• UK route: Find a Tender plus G-Cloud 15, which replaced G-Cloud 14 and runs from 6 August 2026.

Disclosure: ZeroRaised is a launch site for bootstrapped products. We have no relationship with any agency, consultant or registration service named here and earn nothing from them. Facts come from the linked official pages as checked on 11 Nov 2026.

Why government is worth a bootstrapped founder's time#

Government buyers pay on known terms and small businesses get a protected share. SBA says "the government works to make sure small businesses get at least 23% of all federal contracting dollars", and that "the government limits competition for certain contracts to small businesses" through set-asides (SBA federal contracting).

The catch is speed and paperwork. Our read: government is a good second market for a SaaS that already has paying private customers and a clear security story, and a poor first market for a product still searching for fit. The basic motion in our guide on how to sell B2B SaaS as a solo founder still applies; government adds procurement on top.

Step 1: Register in SAM.gov and get your UEI#

SAM.gov is the front door for US federal work. The SAM.gov registration page says "As part of registration, we will assign you a Unique Entity ID", and that "You must renew your registration every 365 days to keep it active."

Our read: have your legal name and address exactly as your tax records show, your EIN, bank details and NAICS codes ready, and register directly on SAM.gov rather than paying a "registration service". If you want a human to check your entry, SBA lists APEX Accelerators (formerly PTACs) on its free counseling page, describing them as help to "determine readiness, register for procurement systems, pursue opportunities, and find bids."

Step 2: Choose NAICS codes and check your size#

Agencies tag each opportunity with a NAICS code, and the code decides which SBA size standard applies. For software, these are the usual candidates, with titles and size standards from SBA's table of size standards (effective 17 March 2023; page last updated 30 July 2026):

The dollar figures are average annual receipts. A bootstrapped SaaS doing a few hundred thousand a year is comfortably small under every one of these codes.

Our read: make your primary code the one that describes how you mostly earn money (513210 for a product company, 541511 for a dev shop), then add codes for other work you genuinely do.

Step 3: Understand the thresholds that decide how hard a sale is#

The dollar value of a purchase changes the process more than anything else. From FAR 2.101, checked today:

Note that FAR 2.101 lists exceptions to the micro-purchase figure (for example lower values for certain construction and service contracts), so read the full definition if your sale is unusual.

Our read: price your first government offer so a single annual subscription lands under $15,000. A program office with a card can say yes in days, not months, and that first paid contract becomes the past performance you need for bigger bids.

Step 4: Find buyers, not just notices#

Small purchases are rarely advertised, so refreshing opportunity listings is not enough. Our playbook:

1. Search award history on SAM.gov by your NAICS codes to see which offices already buy tools like yours.
2. Write a one-page capability statement: what you sell, NAICS codes, UEI, customer results you can name, security posture, one contact.
3. Email the program office, not just contracting. The team with the problem starts the purchase; contracting officers run the process.
4. Subcontract. Primes with federal contracts look for small business partners, and a subcontract gives you federal past performance without running the whole bid.

Step 5: State and local, the faster cousin#

Cities, counties, school districts and states each run their own rules and portals. Our read: they often move faster than federal agencies, so register on the portals of the places you target.

Cooperative contracts are a shortcut. Sourcewell says its contracts are available to "government and education entities", that they "register to participate for free", and that "businesses, private consumers, and for-profit organizations are not eligible" as buyers (Sourcewell). Vendors win a Sourcewell contract by responding to its nationally advertised solicitations, listed on its solicitations page. Once you hold one, any participating agency can buy from you without running its own tender.

On security, some state buyers reference GovRAMP, "a nonprofit membership organization that brings governments and technology providers together" (GovRAMP).

Step 6: GSA Schedule, when it is worth it#

The GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) is a long-term, pre-negotiated contract that lets any agency buy from you without a fresh competition. GSA's own steps list "Get on Schedule (optional)", and say the process "may take several weeks to months to complete" (GSA). The MAS solicitation is published on SAM.gov.

There is a fee. GSA's Vendor Support Center says the MAS "Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) rate is currently 0.75% unless otherwise stated in the solicitation" (GSA VSC). You build it into your schedule prices and remit it on reported sales.

Our read: apply for a schedule once you have a few government customers and agencies keep asking "are you on GSA?". Before that, the hours are better spent closing micro-purchases.

Step 7: Security, FedRAMP and questionnaires#

Expect security questions on every deal. For federal cloud services the framework is FedRAMP. Its marketplace is "a searchable database of FedRAMP certified cloud services, authorizing agencies, and FedRAMP recognized assessors."

The newer path is FedRAMP 20x, described as "a new approach to cloud security assessment and authorization that moves beyond traditional compliance". The 20x page says "The full rules for FedRAMP 20x Certification are now finalized for Class A, Class B, and Class C", with Class B mapped to Low and Class C to Moderate, and that "FedRAMP will stop accepting new Rev5 Certifications on June 11, 2027". FedRAMP's site changelog for 2 November 2026 points to a post celebrating the first full 20x Class C certification.

Our read: do not start FedRAMP on spec. Ask each buyer what they require; for small purchases of tools holding no sensitive federal data, a security questionnaire may be enough. Have SSO, MFA, encryption, audit logs, an incident response plan and a clear hosting answer ready. Our guide to SOC 2 for bootstrapped startups covers the cheapest route to controls that carry over to government questionnaires.

