Reporting on supplier diversity.

Guide · 10 min

How to become a subcontractor on a government contract

Subcontracting is the door into federal work that doesn't require past performance you don't have yet. Large primes are required to use …

May 6, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to become a Northrop Grumman supplier: the real registration and small business path

Northrop Grumman doesn't take cold bids. Registration runs through a Supplier Information Form, an invitation, and SAP Ariba. Here's the real on-ramp, …

Apr 22, 2026 · Will Moss

The 50% rule, explained: limitations on subcontracting for small business

On a set-aside, you can't just win the work and hand most of it to a big prime. FAR 52.219-14 caps what …

Feb 3, 2026 · Mario Bailey

Guide · 11 min

How to find federal contract opportunities (without wasting months)

Registered on SAM.gov and staring at a wall of solicitations? Here's where opportunities live, how to read the buy before it's a …

Jan 19, 2026 · Mario Bailey

How to verify a supplier's small business and socioeconomic status

A supplier's word that they're an SDVOSB no longer counts toward your goals. Here's how to confirm SB and socioeconomic status against …

Dec 30, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

Tier 1 vs Tier 2 diverse spend: what counts and how to report it

Tier 1 is the spend you pay diverse and small suppliers directly. Tier 2 is what flows through your suppliers. Here's what …

Dec 26, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

How to meet your small business subcontracting plan goals

If you carry a subcontracting plan under FAR 52.219-9, the goals are contractual, not aspirational. Here is where the dollars leak, how …

Dec 17, 2025 · Mario Bailey

How to find WOSB and EDWOSB subcontractors

Your subcontracting plan commits you to a 5% women-owned spend goal, and eSRS counts only certified firms. Here's how to source WOSBs …

Dec 12, 2025 · Will Moss

How to find HUBZone subcontractors (and hit the 3% goal)

HUBZone is the smallest pool and the most volatile certification in your subcontracting plan, which is why the 3% goal trips up …

Dec 10, 2025 · Mario Bailey

How to find 8(a) and small disadvantaged business subcontractors

8(a) and SDB credit hinges on sourcing the right firms and proving status. Here's where to find them, what the certification changes …

Dec 9, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

How to file the Summary Subcontracting Report (SSR) in eSRS

The SSR is the annual roll-up of your subcontracting plan performance, and the SBA scorecard runs on it. Here's who files, when, …

Dec 8, 2025 · Mario Bailey

FAR 52.219-9 explained: the subcontracting plan clause for primes

If your contract crosses the threshold, you owe the government a subcontracting plan with goals you have to report against. Here's what …

Dec 4, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo

Writing diverse and small supplier requirements into your RFPs

Building small and diverse supplier expectations into a solicitation is a sourcing and compliance problem, not a slogan. Here's how to write …

Dec 3, 2025 · Mario Bailey

How to build a supplier inclusion program in 2026

The 2025 DEI rollback hit voluntary corporate programs, not your federal subcontracting obligations. Here's how to build a program around compliance and …

Dec 1, 2025 · Maya Okonkwo