⚠️ Reality Check for New Contractors

Honest Guidance: Government contracting rewards patience and strategy. This section helps new and small contractors focus on winnable opportunities rather than wasting BD resources on long shots.

📊 Know Your Position

Before pursuing any opportunity, honestly assess:

• Past Performance — How many relevant contract references do you have?
• Contract Size History — What's the largest contract you've successfully performed?
• Certifications — SDVOSB, 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB — these open doors
• Clearances — Facility clearance? Employee clearances?
• Team Size — Can you staff the requirement?

✅ High-Probability Opportunities for New Companies

• Set-Aside Sole-Source — SDVOSB/8(a)/HUBZone sole-source has reduced competition
• Sources Sought / RFIs — Respond to get on agency radar, zero commitment
• Small Task Orders — Off existing BPAs, GWACs, or IDIQs
• Teaming/Subcontracting — Partner with primes (you bring cert, they bring past performance)
• Micro-Purchases (<$10K) — Often don't require past performance
• Emerging/New Entrant Programs — Some agencies actively seek new vendors

❌ Common Traps for New Contractors

• Pursuing multi-million dollar primes without relevant past performance
• Contracts requiring facility clearances you don't have
• Large staffing contracts when you're a small team
• Contracts requiring 3+ past performance references when you have 0-1
• Competing against well-established incumbents with no differentiator
• Spending weeks on proposals for opportunities you can't realistically win

🎯 Building Your Track Record

1. Respond to every relevant RFI — Gets your name in front of Contracting Officers
2. Target set-aside sole-source under $250K — Sweet spot for new companies
3. Subcontract first — Build past performance working under a prime
4. Consider mentor-protégé or JV — Leverage larger partners' experience
5. Grow incrementally — $50K → $150K → $500K → $1M+

📈 Using AI Fit Scores Wisely

The AI analysis considers your company profile from Settings. Tips:

• Keep your company profile accurate and updated
• Scores above 70 on set-asides matching your certs are strong signals
• Be skeptical of high scores on large contracts if you lack past performance
• The AI flags risks — read the full analysis, not just the score
• Use "Likely Award" estimates to gauge if the contract size is right for you

📋 Opportunities View

Status Bar (Click to Filter)

• Total — All opportunities in database
• Unreviewed — New opportunities not yet triaged
• Reviewed — Looked at but not decided
• Pursuing — Actively in pipeline
• Watchlist — Keeping an eye on
• Staged — Queued for batch AI analysis
• Archived — Past due or closed
• Due Soon — Response deadline within 7 days

Actions Menu (⚡)

• 🔄 Fetch New Opportunities — Pull from SAM.gov (select NAICS codes, days back, SDVOSB option)
• 🗑️ Cleanup Past Due — Review and archive/delete expired opportunities
• 💰 Calculate All Award Amounts — Run likely award estimation on all opportunities
• 📥 Export CSV — Download all opportunities as spreadsheet

Saved Searches (Preset Filters)

Create saved search presets to quickly filter opportunities. Common configurations:

• By Set-Aside — Filter for your specific certifications (SDVOSB, 8(a), etc.)
• By NAICS — Focus on your core service codes
• Combined Filters — Set-aside + NAICS + notice type for targeted results
• Deadline-Based — Opportunities due within specific timeframes
• Custom Keywords — Search by specific terms relevant to your services

More Filters

• Notice Types — Solicitation, Combined Synopsis, Presolicitation, Sources Sought, Award
• NAICS Codes — Filter by specific codes, add new ones with the + button
• Set-Asides — SDVOSB, 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, Small Business, etc.
• Deadline Range — Filter by response due date window

Staging for Batch Analysis

1. Click the ☐ checkbox on opportunities worth deeper review
2. Use "Select All Staged" or manually select
3. Click 🧠 Batch Full Analysis to run AI analysis on all staged
4. Each analysis includes fit scoring, likely award estimation, and recommendations

Opportunity Card Actions

• ✅ Pursue — Add to active pipeline
• 👁️ Watchlist — Monitor without committing
• ❌ Quick Exclude — Remove with reason (Too Large, Wrong Scope, etc.)
• 📄 Extract Scope — Download attachments and parse for key requirements
• 🤖 AI Analysis — Get fit score, recommendations, and award estimate
• 🔍 Find Similar — Search for related past opportunities
• 📜 Procurement History — Look up past awards on this contract
• 🔗 External Links — Find related links (USASpending, FPDS, agency sites)
• 👥 Find Subcontractors — Search SAM.gov for potential teaming partners

🚀 Pipeline View

Kanban-style board to track opportunities from identification through award.

Pipeline Stages

• 🔍 Identified — Marked for pursuit, needs initial research
• 🚦 Go/No-Go — Awaiting formal bid decision
• ✍️ Drafting — Actively writing proposal
• 👀 Review — Internal review before submission
• 📤 Submitted — Proposal submitted, awaiting award decision
• 🏆 Won — Contract awarded! 🎉

Drag and Drop

Drag cards between columns to move through stages. The system tracks stage changes automatically.

Pipeline Details (Click Card to Open)

• Key Dates — Questions due, site visit, expected award date
• Go/No-Go Decision — Pending, Go, No-Go, or Conditional
• Pwin Rating — Win probability (1-5 scale)
• Bid Investment — Track hours and costs spent
• Teaming — Capture manager, teaming partners
• Competition — Known competitors
• Activity Log — Track meetings, calls, decisions, milestones
• Attached Playbooks — Link relevant playbooks

Pwin Ratings Guide

📚 Playbooks & Templates

Store reusable content, capture playbooks, and proposal templates.