Step 8: Getting paid#

Federal agencies pay on known terms. Treasury's Prompt Payment FAQs say payment is generally due "30 days after the agency has received a proper invoice", counting calendar days (Treasury FAQs). Treasury also says: "In most cases, when an agency pays a vendor late, the agency must pay interest." The Prompt Payment interest rate for 1 July to 31 December 2026 is 4.75% (Treasury Prompt Payment).

Our read: the clock starts on a proper invoice, so match the contract number, line items and remittance details exactly, or you risk waiting longer.

If you sell in the UK#

The Procurement Act 2023 "came into force on 24 February 2025", with reforms meant to "open up public procurement to new entrants such as small businesses."

• Find a Tender is "where public sector buyers publish notices about procurements opportunities and contracts" (Find a Tender). From 24 February 2025, above and below threshold notices for new procurements are published there (except below threshold in Scotland). Registering a supplier organisation needs a GOV.UK One Login.
• Contracts Finder is still live and is where England's lower-value opportunities from older procurements appear (Contracts Finder).
• G-Cloud 15 is the cloud software route. Crown Commercial Service "became Government Commercial Agency on 1 April 2026". G-Cloud 14 expired on 28 October 2026, and "G-Cloud 15 has replaced G-Cloud 14". It is "an open framework, let under the Procurement Act 2023", and "will run for 4 years from 6 August 2026 (reopening after 18 months and again after 36 months)" (GCA RM1557.15).

Our read: if you missed G-Cloud 15, use the months before it reopens to win UK references through direct, low-value sales.

Worked example: a two-person SaaS's first federal deal#

This is an illustrative example, not a real company. The thresholds and fee are from the sources above; the deal and numbers are ours.

A two-founder company sells a document workflow SaaS at $9,000 a year to private customers and does $400,000 in annual revenue.

Our read: the first sale needs a registration and a good email; it then becomes the past performance the bigger steps require.

Your 90-day plan#

If grants are also on your list, SBIR/STTR is a separate door into agencies; our startup grants guide covers it, including eligibility and timelines.

Mistakes to avoid#

• Chasing huge RFPs first without past performance.
• Starting FedRAMP before a buyer asks.
• Letting SAM registration lapse past 365 days.
• Invoicing loosely, since the 30-day clock starts on a proper invoice.

Frequently asked questions#

Can a small software company really sell to the government?#

Yes. SBA says the government works to make sure small businesses get at least 23% of all federal contracting dollars, and it limits competition for some contracts to small businesses through set-asides. The realistic first sale for a bootstrapped company is small: a purchase under the $15,000 micro-purchase threshold, a state or local deal, or a subcontract to a larger prime.

What NAICS code should a SaaS company use?#

Most software companies list several. Common choices are 513210 Software Publishers, 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services, 541512 Computer Systems Design Services and 518210 Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services. Pick a primary code that matches how you mostly earn revenue, then add the others that match work you actually do.

Do I need FedRAMP to sell SaaS to federal agencies?#

Not for every sale, but expect the question as soon as an agency wants to put federal data into your cloud service. FedRAMP is the federal program for cloud security authorization, and its newer 20x path has finalized rules for Class A, B and C certifications. For a first deal, ask the buyer early what authorization they require before you invest.

Do I need to be on the GSA Schedule to sell to the government?#

No. GSA lists getting on schedule as an optional step. Agencies can buy small amounts directly, for example under the micro-purchase threshold. The schedule helps when agencies want to buy through a pre-negotiated vehicle, but the offer process can take several weeks to months and you pay a 0.75% Industrial Funding Fee on schedule sales.

How do I sell software to the UK government?#

Register on Find a Tender, where public sector buyers publish procurement notices under the Procurement Act 2023, and watch Contracts Finder for lower-value opportunities in England. For cloud software, the main route is G-Cloud 15, an open framework run by the Government Commercial Agency that started on 6 August 2026 and is planned to reopen after 18 months.

Launch it where makers look#

Government buyers check whether a product is real: a public site, customers and a track record. Before you send that first capability statement, work through our product launch checklist for bootstrapped makers, then launch on ZeroRaised for free so your product has a public launch page you can link. For more guides on selling without investors, join the ZeroRaised newsletter.

Sources#

• SBA: Federal contracting, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• SBA: Basic requirements, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• SBA: Counseling help (APEX Accelerators), last checked 11 Nov 2026
• SBA: Table of size standards, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• SAM.gov: Entity registration, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• FAR 2.101 Definitions, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• GSA: Become a Multiple Award Schedule holder, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• GSA Vendor Support Center: MAS IFF rates, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• FedRAMP, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• FedRAMP 20x, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• GovRAMP, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• Sourcewell: How it works, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• Sourcewell: Solicitations, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• Treasury: Prompt Payment, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• Treasury: Prompt Payment FAQs, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• gov.uk: Transforming public procurement, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• Find a Tender, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• Contracts Finder, last checked 11 Nov 2026
• Government Commercial Agency: G-Cloud 15 (RM1557.15), last checked 11 Nov 2026
• Government Commercial Agency: G-Cloud 14 (RM1557.14), last checked 11 Nov 2026