Capability statement
One page, sent unsolicited to a contracting officer, that says what you do and proves you have done it before. It is the single most requested document in federal contracting and the one most often written as if it were a brochure.
913
federal agencies and sub-agencies are currently posting work, across 10,681 open solicitations. A capability statement is how you reach the people at one of them before the solicitation exists, which is where most awards are really decided.
What goes on it
Six things, on one page. Your core competencies in the buyer's language rather than yours. Past performance, with contract numbers and the name of someone who will answer the phone. Differentiators that are actually differences. Your company data: UEI, CAGE code, NAICS codes, set-aside status. A point of contact who replies. And nothing else.
One page is not a style preference. A contracting officer reading these is triaging dozens, and a second page is read by almost nobody.
Why most of them fail
They describe the company instead of the work. A contracting officer is not deciding whether you seem impressive, they are deciding whether you have done this specific thing, for someone like them, recently. "Full service solutions provider" answers none of that. "Grounds maintenance at four VA facilities in Region 4, 2023 to 2026, contract 36C24923" answers all of it.
The second failure is codes. If your NAICS codes are missing or wrong, your document does not get filed anywhere it can be found again.
Tailor it or do not send it
A generic capability statement sent to fifty agencies performs worse than five tailored ones. Lead with the past performance closest to what that office buys, and use their words for it, taken from their own previous solicitations. That is fifteen minutes of work and it is the whole difference between the document being kept and binned.
Templates
The SBA publishes a serviceable one and so does almost every PTAC, now called an APEX Accelerator. Any of them is fine. The template is not the hard part and choosing between them is not where your time goes; the past performance section is where it goes.
Questions people ask
How long should a capability statement be?
One page. Two only if you have genuinely extensive past performance in a specialised field, and even then the first page has to stand alone.
What is the difference between a capability statement and a resume?
A resume lists what you can do. A capability statement proves what you have already done, for whom, under what contract number. Proof is the point.
Do I need a capability statement to bid?
No. It is a marketing document, not a bid requirement. It exists to get you known before a solicitation is written.
Where do I send it?
To the small business specialist at agencies that buy what you sell, and to prime contractors on large vehicles who need subcontractors in your NAICS codes.
Should I include pricing?
No. Pricing depends on the requirement and putting a number on a general document only anchors you badly.
Related
Find your NAICS codes · CAGE code lookup · How past performance is scored · Browse open solicitations