Guides
Plain-English guides to federal work, from registration to getting paid.
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- How to win federal contractsThe seven steps from registration to award, in order, and the one most companies skip.
- Types of federal contractsFixed price, cost reimbursement, time and materials, IDIQ, BPA and schedules: who carries the risk on each.
- Your first 90 days in federal workA week by week plan you can run alongside commercial work.
Your first 90 days in federal work
A practical week by week plan for a shop new to federal contracting: registrations, codes, research, first quotes, and the weekly habits that make it stick.
Read more →Federal contracting 101: the whole picture
How the federal government buys, who does the buying, the rules, what to register for, where work is posted, and the order to do it in, for a first-time seller.
Read more →Quality systems: AS9100 and ISO 9001
Why buyers and primes ask for ISO 9001 or AS9100, what a registrar does, and how first article, certificates of conformance, and calibration show up on orders.
Read more →CAGE codes and UEI explained
What a CAGE code and a Unique Entity ID are, how each one is assigned, where each shows up in federal buying, and how a small shop keeps both of them current.
Read more →CMMC for small shops
What CMMC is in plain terms, why DFARS 252.204-7012 and NIST SP 800-171 keep coming up, and a practical path for a small machine shop or fabricator.
Read more →DLA DIBBS for small shops
How the DLA Internet Bid Board System works: RFQs by NSN, automated evaluation and awards, how a small shop registers and quotes, and mistakes to avoid.
Read more →How to choose NAICS codes for your shop
How NAICS codes work in federal contracting, how to pick a primary and secondary codes for a machine shop, fabricator, or coater, and how size standards apply.
Read more →How to comment on a proposed rule that affects your NAICS code
A proposed rule is the one point in federal buying where a supplier gets a say and the agency must answer in writing. What to write and where to send it.
Read more →How to read a solicitation
The notice types on SAM.gov, the sections of a solicitation, what lives in the attachments, how questions and amendments work, and what to check before quoting.
Read more →How to register in SAM.gov
A start to finish walkthrough of SAM.gov registration for a small shop: what to gather, entity validation, CAGE assignment, reps and certs, and renewal.
Read more →How to win federal contracts
The path from registration to award for a small shop: get eligible, pick a lane, find the work early, get known, respond well, price to win, learn from losses.
Read more →How to write a capability statement
What goes on a one page capability statement for a small defense supplier, how buyers and primes actually use it, and the errors that get it deleted unread.
Read more →ITAR, EAR, and DFARS basics
Plain English basics of ITAR and EAR for a small shop: who registers with DDTC, what export controlled drawings mean, and the DFARS clauses you will see.
Read more →PSC codes explained
What Product Service Codes are, how a PSC pairs with a NAICS code on a notice, why buyers and award records lean on PSC, and how a small shop should use them.
Read more →Pricing a government bid
How to read award history for price signals, unit price versus total value, options, freight and FOB terms, and the small quantity math behind a profitable bid.
Read more →Reading award records
Where federal award data lives, what the main fields mean, award versus transaction, obligated versus all options value, and how to find an incumbent.
Read more →Recompete strategy for small suppliers
What a recompete is, how to find the incumbent and the end date in the federal record, how options work, and how to position a year before the buy.
Read more →Set-asides and small business programs
Total small business set-asides, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, and WOSB in plain English: who qualifies, how you certify, and how a set-aside shows on a notice.
Read more →Sources sought and RFIs: how to respond
Why a sources sought notice decides whether a buy is set aside for small business, what a buyer does with your response, and how to answer one in a single page.
Read more →Subcontracting to prime contractors
How large primes find small shops, what supplier portals and approved supplier lists are, which clauses flow down to you, and how to get a first order.
Read more →Types of federal contracts
Fixed price, cost reimbursement, time and materials, IDIQ, BPA, GSA schedules and simplified buys: who carries the risk on each, and which a small shop wants.
Read more →See who was last awarded in your NAICS
Every code, every buying office, every vendor and every recompete, organized from the federal record and read nightly. Start on one code with no card. A plan opens every code.
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