When I first started in Pressure Washing I filled out about a 20 page application to wash Government Postal Vehicles. You specify the miles you're willing to travel and when a location comes up for bid they send you another 20 page application, and you send in your bid. When you realize that it's a pretty safe bet that you've lost the bid there's a number you can call where they will tell you the amounts that the lucky winner bid. Sometimes it's as low as 50 cents per vehicle, and it's usually a mop and bucket brigade doing the work. Hope those people have raised their prices cause it's been awhile since I was on that list.
I had a 10 year run on a contract with the Navy and am currently doing one for the Air Force but it's all administrated by another company. The Armed Forces do it this way because they want strong control over where the money's going, and Harlyns right, you have to register in a few places, and you're gonna be bidding at least every 2 years (sometimes more often) to keep doing the work. Sometimes if you're lucky though they will make you what's called a "Single Source".
Never been asked to take a credit card, but I know they do it that way sometimes.
