When agencies buy: the federal calendar for cleaning and grounds contractors

The federal government doesn't buy on the calendar most businesses run on. Its year starts on October 1, and bids and awards for cleaning and grounds work follow that cycle closely. October and November are the quietest months for new bids. By July and August, three to four times as many are being posted each week. Then the awards pile up in September. Over the last two fiscal years, nearly a quarter of them in VA, MD, DC, DE and PA were made in that one month.

Once you know the pattern, you can use the slow months to get ready, so you're able to answer quickly when the summer rush comes.

Why the federal calendar matters

The government's fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Most of the money agencies spend on services is available for one year only. Funds have to be committed within that year, so agencies work to get contracts in place before September 30.

Service contracts are allowed to bridge the change of year. An agency can sign a contract for up to twelve months of cleaning or grounds work that starts in one fiscal year and ends in the next, paid from the year it was signed. That's one reason so many awards land in September and so many contracts start on October 1.

When bids are posted

We counted every new federal bid in our seven trades posted on SAM.gov each week from October 2025 through September 2026, for the 38 eastern and central states and DC.

October was the low point, at about 10 new bids a week. By August it was about 40. Postings started climbing in January, held steady through the spring and peaked in July and August. In VA, MD, DC, DE and PA the pattern was the same but sharper, with five times as many new bids in August as in October.

The trades don't all move together. Grounds bids came in two waves, one from February to April ahead of the growing season and another in July. Facilities support bids jumped in August to more than twice their usual monthly count.

When contracts are awarded

Awards follow the postings by a few weeks to a few months. We looked at 1,200 federal awards in our trades with work in VA, MD, DC, DE and PA over the last two fiscal years.

September stands out. It accounted for 24% of all awards, and July through September together accounted for 42%. October through December saw only 10%.

The year-end rush isn't new. A Congressional Research Service review found the Defense Department's September contract spending was roughly double that of other months in fiscal 2016. A study of earlier years found 8.7% of agency spending in the last week of the budget year.

Not every trade is equally seasonal. Janitorial awards were the most even: 13% came in September, and April was busier still. Grounds awards were the most bunched, with a quarter in September and a smaller spring peak from March to June.

Snow removal follows its own season. The 25 snow and ice contracts we found were mostly awarded between November and February, often close to the weather. If you plow, get registered and onto buyers' lists by early fall.

Why fall is slow: continuing resolutions

When Congress hasn't passed the year's budget by October 1, it usually passes a stopgap called a continuing resolution. That happened in all but 4 of the 40 years before 2018. Under a continuing resolution, agencies can't start new programs, and many hold off on new contracts until their budget is settled.

Fiscal 2027 started that way. The government is running on a continuing resolution through December 11, 2026 (Public Law 119-103). Work that continues existing contracts can usually go ahead, but expect fewer brand-new bids until a full budget passes.

What to do in each stretch

For most cleaning and grounds bids there's no fixed minimum time to respond. The rule is that agencies give a reasonable opportunity to respond, which in a busy August can mean a couple of weeks. The firms that win in the rush are the ones that prepared in the fall.

Agencies also publish plans for upcoming contracts in GSA's Forecast of Contracting Opportunities, and our re-bid guide shows how to see when current contracts end.