If you work in government contracting, February 2026 brought two changes that are bigger than they may look at first glance. First, the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System, better known as eSRS, was retired on February 20, 2026. A few days later, on February 24, 2026, the public-facing FPDS search tools, including ezSearch, were shut down […]
If you’re a women-owned small business in IT, this is the kind of update worth paying attention to. As of February 23, 2026, GSA announced it had awarded the first phase of the Polaris GWAC Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Pool. Just as important, GSA also noted that no orders may be placed until the contracting […]
If you’ve been watching federal IT contracting lately, GSA’s February 20, 2026 announcement about Alliant 3 GWAC phase 1 awards is a big one. And even if you’re not an enterprise IT giant, this news still matters to your business. Why? Because major governmentwide contract vehicles like Alliant 3 often shape how agencies buy, how […]
AI has officially made its way into government contracting workflows, and for small businesses that creates both opportunity and risk. The opportunity is obvious: tools can move faster than people on certain tasks. The risk is easier to miss. Government contracting is not an industry where “mostly right” is good enough. One plausible-sounding mistake in […]
If you’ve ever Googled “how to get government contracts” or “is government contracting worth it”, you’re not alone. Most small business owners hit the same point: you’re doing fine in the commercial world, but you keep hearing that the government buys everything… and you start wondering if you’re leaving money on the table. Here’s the […]
If your company is “DHS-curious,” FY2025 is a good reminder that the Department of Homeland Security isn’t one monolithic buyer. It’s a federation of mission-driven components, each with its own buying habits, contract vehicles, and recurring requirements. Your advantage as a small business is that DHS has to buy fast, buy often, and buy specialized […]
Small businesses don’t lose in government contracting only because they lack capability. They often lose because they burn limited time and proposal dollars on the wrong opportunities. Bids that were never a strong fit, were structurally hard to win, or carried enough hidden risk to outweigh the upside. A disciplined Go/No-Go process is one of […]
If you’ve held a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) for a while, you already know the “paperwork side” of the program is real. Sales reporting, keeping your pricelist current, modifications, mass mods, and option renewals all come with the territory. One important nuance, though: quarterly sales reporting still applies under the traditional (aggregate) model, but […]
A lot of small businesses treat SAM.gov like a compliance box: register, keep it active, renew annually, move on. And yes, an active registration is non-negotiable if a company wants to receive federal awards. SAM is the official system where entities register to do business with the federal government. But here’s the problem: compliance and […]
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (2026 NDAA) isn’t just another annual budget bill. For government contractors, especially small and mid-sized firms, it represents a significant shift in acquisition policy that reduces longstanding compliance hurdles and opens up the defense marketplace in meaningful ways. Among the most consequential changes are increases to […]