Work Order Marketplace Guide
Where do these jobs come from? What do the tabs filter? Why aren't all SAM.gov rows showing? Everything you need to navigate the marketplace efficiently.
The five sources
Every job in your feed comes from one of these. Source determines bidding mechanics and timing.
User-posted
LocalJobs posted by ContractShield client accounts via /post-work-order. These are the most direct opportunities — a real client wants a real job done, no government RFP overhead. Always shows in the Local tab.
SAM.gov
GovernmentFederal solicitations from sam.gov, filtered to construction NAICS codes. Imported daily for the past week's postings. Bidding requires you to register on SAM.gov directly — ContractShield surfaces them but the bid submission happens on the federal portal.
Grants.gov
GovernmentFederal grant opportunities, filtered to construction-adjacent categories. Useful for non-profit and public-works contractors. Application happens on grants.gov.
Cook County, IL
GovernmentCook County procurement buying-plan announcements. These are signaled-intent opportunities — county departments stating what they plan to procure in the upcoming fiscal cycle. Get in early before the formal RFP.
Boston Buying Plan
GovernmentCity of Boston procurement buying-plan announcements. Same concept as Cook County — early-signal opportunities for Boston-area contractors.
Kitchen Cabinet Refacing
Roof Replacement — Sample Federal Building
The three tabs
The Local / Government / All split is just a filter on the source. Same data, different cuts.
All
Every active solicitation across every source. Use this when you want maximum surface area or are checking what's new globally.
Local
Only user-posted work orders from ContractShield client accounts. The shortest path to a paying job — no government bidding overhead. Filtered by your service radius (default 50 miles, configurable in Account → Profile).
Government
All external/government sources combined: SAM.gov + Grants.gov + Cook County + Boston Buying Plan. Bigger pipeline, longer sales cycles, more complex bid requirements.
What the feed filters for you
You don't see every row in the database — these rules clean the feed automatically.
Expired solicitations are hidden
If a solicitation's response deadline has already passed, it's filtered out automatically. You'll only see open opportunities — no time wasted clicking dead links.
No-deadline rows stay visible
User-posted work orders and buying-plan announcements (Cook County, Boston) often don't have a hard deadline. Those stay in the feed indefinitely until the client closes the WO or the project is awarded.
Already-quoted jobs drop out
Once you submit a bid on a work order, it's removed from your /job-board feed. Track your active bids in /contractor/my-quotes instead.
Search is full-text
The search box matches title, description, and location. Search 'kitchen remodel Twin Cities' or 'NAICS 237990' to scope to specific work types.
When new rows appear
Refresh cadence by source.
| Source | When new rows show up |
|---|---|
| User-posted | Real-time — appears the moment a client clicks Post |
| SAM.gov | Daily at 7am UTC (~2am Central) — pulls last 7 days of new postings |
| Grants.gov + Cook County + Boston | Daily at 11am UTC (~6am Central) — pulls fresh listings, dedupes against what's already imported |
Ready to bid?
From the marketplace, click Start Quote on any row to launch the AI-assisted quote builder.
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