1.0 FedBizOpps Overview

As of January 1, 2002, the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps/FBO) system has been the single government point-of-entry (GPE) for Federal government procurement notices over $25,000. Government buyers are able to publicize their business opportunities by posting information directly to FedBizOpps via the Internet. Through one portal - FedBizOpps - commercial vendors seeking Federal markets for their products and services can search, monitor and retrieve opportunities solicited by the entire Federal contracting community.

Figure .1.1: FedBizOpps Home Page

1.1 System Requirements

The FedBizOpps System, www.fedbizopps.gov, can be accessed from any personal computer with Internet access and a browser equivalent to Netscape 7.1 or later, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0. User IDs and Passwords are required to ensure that only authorized personnel are submitting procurement documents on the system. A separate FedBizOpps Demo/Training Site has also been established to assist Government Users to practice creating and uploading documents on the Internet. To obtain information regarding the Demo/Training Site, click here.

1.2 Methods of Posting Documents on the System

Government buyers may use the following methods to post documents on the FedBizOpps system:

• Web interface (www.fedbizopps.gov)
• Send Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Email Interface
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Interface

1.2.1 Web Interface

The Web interface (www.fedbizopps.gov) is an internet-based method of data exchange between agencies and FedBizOpps. This requires government buyers to be registered users with login names and passwords in order to log into, navigate, and post documents to the "FedBizOpps Buyers" application of the FedBizOpps system.

1.2.2 Email Interface

The email interface is an SMTP method of data exchange between agencies and FedBizOpps that allows a government buyer to send an email message, which includes the data to be posted in a standard data exchange protocol. The data exchange protocol, developed in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), is based on a set of formatted document templates, each of which represents a specific acquisition transaction. The following are the formatted document templates currently used:

• Presolicitation Notice -Synopsis
• Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
• Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation
• Modification to a Previous Presolicitation Notice
• Award Notice
• Sources Sought Notice
• Foreign Government Standard
• Special Notice
• Sale of Surplus Property
• Document Upload
• Document Deleting
• Document Archival
• Document Unarchival

To view these templates, click on the "Interface Description" link under "General Information".

Figure 1.2: Interface Descriptions

Each of these templates can be viewed by clicking on the link for their names, starting with "Presolicitation Notice - Synopsis".

In order to send documents to FedBizOpps via email, you will need to follow the steps detailed below:

1. Contact the FBO Administrator at 877-472-3779 or fbo.support@gsa.gov for Agency/Office/Location set up on the test server, user authority (User ID and Password), as well as the email address and URL of the test server.

   
   
2. Send test messages for each type of template.

   
   
3. View the results of the test email submission on the test server.

   
   
4. Contact the FBO Administrator, once your testing is complete, to schedule a switch to the production system.

1.2.3 FTP Interface

The FTP interface is a data exchange method between agencies and FedBizOpps that allows a government buyer to send a transmission, which includes the data to be posted in a standard data exchange protocol, via FTP to the FedBizOpps system.
This method of data exchange is similar to that of the email transmission method. The same rules that apply for the email method apply for the FTP method. This method also requires that Agency/Office/Location information be set up on a test server, similar to the procedures mentioned above in the email interface paragraph.

Please Note: This manual addresses the Web interface method of posting documents to the FedBizOpps system.

1.3 Help Desk

The FedBizOpps Help Desk is open Monday - Friday, from 8am to 6pm, Eastern Time. The Help Desk can be reached by phone at 877-472-3779 or by email at fbo.support@gsa.gov.