Free, and they gate everything: SAM.gov for federal (allow 2–3 weeks for activation — do it before you need it), MyFloridaMarketPlace for state work, and vendor registration on your target counties' and cities' portals. While registering, note each system's commodity codes for your trade — they drive which notifications you receive.
Every ITB/RFP answers five questions if you read in the right order: scope (what exactly, at what size), mandatory events (pre-bid meetings — miss a mandatory one and you cannot bid), qualification requirements (licenses, certifications, past-performance minimums, bonding), the pricing form (unit prices? lump sum? alternates?), and evaluation method (low bid vs. best value). Fifteen minutes in that order tells you go/no-go before you've sunk an evening.
Public work above statutory thresholds requires bid bonds (commonly 5%) and payment/performance bonds at award. A surety relationship takes days to establish and minutes to use — build it before the bid you want appears. FDOT and some owners additionally require prequalification filed well ahead; that paperwork is a gate you clear once, not per-bid.
Walk-throughs reveal what PDFs hide: access problems, occupied-facility constraints, the condition under the old roof, who else showed up (your true competitor count). Ask questions there and in writing — answers become addenda that bind everyone, and an addendum you triggered is an edge you priced that others read too late.
Public owners pay reliably but slowly-ish (Florida's Prompt Payment Act sets the clock) and change orders face process, so estimate completely: prevailing wage where flagged, bond premiums, retainage carrying cost, occupied-building sequencing. The classic loss isn't bidding high — it's winning at a number that forgot the general conditions.
Bids get tossed daily for mechanics: missing acknowledgment of addenda, unsigned forms, missing bid bond, late by two minutes (electronic clocks are merciless), wrong envelope labeling on paper bids. Build a submission checklist per solicitation and have a second set of eyes on every upload. Boring wins.
Attend or check tabulations — public openings publish every competitor's number, which is free market intelligence for your next price. Lose close, and you've learned your gap; win, and the debrief plus clean paperwork start the relationship every term contract renews on.
None of this matters if you never see the bid. Florida posts work across dozens of systems (the full map), and the contractors who win consistently are simply the ones watching consistently. That's the job Daily Bid Alert does overnight — every source, every night, matches in your inbox at 7am.
Stop checking forty portals. Every Florida bid in your trade, read overnight, in your inbox at 7am.
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