The one-page document every federal buyer asks for.
A capability statement is the calling card of federal contracting. Done right, it gets you into vendor pools and short lists. Done wrong, it ends the conversation. We design yours to the standard format, optimized for the agencies you target.
What a capability statement is
A capability statement is a one-page summary of your business, formatted to a near-universal federal standard, that contracting officers and small business specialists use to evaluate whether your firm fits their needs. Every federal small business event, vendor outreach session, and unsolicited outreach to a prime contractor expects one.
The standard format has five sections:
Core competencies. What you actually do, in language a buyer searches for.
Past performance. Three to five engagements showing scale, scope, and outcome.
Differentiators. What makes you different from the other thousand firms with similar NAICS codes.
Company data. UEI, CAGE Code, NAICS, set-aside designations, contact info.
Visual identity. Logo, color, layout. Subtle but essential.
Most self-made capability statements have too much copy, too few past-performance specifics, and weak visual identity. Federal buyers see hundreds. The good ones get read.
What we do
Discovery call. 30 minutes by phone or video. We map your differentiators, the agencies you want to target, and the past-performance engagements worth highlighting.
Code and designation review. NAICS codes and set-aside flags on the statement must match SAM exactly. We verify.
Drafting. Each section drafted by an experienced writer who has seen how federal buyers actually read these documents.
Design. Clean layout, typographic hierarchy, color coordination with your brand if you have one. If you do not, we create a minimal palette consistent with federal sensibilities.
Two variants. The base statement plus one industry-specific variant. For example: a base statement plus a healthcare-focused variant for HHS targeting.
Distribution checklist. Where to send your capability statement: small business specialists at agencies, prime contractors with small business outreach offices, chambers of commerce, NYC SBS, and so on. The list is the leverage.
Timeline
Discovery call within three business days of engagement. First draft within five business days of the call. Revision round (we incorporate your feedback) within two business days of receiving comments. Final delivery: typically 10 to 12 business days end to end.
Common questions
It is also useful for state and city government outreach, prime contractor partnerships, and chamber of commerce introductions. Anywhere a buyer or partner asks "what do you do," a capability statement is the right answer.
For newer businesses, we use comparable private-sector engagements framed in performance-language that translates to government readers. This is one of the harder parts of the work and is exactly why most self-made statements struggle here.
Yes — that is what the second variant typically does. Some clients ask us to produce additional variants targeting specific solicitations at $295 per additional variant.
One page. Two-page statements are almost universally read as one and ignored as two. The discipline of one page forces you to lead with what matters.
The first step is always the audit.
Ten minutes. Twelve questions. A personalized PDF showing every certification, grant, and contract category your business qualifies for. Free.