Guides
Evergreen explainers on how federal contracting actually works — certifications, contract types, protests, and compliance.
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Guides
Limitations on Subcontracting: The 50% Rule Explained
13 CFR 125.6 and FAR 52.219-14 cap what a small-business prime may pay to firms that are not similarly situated: 50% for services and supplies, 85% and 75% for construction. A reference guide to the metric, the similarly situated exclusion, order-level compliance, and the $500,000 penalty floor.
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Guides
Price Reasonableness vs. Price Realism: The Two Tests
FAR 15.404-1 requires a reasonableness check on every buy, but price realism on a fixed-price contract applies only when the solicitation says so. GAO tightened the two-prong test in Absolute Strategic Technologies (June 18, 2026). What to read before you price.
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Guides
SF 1408: What Auditors Check Before a Cost Contract
Standard Form 1408 is the checklist the government uses to decide whether your accounting system can hold a cost-reimbursement contract. A guide to its ten Section II criteria, the full-operation question, and the DFARS clause that follows after award.
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Guides
Other Transaction Agreements: How DoD Buys Prototypes Outside the FAR
Other Transaction Agreements let DoD fund prototypes outside the FAR — over $18 billion in FY2024. How 10 U.S.C. 4021/4022 work, why nearly all small businesses qualify as nontraditional contractors, how consortia carry nearly two-thirds of prototype dollars, and why OT protests now live at the Court of Federal Claims, not GAO.
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Guides
8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, SDVOSB: How the Four Small-Business Certifications Compare
How the four SBA contracting certifications compare: 8(a)'s nine-year sole-source runway, HUBZone's 35% residency rule and 10% price preference, WOSB's NAICS-limited set-asides, and post-VetCert SDVOSB — with current FAR sole-source thresholds, common application mistakes, and how the programs stack.
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Guides
Choosing a Contract Vehicle: GSA MAS vs GWACs vs Open Market
GSA Schedules, GWACs, and open-market solicitations get to the same buyer through very different doors. A framework for deciding which path fits a given requirement, built from FAR 8.4 ordering rules, GSA's own GWAC program pages, and the competition thresholds that govern each route.
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Guides
Getting Paid by DoD: A Contractor's Guide to PIEE and Wide Area Workflow
DoD contractors are required by DFARS 252.232-7003 to submit invoices and receiving reports electronically through Wide Area Workflow. Here is how an invoice actually moves through PIEE, the rejection reasons that stall payment most often, and the Prompt Payment Act clock that starts once it clears.
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Guides
Sources Sought and RFIs: How Your Response Shapes Set-Aside Decisions
Sources sought notices and RFIs are where contracting officers build the market-research record FAR 19.502-2 requires before setting work aside for small business. A GAO decision shows agencies must verify real capability, not just count names in a database — making a specific response one of the highest-leverage documents a small business writes.
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Guides
The DFARS Cybersecurity Clauses Explained: 252.204-7012, 7019, 7020, and 7021
Four DFARS clauses govern defense-contractor cybersecurity: 7012 (safeguarding and 72-hour incident reporting), 7019/7020 (SPRS self-assessment scores, now restructured by the overhaul), and 7021 (CMMC). What each requires, how they flow down, and why DOJ treats bad scores as False Claims Act cases.
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Guides
Joint Ventures in Federal Contracting: SBA Rules, Mentor-Protégé, and the Two-Year Rule
How joint ventures qualify for small-business set-asides: SBA's eligibility rules, why set-aside JVs must be unpopulated, the mentor-protégé advantages, the two-year rule that limits a JV's shelf life, and the agreement defects that keep costing contractors awards at SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals.
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Guides
Federal Contract Types Explained: FFP, Cost-Reimbursement, T&M, and IDIQ Compared
A definitive, practical guide to FAR Part 16 contract types: firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursement (CPFF, CPIF, CPAF), time-and-materials, and where IDIQ fits. Covers who bears cost risk, statutory fee caps, and the April 2026 executive order making fixed-price the default.
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Guides
Cost Accounting Standards Applicability: The Thresholds That Decide If CAS Applies to Your Contract
The CAS applicability threshold already jumped to $35 million by direct statutory amendment, effective since December 2025 - the CFR text just hasn't caught up. Full CAS coverage, still $50 million, is a separate threshold that's only a proposed rule so far. A practical guide to the exemptions and what's actually in force today versus what's still pending.
