For procurement & subcontracts teams

Find diverse suppliers and meet your subcontracting goals.

Whether you run a federal prime's subcontracting plan or a corporate supplier-inclusion program, the work is the same: find certified small and diverse suppliers, hit your goals, and report the numbers. Start with the directory, then use the guides below.

Search certified suppliers Verify a certification

Meet your subcontracting goals

Hit the small-business and socioeconomic percentages on your subcontracting plan.

How to meet your small business subcontracting plan goals

A buyer's guide to hitting your FAR 52.219-9 subcontracting goals: where the dollars leak, how to source SB, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, and SDVOSB suppliers, and the reporting cadence.

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

FAR 52.219-9 in plain English for primes: the $750K threshold, the 11 required plan elements, individual vs. commercial plans, and what the CO reviews.

Documenting good faith efforts on a subcontracting plan

What counts as a good faith effort under FAR 19.705-7, the documentation a contracting officer expects, and how to avoid liquidated damages when goals are missed.

Commercial vs individual subcontracting plans: which to use

When a federal prime should use a commercial (company-wide) subcontracting plan vs an individual contract plan, the SSR vs ISR reporting split, and the trade-offs.

Limitations on subcontracting: what buyers need to know

How the limitations on subcontracting rule (FAR 52.219-14, 13 CFR 125.6) constrains set-aside primes, what the similarly situated entity exception buys you, and how to stay compliant.

The small business liaison officer (SBLO) role and responsibilities

What a small business liaison officer (SBLO) does, why federal primes need one, and how the role owns subcontracting-plan goals and SAM.gov ISR/SSR reporting.

Find certified suppliers

Source and verify diverse and small subcontractors for set-asides and subcontracting plans.

How to find SDVOSB subcontractors for a federal contract

Where buyers source verified SDVOSB subcontractors for federal work: VetCert, DSBS, SUBNet, and how to confirm status now that self-certification is gone.

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

The 3% HUBZone goal is the hardest small-business target to hit. How to source certified HUBZone subcontractors, verify the cert, and report it correctly.

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

How buyers source 8(a) and small disadvantaged business subcontractors, what the SDB self-certification rules really are, and how to verify 8(a) status.

How to find WOSB and EDWOSB subcontractors

A buyer's guide to sourcing certified WOSB and EDWOSB subcontractors, verifying certification on certifications.sba.gov, and getting the NAICS nuance right.

Where to find certified MBE, WBE, and diverse suppliers

The directories and certifiers buyers actually use to source certified MBE, WBE, SDVOSB, and small suppliers, how the certifications differ, and how to verify them.

Using SBA SUBNet to post and find subcontracting opportunities

How prime contractors post on SBA SUBNet, how buyers and small firms search it, where SUBNet falls short, and what to pair it with to meet FAR 52.219-9 goals.

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

How buyers confirm a supplier really is SB, 8(a), WOSB, SDVOSB, or HUBZone using SAM.gov, SBS, and certifications.sba.gov, and why self-attestation no longer counts.

How to build a diverse supplier pipeline that actually converts

A repeatable sourcing process for buyers: where to find certified small and diverse suppliers, how to qualify them, and how to move them from a list to awarded spend.

How to vet and onboard a small or diverse supplier

A buyer's playbook to qualify and onboard a small or diverse supplier: capability and financial vetting, certification verification, capacity checks, and a first award set up to succeed.

Report your numbers

File the required reports and track Tier 1, Tier 2, and economic-impact spend.

How to file the Individual Subcontracting Report (ISR) in eSRS

How to file the ISR in eSRS (now SAM.gov): timing, what data goes where, the rejections that cost you 30 days, and how it ties back to your subcontracting plan goals.

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

How prime contractors file the annual Summary Subcontracting Report (SSR): who files, the reporting period, how it differs from the ISR, and how the SBA scorecard uses it.

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

Tier 1 vs Tier 2 diverse spend for buyers: what counts, the direct and indirect (proportional) reporting methods, and how it ties to FAR subcontracting goals.

How to run a Tier 2 supplier diversity reporting program

Stand up a Tier 2 supplier diversity program: which prime suppliers to enroll, direct vs indirect reporting, the portal-and-spreadsheet reality, and how to validate the numbers.

How to measure the economic impact of your supplier program

How procurement and compliance teams quantify the economic impact of a supplier program: jobs, output, induced spend, multipliers, plus eSRS and ESG reporting.

Supplier diversity metrics and KPIs that actually matter

The supplier diversity metrics buyers should actually track: diverse spend %, addressable spend, Tier 2, and economic impact. Plus how to baseline and report them.

Build your program

Stand up or modernize a supplier-inclusion program for the current compliance landscape.

How to build a supplier inclusion program in 2026

Build a supplier inclusion program in 2026: charter, goals, data baseline, sourcing, tracking, and reporting after the DEI rollback. A practical guide for buyers.

Supplier diversity after the DEI rollback: what to keep and what to rename

EO 11246 is gone, but federal set-aside and subcontracting rules aren't. What procurement leaders should keep, what to rename, and how to source small suppliers.

Writing diverse and small supplier requirements into your RFPs

How buyers write small and diverse supplier expectations into RFPs and scorecards, hit FAR subcontracting goals, and stay inside set-aside and legal limits.

Find the suppliers, then prove the spend.

Search certified diverse and small businesses by certification, state, and capability, then track them against your subcontracting plan.

Search the supplier directory