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Practical guides on winning government contracts, from SAM.gov registration to proposal writing to certification programs.

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• SBA Wants to Make 114,541 More Firms Small: The Size Standards Overhaul and Your September 21 Deadline — SBA published two proposed rules on August 20, 2026 that would collapse 995 size standards into 338 and raise thresholds across the board, making 114,541 more firms small and pulling 37,002 current federal contractors holding $71 billion in FY 2025 work into the set-aside pool. Comments close September 21. If you win set-aside work today, the competitive math on every one of those bids is about to change.
• Why Government Proposals Get Rejected: 10 RFP Traps That Cost Small Businesses the Win — Most losing proposals are not out-written. They are ruled non-compliant, set aside, and never scored. These are the ten traps that eliminate small business bids before an evaluator reads a substantive page, and what to do about each one.
• Your SBIR Phase III Work Is Protestable: What Strategi Consulting Means for Small Innovators — A Court of Federal Claims ruling in Strategi Consulting, LLC v. United States gives SBIR Phase II awardees a real path to challenge agencies that quietly move follow-on work to other contractors instead of honoring the Phase III preference. The court held that informal insourcing counts as a procurement, that the FASA task order bar does not shield it, and that injunctive relief is available. Combined with the 20-year data protection period and the 2026 reauthorization, small innovators have more leverage over the transition to Phase III than most of them use.
• NAICS Is Being Rewritten for 2027, and Your Size Standard Rides on It: Comments Close August 12 — OMB published proposed NAICS 2027 updates on July 13, 2026, and the comment window closes August 12. The changes consolidate dozens of manufacturing codes, retitle airport operations to include spaceports, and leave professional services codes untouched. For small contractors, the code you sit in determines your size standard, so a merged code can quietly change whether you still count as small.
• Cost Accounting Standards Just Got Rewritten: What the New $35 Million Threshold Means for Growing Small Businesses — A July 2026 final rule rescinds four Cost Accounting Standards effective August 7, and a separate NDAA provision raises the CAS applicability threshold from 2.5 million dollars to 35 million dollars. Neither change touches the small business CAS exemption directly, but both reshape the runway for companies about to outgrow it.
• GSA's Draft AI Safeguarding Rule for LLM Contracts: Public Comments Close August 3, 2026 — GSA posted a revised AI safeguarding clause for large language model contracts on June 17, 2026, and public comments close August 3. If you sell, resell, integrate, or operate an LLM tool on a GSA vehicle, this clause is headed for your contract whether you have been tracking it or not.
• CMMC Phase II Is Suspended: What the Pentagon Pause Means for Small Defense Contractors — On July 13, 2026, the Department of War suspended the CMMC Phase II requirement that would have forced third-party cybersecurity audits starting this November. It is a pause, not a repeal, and a 60 day review is now underway. Here is what changed, what has not, and what to do before the next contract modification lands.
• New FAR Rule Forces Agency Head Sign-Off on Non-Fixed-Price Contracts Starting July 15, 2026 — On July 1, 2026, the FAR Council quietly set dollar thresholds requiring agency head approval before a contracting officer can use anything other than a fixed-price contract. The first deadline lands July 15, 2026, and a second one reaches back into contracts you already hold. Here is what changed and what to check before Wednesday.
• Connect Claude to ProposalApp: Run Your GovCon Pipeline from Chat — ProposalApp is now available as a connector inside Claude. You can ask, in plain language, to find matching opportunities, check which contracts are coming up for recompete, kick off a proposal draft, score proposal, run risk analysis, generate questions for contracting officer, and request market intelligence report all without opening the dashboard. Here is what it does and how to turn it on.
• FAR Overhaul Enters Formal Rulemaking: Your Comment Window Closes July 23, 2026 — The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul just became formal rulemaking, with four proposed rules covering 20 parts of the FAR open for public comment through July 23, 2026. A second deadline the next day affects contractors with active federal contracts. Here is what is in the rules and what to do before both dates pass.
• The FY25 Federal Contracting Scorecard Is Out: What the Numbers Mean for Small Businesses Right Now — The SBA released the FY25 federal procurement scorecard last week, and the top-line number is striking: small businesses captured nearly 28 percent of all prime federal contract dollars, the highest share in over a decade. But the category-by-category breakdown tells a more complicated story that every small contractor needs to understand before writing another proposal.
• Win Before You Write: Why Your Project Schedule, WBS, and Teaming Plan Decide the Award — Most small contractors pour their effort into writing the proposal and skip the two things evaluators actually score for risk: a credible execution plan and an honest teaming strategy. Here is how ProposalApp's Project Schedule and WBS tools help you plan the award before you submit.
