Blog: selling to the Brazilian government

How Brazilian public procurement works in practice: qualification, pricing, reverse auctions, direct awards, appeals, small-business rules and Law 14,133/2021 — explained without legalese.

Accreditation and Public Calls: When Every Qualified Supplier Gets Hired No price competition and no single winner: how accreditation works, where it is used most, how to sign up and why it is the most underrated way into… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

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Appeals in Public Tenders: Deadlines, When to Appeal and How to Write One The intention to appeal must be declared within minutes, during the session, and anyone who misses that moment loses the right. See the deadlines… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

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Can a MEI bid in public tenders? Dos, don'ts and how much it can sell An individual microentrepreneur (MEI) can bid in public tenders like any other company and even enjoys legal benefits — but runs into the revenue cap… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

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Challenges and clarifications: how to fix a tender notice before bidding When to request clarification, when to file a challenge, how to write it, which deadlines apply and what happens next. With a template and the list… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

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Compras.gov.br and SICAF Registration: A Step-by-Step Guide to Bidding How to set up your login, register your company in SICAF, add the qualification levels and keep everything valid. Includes what to do when your… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

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Cost spreadsheets for continuous services: getting labor charges right In labor contracts, the evaluation committee analyzes the spreadsheet, not the final price. See how to build each module, where the collective… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

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Electronic direct award: the easiest way to start selling to the government Short deadlines, lean paperwork and few competitors: why the direct award is the best place to win your first public contract — and how not to miss… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

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Electronic reverse auctions step by step: from notice to signed contract What happens in each phase of a reverse auction, what you need to do at each one and where the deadlines are that knock out anyone who gets… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

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How to price a bid for government contracts without going broke The math that must be done before the session: real cost, taxes under each regime, freight, working capital tied up until payment and the margin that… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

How to read a tender notice: a method that cuts 80 pages to 20 minutes Where to look first, what to write down and which clauses are red flags. A seven-stop reading method, from the terms of reference to the penalties… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

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How to sell to the Brazilian government: a complete 2026 starter guide The whole path, from CNPJ to first contract: what it costs to get started, which documents to prepare, where to find opportunities and the mistakes… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

Law 14,133/2021 in Practice: What Changed for Government Suppliers The new procurement law replaced Law 8,666/93, the Reverse Auction Law and the RDC. See the changes that affect suppliers day to day, from the… Aug 25, 2026 · 11 min read

Who we write for

For companies that already sell well in the private market and suspect the public sector could be a good customer, but get stuck on the first read of a tender notice — and for those who already bid and lose on details: an expired certificate, a badly built cost spreadsheet, a bid outside the specification, a deadline missed by minutes. Each article starts from a concrete situation and ends with something actionable. These articles were translated from our Portuguese edition, written for Brazilian companies.