Below a threshold that sits at a few thousand dollars for most buys as of 2026, an agency does not have to run a competition at all. It can just buy directly, often with a government purchase card, the way anyone else swipes a card for a business expense. For a new small business, this is frequently the fastest real path to a first federal dollar: no proposal, no evaluation, just a buyer who found you and needs something small enough to not bother with the process.

In a sentence

"Award will be made via government purchase card under the micro-purchase threshold." There is no proposal to write here; the transaction is closer to a retail sale than a competed contract.