Contracting guides
Government contracting runs on process, and the process is learnable. These guides explain — in plain English, from the agencies' own published rules — how registration, bid boards, set-asides, and deadlines actually work in South Florida.
How to bid on government contracts in Florida
Florida governments — the state, 67 counties, hundreds of cities, school districts, and special districts — buy everything from janitorial service to road resurfacing from private companies, and a large share of it is openly bid. The process is paperwork-heavy but not mysterious. Here is how it actually works, step by step.
Read the guide →Florida Vendor Bid System, explained: how the state's bid board works
The Vendor Bid System — VBS — is the State of Florida's official online repository for competitive solicitations. Run by the Department of Management Services (DMS) and tied to MyFloridaMarketPlace (MFMP), it carries Invitations to Bid (ITB), Requests for Proposals (RFP), Invitations to Negotiate (ITN), single-source notices, and agency decision postings from state agencies. If you want to sell to the State of Florida, VBS is the board you watch.
Read the guide →How to register as a vendor with Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County buys goods and services through competitive solicitations issued by its Strategic Procurement Department (SPD), and it all runs through the county's Supplier Portal in INFORMS. Registration is free, it is required to receive solicitation alerts and submit responses, and it is the front door to one of the largest public buyers in the Southeast.
Read the guide →What is a set-aside contract? Small-business reserves, explained
A set-aside is a contract the government reserves for a defined class of small businesses, so the competition is only among firms like yours instead of against the largest players in the market. Set-asides exist at every level BidPelican watches — federal, state, county, and school district — and for a small South Florida firm they are often the most winnable public work there is.
Read the guide →