Getting started
Your first week in CaptureCore, step by step.
Government contracting is terminology-heavy and unforgiving about process. This guide walks the setup in order and explains why each step matters. Inside the app, a Getting Started card tracks your actual progress against the same steps.
Have your identifiers ready
Your UEI, CAGE code, and the NAICS codes that describe what you sell. If you are not yet registered on SAM.gov, do that first — it is free and required before any federal award.
Why it matters: Everything downstream keys off these codes. Match scoring compares your NAICS codes against each notice, and set-aside eligibility comes from your registrations and certifications.
Create your company profile
Company name, SAM.gov status, UEI, CAGE, one or two NAICS codes, SBA certifications you hold, and a short capability summary. Every field has an “i” button explaining what it is; format warnings never block saving.
Why it matters: The profile is what opportunities are scored against. A real primary NAICS code matters more than anything else — free-text like “IT services” cannot match a 6-digit code on a notice.
Review your match queue
The dashboard shows ingested opportunities scored against your profile, with the reasons each one matched — NAICS, set-aside, keywords, geography — spelled out.
Why it matters: Beginners lose weeks paging through raw search results. A scored queue means you spend your time judging fit, not finding candidates.
Move real candidates into the pipeline
Use Move to Pipeline on a match to give it a lane (Pursue Now, Team/Sub, Watch, No-Go), an owner, and a next action.
Why it matters: A bid you are “thinking about” has no deadline discipline. A pipeline item has an owner and a next step — that is where capture actually starts.
Check bid readiness before you commit
The Bid Readiness view derives a status for every tracked bid from your pipeline stage, checklist, package, and receipts, and lists what would block a clean submission.
Why it matters: “Late is late” — federal offers rejected for a missed form or an unacknowledged amendment usually cannot be fixed. Readiness surfaces the blockers while there is still time.
Build the proposal on evidence
The proposal workspace (Pro) extracts the “shall” requirements, builds a compliance matrix, and validates the claims in your draft against your stored evidence library.
Why it matters: Evaluators reject offers that skip requirements, and over-claiming (a clearance or vehicle you do not hold) can sink an otherwise strong bid. The matrix and claim checks catch both.
Prepare the portal handoff
The submission workspace (Pro) assembles the document package, clears a portal-specific checklist, links you to the official channel — SAM.gov, GSA eBuy, FedConnect, PIEE, an agency portal, or email — and logs the receipt you bring back.
Why it matters: You always submit in the official government system, under your own account. CaptureCore never submits for you and never asks for portal credentials — it makes sure you arrive at the portal with everything ready, and keeps the proof after.
Two things that are always free
Registering your business on SAM.gov and applying for SBA certifications cost nothing — be cautious with anyone who charges for them without saying they are optional. CaptureCore is a paid workspace for the work around them; it does not submit bids, never asks for your government portal credentials, and does not guarantee contract awards.