• CMMC Level 2 Is Now a Supply Chain Requirement: What Every Small Business Must Do Before November 2026 — Effective November 10, 2026, self-assessment is no longer sufficient for contractors handling Controlled Unclassified Information on DoD contracts. CMMC Level 2 certification through an accredited third-party assessment organization is now a hard requirement, and major prime contractors are already enforcing it through their supply chains. Here is what you need to know and exactly what to do.
• Other Transaction Authority (OTA): What It Is and How Small Businesses Can Win with It — Other Transaction Authority agreements let federal agencies bypass the Federal Acquisition Regulation entirely, replacing hundreds of pages of compliance requirements with streamlined, flexible response formats. For small businesses and nontraditional contractors, OTA represents one of the most accessible entry points into federal contracting. Here is how it works and how to win.
• SBA Proposes Major Overhaul to 8(a) Social Disadvantage Standard: What Small Business Contractors Must Do Before July 13 — On June 11, 2026, the Small Business Administration issued a proposed rule that rewrites the social disadvantage eligibility standard for the 8(a) Business Development Program. The change is the most significant shift to the program in decades, and comments are due July 13. If you have a pending application or plan to apply, the clock is running.
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): A Complete Guide for Small Business Government Contractors — A well-constructed Work Breakdown Structure is one of the most powerful tools in a government proposal. It demonstrates that your team understands the full scope of the contract, has a credible plan to deliver it, and knows how to track cost and schedule at every level. Here is everything small businesses need to know to build one that wins.
• Project Schedule for Government Proposals: Best Practices Every Small Business Needs to Know — A credible project schedule is one of the most evaluated sections of a government proposal. Agencies use it to judge whether your team can realistically deliver the contract on time and within scope. Most small businesses underinvest in this section and pay for it in their evaluation scores. Here is how to build one that wins.
• The FAR Is Being Rewritten: What the 2026 Overhaul Means for Small Business Contractors Right Now — The Federal Acquisition Regulation, the rulebook governing every federal purchase, is undergoing its most sweeping rewrite in over 40 years. Layered on top: a new executive order making fixed-price contracts the government-wide default. Both are in effect right now. Here is what changed and what you need to do.
• GSA Schedule: The Complete Guide for Small Businesses — The GSA Multiple Award Schedule is the federal government's premier contracting vehicle, with over $33 billion flowing through it annually. For small businesses, getting on Schedule is one of the highest-return investments in government contracting. Here is everything you need to know.
• The Smartest Moves Small Contractors Make Early On — Here are five habits that set winning small contractors apart. Not theory. Things small businesses do that put them ahead of companies twice their size.
• How to Win Your First Government Contract With No Past Performance? — No past performance, no contract. No contract, no past performance. It is the loop that stalls most new government contractors right after they get their UEI and CAGE code. Here is how to break through it and how asking the right questions before you bid changes everything.
• Two New SBA Loan Programs and a GSA RFI That Could Shape Federal Payments for Years to Come — SBA rolled out two new loan programs at the end of March that most contractors still have not heard about, and GSA opened the door for industry to shape one of the biggest payment programs in federal contracting. Here is the breakdown.
• RFI vs. RFP vs. RFQ vs. Sources Sought: What Every Government Contractor Needs to Know — RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, and Sources Sought Notices all show up in the same SAM.gov feed, but confusing them is one of the most common and costly mistakes in government contracting. Here is exactly what each document is, how the government uses it, and how to respond to each one well.
• 8(a) Certification Guide: Requirements, Benefits, and How to Apply — The SBA 8(a) Business Development Program is one of the most powerful tools available to small, disadvantaged businesses in government contracting. A nine year term with access to sole source contracts and set aside pools can transform your company's revenue trajectory.
• How to Find Government Contracts: 7 Proven Methods for Contractors — Finding government contracts is both an art and a science. SAM.gov is the official starting point, but the contractors who build the strongest pipelines use a combination of tools, relationships, and proactive market intelligence.
• What is a Capability Statement? How to Write One That Opens Government Doors — A capability statement is the business card of government contracting. In one to two pages, it communicates who you are, what you do, who you have done it for, and why the government should work with you. Here is how to write one that actually opens doors.
• How to Register on SAM.gov: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide (2025) — SAM.gov registration is the mandatory first step for any company that wants to do business with the U.S. federal government. This guide walks you through every field you will need to complete, including the common mistakes that delay approval.
• How to Write a Winning Government Proposal (Step-by-Step Guide) — Writing a government proposal that wins requires more than good writing. It demands structured compliance, strategic alignment with evaluation criteria, and a clear understanding of what government evaluators are looking for.