Bay Area businesses sell to federal research agencies, California state departments and some of the state’s largest local buyers: the City and County of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, BART, the Port of Oakland and SFO. As a government contracting consultant for the Bay Area, GERC, a California-certified small business, helps Bay Area firms get registered and certified and win bids, with full remote support from our Southern California office.
Federal contracting and SBIR for Bay Area businesses
- SAM.gov registration, UEI and renewals
- SBA 8(a), WOSB, HUBZone and SDVOSB certification
- SBIR and STTR proposals for Bay Area tech and life-science startups
- GSA Schedule offers and federal proposals, including for NASA Ames, the national laboratories and the VA
- Market research and business plans for startups entering the public sector
California state contracting
- Cal eProcure registration and California SB, Micro Business and DVBE certification. State contracts give certified small businesses a 5% bid preference.
- Caltrans DBE certification through the California Unified Certification Program, under the new U.S. DOT rules
San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose local contracting
- San Francisco LBE certification: the Local Business Enterprise program run by the Contract Monitoring Division (CMD) gives certified San Francisco firms bid discounts and subcontracting goals on city contracts
- City and County of San Francisco supplier registration, with the city’s own contract requirements
- Oakland L/SLBE (Local and Small Local Business Enterprise) certification and vendor registration
- San Jose vendor registration
- BART, AC Transit, VTA, SFMTA, the Port of Oakland and SFO, each with its own small business or DBE programs
How our government contracting consultants help Bay Area businesses
- Free readiness call
- Registrations: SAM.gov, Cal eProcure and city supplier portals
- Certifications: SBA programs, CA SB and DVBE, SF LBE, Oakland L/SLBE, DBE
- Bid targeting across federal, state and Bay Area agencies
- Proposal, SBIR and grant writing
Bay Area counties we serve
- San Francisco
- Alameda County
- Santa Clara County
- San Mateo County
- Contra Costa County
- North Bay: Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano
Example: how a Bay Area tech startup would get started
This is an illustration of our process, not a client story.
A two-year-old Oakland software startup wants federal research funding and public customers. We register it in SAM.gov and the SBIR/STTR systems, then help write an SBIR proposal and commercialization plan for an agency whose research topics match its product. For state work, we register it in Cal eProcure and check California SB or Micro Business certification, which brings a 5% bid preference on state contracts. Locally, we look at Oakland L/SLBE certification and San Francisco supplier registration. Market research on which agencies buy similar software rounds out a realistic sales plan.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need SF LBE certification if I am already a California SB?
For San Francisco city contracts, yes. LBE is a separate local certification with its own requirements. California SB applies to state contracts.
Can you help Bay Area startups with SBIR?
Yes. We help with SBIR and STTR registrations, proposal writing and the commercialization plan.
Is your government contracting consultant team local to the Bay Area?
We are based in Southern California and serve Bay Area clients remotely, with everything handled online and by video call.
Do Oakland and San Jose accept San Francisco LBE certification?
No. Each city runs its own local business program. Oakland has L/SLBE certification, and San Jose has its own vendor registration.
Is Cal eProcure enough to bid on Bay Area city contracts?
No. Cal eProcure covers California state agencies. Each Bay Area city, county and transit agency uses its own supplier portal.
Win government contracts in the Bay Area
Book a free 20-minute readiness call and we will map the registrations, certifications and bids that fit your business.
Related: Cal eProcure Registration · California SB Certification · SBIR/STTR · Market Research