U.S. General Services Administration

Use GSA’s Forecast Tool to Find 

Contracting Opportunities

DID YOU KNOW? 

Federal executive agencies are required to provide a forecast of expected contract opportunities, including those that small businesses 

can fulfill. 

FORECAST BENEFITS

• Learn about potential contracting opportunities early in the acquisition process.

• Plan your marketing strategies before opportunities post in the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://go.usa.gov/xFNkS.

• Use the lead time to prepare for the expected procurement’s nature and scope. 

About the Forecast Tool

The Forecast tool allows you to view forecasted opportunities before the formal requirements are posted in SAM at https://go.usa.gov/

xFNkS. The tool gives businesses a searchable list of anticipated Federal contracting opportunities for the current and future fiscal years. 

As a small business, it is helpful to examine what agencies are forecasting to purchase. Use this information to prepare your strategy and 

take hold of the opportunity when it posts. 

How To Access 

The Forecast Tool is available to the public at https://www.fbf.gov. You do not need a username or password to access the information. 

Find Planned Opportunities

Option 1: Filters

Use the filter feature to sort opportunities by the following:

• Agency 

• Place of Performance (State)

• NAICS code

• Estimated Award Fiscal Quarter

• Estimated Award Fiscal Year

• Acquisition Strategy/Type of Set-Aside (the type of vendor or 

set-aside for which the contract is planned)

• Contract type
Option 2: Keyword Search

You can search by:

• Keyword or phrase

• Agency organization or bureau

• Listing ID (a unique identification number for each listing)

• NAICS code

• Name or email address

How to Best Use Search 

Identify whether the opportunity is a new or recurring 

requirement 

Award Status 

The award status of each listing indicates where the 

procurement is in the acquisition process. Discover if: 

• The solicitation is in the planning stage;

• The solicitation is being drafted;

• The solicitation has been issued;

• The solicitation is being evaluated;

• The solicitation has been awarded;

• The solicitation has been cancelled;

• or, if an option is being exercised

Acquisition Strategy/Type of Set-Aside 

Potential suppliers can see if the expected opportunity is 

planned for award to an “Other than small business” or if it will be 

set aside for a small business or socioeconomic small business. 

Final decisions on the extent of competition or small business 

participation will not be made until a solicitation is posted to the 

SAM at https://go.usa.gov/xFNkS.

Point of Contact Name and Email - Direct questions on a 

planned procurement to the point of contact in the listing. Always 

reach out to the point of contact (POC) listed in this section with 

your questions regarding the acquisition. You should obtain as 

much information as possible to give yourself time to prepare for 

when the opportunity is published as a Request for Information, 

Request for Proposal, or a solicitation. Include the Listing ID in 

the correspondence to help the point of contact quickly identify 

forecast records.

Small Business Technical Advisor (SBTA) or Small Business

Specialist (SBS) Include the SBTA/SBS in your communications 

with the POC. The SBTA/SBS can help you obtain information 

from the POC. They can also provide general help on small 

business contracting.

Need More Information?

If you have specific questions on an anticipated requirement, 

contact the listed POC.

Send general questions on doing business with a particular 

Federal agency or the Federal Government to the SBTA/SBS 

whose name appears in the listing.

Send an email with questions or technical issues regarding the 

Forecast of Contracting Opportunities Tool to 

forecasthelp@gsa.gov.

Need more help?

• Visit us at: https://www.gsa.gov/osdbu

• Register for future OSDBU training and events at: 

https://www.gsa.gov/osdbuevents

• Contact your local Small Business Specialist: 

https://www.gsa.gov/smallbizsupport

• Follow GSA OSDBU on Twitter: 

https://twitter.com/GSAOSDBU

• Access more resources at: 

https://interact.gsa.gov/groups/small-business-solutions