Stop 2
Find opportunities
Most bids are posted on the buyer’s own portal, so the work is knowing which portals carry your kind of work and getting their alerts. A short weekly routine and one tracker keep you from missing a deadline.
Before you start
Have these ready
Steps
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Pick your NAICS and NIGP codes
Buyers sort vendors by code, and there are two systems to know. NAICS codes describe your industry, and federal buyers and SAM.gov use them. NIGP codes describe the specific goods or services you sell, and Texas state agencies, the CMBL, and the City of San Antonio use them.
A NIGP code has five digits: a three-digit class and a two-digit item. Classes 001 to 899 are goods, and 900 to 999 are services. Pick the codes in both systems for the work you actually do, and use the same ones on every registration.
Then add the plain words a buyer would type, such as “janitorial,” “floor care,” or “HVAC maintenance.” Codes alone miss bids, because buyers do not always tag them the way you would. Stuck on a NAICS code? Call the Census NAICS line at 1-888-756-2427.
Search NAICS codes Search NIGP codes
Learn more: Texas Comptroller: NIGP codesNIGP code FAQ
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Find the agencies that buy what you sell
Not every agency buys every kind of work. Pick your industry to see which local agencies buy it often, which buy it now and then, and which rarely do. Each agency links to its procurement page and shows its buying limits.
See the full matrix
Strong opportunityOccasional opportunityLess common
Agency Construction HVAC Electrical Plumbing Landscaping Janitorial IT / Technology Professional Services Engineering / Architecture Medical Supplies / Services Environmental / Water Transportation / Fleet Catering / Events Waste / Hazmat City of San Antonio Strong Strong Strong Strong Occasional Occasional Occasional Strong Strong Occasional Occasional Strong Occasional Occasional Bexar County Strong Occasional Occasional Strong Less common Less common Less common Occasional Strong Less common Strong Strong Less common Occasional CPS Energy Strong Less common Strong Strong Less common Less common Occasional Occasional Occasional Occasional Less common Occasional Less common Occasional San Antonio Water System Strong Occasional Occasional Strong Less common Less common Occasional Occasional Strong Less common Strong Less common Less common Strong VIA Metropolitan Transit Strong Strong Strong Strong Occasional Occasional Strong Strong Strong Less common Occasional Strong Strong Less common University Health Strong Strong Strong Strong Occasional Occasional Strong Strong Occasional Strong Less common Occasional Strong Less common Alamo Colleges District Strong Occasional Occasional Occasional Occasional Occasional Strong Strong Strong Occasional Less common Less common Occasional Less common UT San Antonio Strong Occasional Strong Occasional Less common Less common Occasional Strong Strong Less common Occasional Occasional Less common Occasional UT Health San Antonio Occasional Occasional Occasional Occasional Less common Occasional Strong Occasional Occasional Strong Less common Less common Strong Less common San Antonio River Authority Strong Occasional Occasional Strong Occasional Occasional Occasional Occasional Strong Less common Strong Occasional Less common Strong Port San Antonio Strong Occasional Occasional Occasional Less common Strong Occasional Strong Occasional Less common Less common Less common Less common Less common Brooks Development Authority Strong Occasional Occasional Occasional Strong Strong Less common Strong Occasional Less common Less common Less common Less common Less common Edwards Aquifer Authority Less common Less common Less common Less common Less common Less common Occasional Strong Occasional Less common Strong Less common Less common Occasional Opportunity Home Strong Strong Strong Strong Strong Occasional Occasional Strong Strong Less common Strong Occasional Occasional Strong From Supply SA’s RFQ Match Matrix. Buying patterns change, so check each agency’s current solicitations too.
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Start with the free official sources
These are where the solicitations actually live. You register and submit here, and this is where addenda get posted.
Local agencies
Supply SA’s partner portals page links to 16 local procurement pages. Register on the ones that buy your work and turn on category notices.
Partner portalsTexas state agencies
The Electronic State Business Daily lists state solicitations. Search by keyword or agency, or look up a solicitation number.
Open ESBDFederal agencies
SAM.gov contract opportunities. Save a search with your codes and keywords and turn on email notifications.
Open SAM.gov
SAM.gov contract opportunities search showing active federal solicitations. Sign in to save a search and turn on notifications. 
Electronic State Business Daily, where Texas state agencies post solicitations. No sign-in required to browse. -
Add a bid aggregator if you want one inbox
Aggregators pull bids from many portals into one feed. They help you spot leads, but you still register, download addenda, and submit in the buyer’s own portal. Free tiers are a good start. Try one paid tool at a time and cancel trials you do not use.
