Guide library
Original, plain-language guides to winning and delivering federal construction work. Free to read; members also get the downloadable member toolkit.
19 guides.
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Bid, Performance, and Payment Bonds for Federal Work
The three bonds that show up in federal construction, what they cover, and how to strengthen your bonding capacity.
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Change Orders and Differing Site Conditions
Protecting your time and money when the government changes the work or the site is not as shown.
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Choosing NAICS Codes for a Construction Business
How the North American Industry Classification System drives whether you are seen as a small business for a given contract.
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Compliance and Audit Readiness for Construction Contractors
The records and habits that keep a federal construction contract clean under review.
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Davis-Bacon and Prevailing Wages
Why federal construction wages are set by law, and what that means for your bid and your payroll.
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FAR Basics Every Construction Contractor Should Know
The Federal Acquisition Regulation in plain terms: the clauses that shape construction contracts.
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Getting Paid on Federal Work: The Prompt Payment Act
When the government must pay your invoices, and how to keep proper invoices from being rejected.
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HUBZone: Eligibility and the 35% Rule
How the Historically Underutilized Business Zone program works and the hiring requirement that trips firms up.
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How to Read a Federal Solicitation
Where the real requirements, dates, and evaluation factors live in a solicitation — and what to read first.
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How to Register in SAM.gov (and Keep It Active)
A plain-language walkthrough of getting a Unique Entity ID and an active SAM.gov registration so you can bid on federal work.
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PSC Codes: Matching Your Work to a Solicitation
Product and Service Codes classify what is being bought — and why they matter for finding and winning construction contracts.
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Past Performance and CPARS
Why your performance record follows you, and how to manage the evaluations that shape future bids.
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Pricing Federal Construction Work
How to build an estimate that is competitive and still profitable on a federal job.
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SDVOSB and VOSB: Serving Veteran-Owned Businesses
How veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses qualify for federal set-asides.
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Small-Business Set-Asides Explained
Total small business, partial set-asides, and how the government reserves work for smaller firms.
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Teaming Agreements and Joint Ventures
How construction firms combine to pursue larger federal contracts — and the rules that govern them.
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The 8(a) Business Development Program
What the 8(a) program is, who qualifies, and how it helps small and disadvantaged construction firms.
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WOSB and EDWOSB Certification
Women-owned and economically disadvantaged women-owned small business set-asides for construction firms.
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Writing a Winning Construction Proposal
Turn the evaluation factors into a proposal that scores, while keeping it responsive to the instructions.
Members get the toolkit
Federal Construction Show Pro Membership adds the member toolkit — checklists and templates you can put to work on a live bid — on top of the free guides. $159 one-time.