Playbook Types

• 📖 Playbooks — Capture strategies, past performance write-ups, technical approaches
• 📄 Templates — Proposal templates, cover letters, compliance matrices

Categories

• Capture — Capture plans, competitive analysis, win strategies
• Technical — Technical approach sections, solution descriptions
• Management — Management approach, staffing plans, org charts
• Past Performance — PP write-ups, relevancy matrices
• Pricing — Pricing templates, cost models, rate cards
• Compliance — Checklists, matrices, Section L/M guides
• General — Everything else

Features

• Rich Text Content — Write directly in the playbook editor
• File Attachments — Upload Word docs, PDFs, Excel files
• Tags — Organize with custom tags
• Pin — Pin frequently used playbooks to the top
• Link to Opportunities — Attach playbooks to specific pursuits
• Search — Find playbooks by title, content, or tags

Building Your Playbook Library

The most successful contractors build reusable content over time:

• Past Performance — Write once, reuse forever. Keep multiple versions for different audiences.
• Technical Approaches — Create modular sections you can adapt per opportunity.
• Boilerplate — Company overview, key personnel bios, certifications.
• Compliance Templates — Section L/M matrices, responsibility matrices, QASP templates.

💡 Tip: After every proposal, save the best sections as playbooks. Your proposal quality compounds over time.

💰 Costs View

Track both API usage costs and business development expenses.

🤖 API Usage Tab

Monitors AI API costs for opportunity analysis, scope extraction, and award estimation.

• Period Filters — 24h, 7 Days, 30 Days, 90 Days, All Time
• By Model — See which AI models are costing the most
• By Endpoint — Analyze vs Extract vs Award Estimation costs
• By Opportunity — Track spend per opportunity
• Export CSV — Download usage data

💼 Business Costs Tab

Track BD and capture costs per opportunity or as general overhead.

• Categories — Travel, Labor, Proposal, Subscriptions, Marketing, etc.
• Link to Opportunity — Associate costs with specific pursuits
• Date Tracking — When costs were incurred
• Charts — Visualize spending by category, time period
• Export CSV — Download cost data

Why Track Costs?

Understanding your BD investment per pursuit helps you:

• Calculate true cost-per-win
• Make smarter go/no-go decisions
• Justify BD budgets
• Identify where you're over/under-investing

📊 Analytics View

Available Analytics

• By Agency — Opportunity count per department, SDVOSB count, pursuing count
• By NAICS — Breakdown by NAICS code with descriptions
• Upcoming Deadlines — Next 5 opportunities due
• Pipeline Summary — Total, unreviewed, pursuing, watchlist, due soon
• Value Summary — Estimated total value of opportunities by status

Using Analytics Strategically

• Identify Target Agencies — Which agencies post the most SDVOSB opportunities in your NAICS?
• Spot Trends — Are certain NAICS codes heating up?
• Manage Workload — Track how many opportunities are in each stage
• Deadline Management — Never miss a response deadline

⚙️ Settings

🏢 Company Profile

This information powers the AI fit analysis. Keep it accurate!

• Basic Info — Company name, size, certifications
• Capabilities — Core competencies, service lines
• Past Performance — Key contracts, relevant experience
• Target Agencies — Preferred customers
• Geographic Coverage — Where you can perform work

🤖 AI Configuration

• Model Selection — Choose AI model for analysis
• Custom Prompts — Adjust how AI evaluates opportunities
• Reset to Defaults — Restore original prompts

🔑 API Keys

• OpenAI/Anthropic — Required for AI analysis features
• SAM.gov API — Required for fetching opportunities
• Test Connection — Verify keys are working

💡 Tips & Best Practices

Daily Workflow (5-10 min)

1. Check "Due Soon" — Any urgent deadlines?
2. Review Unreviewed — Quick triage of new opportunities
3. Stage promising ones — Queue for batch analysis
4. Run Batch Analysis — Get AI insights on staged opps
5. Update Pipeline — Log activity on active pursuits

Weekly Workflow (30 min)

1. Deep-dive on Pursuing — Read full solicitations, extract scope
2. Review Watchlist — Any worth upgrading to Pursue?
3. Check Analytics — Spot trends, adjust targeting
4. Cleanup — Archive old, excluded opportunities

Quick Exclude Strategy

Be aggressive with exclusions. Your time is limited. Exclude immediately if:

• Contract value exceeds $500K (for now)
• Requires facility clearance
• Requires 3+ past performance references
• Wrong NAICS code / outside your lane
• Location you can't serve
• Incumbent is wired in

Responding to RFIs/Sources Sought

Always respond! These are low-effort, high-value:

• Gets your name in front of the Contracting Officer
• Shapes the eventual solicitation
• No commitment to bid later
• Builds your "known vendor" status

Go/No-Go Checklist

Before investing significant proposal effort, answer honestly:

• ☐ Do we meet ALL mandatory requirements?
• ☐ Is the contract size right for us?
• ☐ Can we credibly claim relevant experience?
• ☐ Is the timeline realistic to respond?
• ☐ Do we have any competitive advantage?
• ☐ Is the win worth the bid cost?

Automation

SAMscout supports automated scheduling:

• Auto-Fetch — Schedule daily opportunity fetches at your preferred time
• Deadline Alerts — Get notified about opportunities due within 7 days
• Cleanup — Automatically archive past-due opportunities

Getting Help & Support

• Documentation — You're reading it! Each section covers a major feature.
• Feature Requests — We're constantly improving based on user feedback.
• Bug Reports — Found an issue? Let us know and we'll fix it.

💡 Pro Tip: The best way to learn SAMscout is to use it daily. Start with a small batch of opportunities, run through the full workflow, and you'll be a power user within a week.