Source Price What it covers Texas ESBD Free Free Texas state bid postings. Search by keyword or agency. SAM.gov Free Free Federal solicitations, with saved searches and email alerts. CivCast Free Free for contractors Construction and civil project bids. Contractors view plans and addenda at no cost. BidNet Direct Free tier Basic: free. Local: $599/yr. Regional: $1,199/yr. National: $1,999/yr. Basic covers member-agency bids. Paid tiers cover one state, three states, or all states. FindRFP Regional Paid $19.95/mo or $199.50/yr. One-week free trial. Up to four states with daily bid emails. The trial renews unless you cancel. RFP Delivery Home State Paid $39/mo Bids from every level of government in one state. CLEATUS Data Paid $39 a month for each user, billed yearly. Seven-day free trial. Contracts from every level of government, plus forecasts and subcontracts. Bid Banana Paid $50/mo or $480/yr. Seven-day free trial. All 50 states, saved searches, and daily alerts. HigherGov Standard Paid $500/yr, one user Bids from every level of government, plus award research and pursuit tools. GovTribe Paid From $1,900/yr for one user Opportunities from every level of government, plus award and market research. Prices can change, so confirm current pricing on each provider’s site before you sign up. Supply SA does not recommend one paid tool over another.
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Look at who already buys and who keeps winning
Past awards tell you which agencies buy your work, how often, at what size, and who won. A contract that ended recently may come back up for bid, so call the purchasing office and ask when.
USAspending.gov is free for federal awards. Paid tools such as HigherGov also cover award history and some state and local data.
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Track every bid in one place
Use one tracker for every bid you look at, even the ones you pass on. Supply SA uses the free GovCon Contract CRM Tracker with vendors. Record at least these for each bid:
- Buyer
- Solicitation number
- Official link
- Scope
- Due date and time, with time zone
- Questions deadline
- Mandatory meeting
- Prime or sub
- Fit decision
- Owner
- Next action
- Follow-up date
- Outcome
Prefer something else? Free tiers: Notion, Airtable, HubSpot, Trello. Paid: Monday.com, Pipedrive. HigherGov has a pursuit pipeline if you already pay for it.
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Run a 30-minute weekly routine
Pick one day and do the same four things. Tick them off here each week.
This week
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Search beyond San Antonio when it fits
Federal work can be performed anywhere, and Austin and Houston agencies buy the same services. Widen your saved searches when you have the capacity to travel or staff another site. Skip bids that require a local office you do not have.
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Start with small purchases
Every agency sorts purchases by size. Small ones need no competition at all, mid-size ones need a few quotes, and only large ones go out as formal advertised bids. Texas law requires cities and counties to use formal bids or proposals above $100,000, and many local agencies set lower limits of their own.
The smaller tiers are the easiest place to win your first public job. Call each purchasing office you registered with, ask who requests quotes for your kind of work, and ask how to get on the list. A small job done well becomes your first public reference.
- No competition
- The agency can buy from any vendor it chooses.
- Informal quotes
- The agency must get at least three quotes.
- Formal bid
- The agency must advertise publicly, as its governing laws require.
Each agency provided these figures in good faith for the small business community. Supply SA is not responsible for errors, omissions, or policy changes by agencies. Agency No competition Informal quotes Formal bid Alamo Colleges District Under $2,000 $2,000 to $50,000 Over $50,000 Bexar County Under $2,000 $2,000 to $100,000 $50,000 and above Brooks Development Authority Under $50,000 $50,000 to $250,000 Over $250,000 City of San Antonio Under $3,000 $3,000 to $50,000 Over $50,000 CPS Energy Under $25,000 $25,000 to $50,000 $50,000 and above Edwards Aquifer Authority Under $3,000 $3,000 to $50,000 Over $50,000 Opportunity Home Under $3,000 $3,000 to $100,000 Over $100,000 Port San Antonio Under $50,000 $50,000 to $250,000 Over $250,000 San Antonio River Authority Under $5,000 $5,000 to $150,000 Over $150,000 San Antonio Water System Under $3,000 $3,000 to $100,000 Over $100,000 University Health Under $50,000 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 and up UT Health San Antonio Under $15,000 $15,001 to $50,000 $50,001 and up UT San Antonio Under $15,000 $15,001 to $50,000 $50,001 and up VIA Metropolitan Transit Under $10,000 $10,000 to $150,000 $50,000 and above Learn more: City purchasing rules (Local Gov. Code ch. 252)County purchasing rules (Local Gov. Code ch. 262)
Common snags
- Alerts stopped coming
- Check the spam folder, the email on each profile, and whether a registration lapsed.
- Too many alerts to read
- Narrow by keyword and agency as well as by code. Delete searches that never produce a bid you would chase.
- You found the bid on an aggregator but missed an addendum
- Addenda post on the buyer’s portal. Download the solicitation there so you get every change.