Did you know that the Alaska PTAC is hosted by the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA)? For many years, PTAC was a partner program of the Alaska Small Business Development Center (and still is). Then, last year, the University of …

The “Rule of Two” has a well-established place in federal contracting.  Federal Acquisition Regulations Part 19.502-2(a) states: “Each acquisition of supplies or services that has an anticipated dollar value exceeding $3,500…but not over $150,000…is automatically reserved exclusively for small business …

A lot of commercial companies are exploiting people interested in doing business with FEMA and other federal agencies, charging them hundreds of dollars to “help” complete necessary and even optional registrations.  For example, registering with FEMA is optional and you …

Women-owned businesses employ millions of American workers in communities all over the U.S. But when it comes to receiving federal contracts and capital, women are still under-represented. That’s according to a recent study commissioned by the U.S. Small Business Administration. …

Do you provide products or services that federal agencies need when there is an emergency? Do you provide temporary labor services or trucking, construction, water, food, mobile home rental, environmental remediation, tents or office rental? Government agencies need to be …

When a procuring agency asks for details, an offeror better provide those details–or run the risk of exclusion from the competition. Recently, the GAO has confirmed that offerors must provide sufficient detail or run the risk of being eliminated from a …

Beginning in February, the federal definition of what qualifies as a small business will change, the Small Business Administration announced on Thursday. Two final rules were published this week in the Federal Register for measuring the number of employees, along …

Under a new FAR provision effective in February 2016, the Government typically will not enter into a contract with any corporation that has an unpaid Federal tax liability that is not being contested or timely repaid.  The same new FAR provision …

For small federal contractors, it was a busy year, with many ups and downs, and a few surprises. It was a Twitter feed that blasted hundreds of messages each day. It was a networking event that was only half full …

Carter Merkle, our colleague from  Oklahoma’s PTAC, shares the following Pre-award tips provided at a briefing by Tinker Air Force Base. Taking these to heart can help you avoid some of the most common mistakes made by small business vendors – …

The Small Business Administration (SBA) released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on Friday, December 18, 2015, which would change the certification process for the Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program.  Public comments on SBA’s new rules are due not later …

The Department of Veterans Affairs and Congress are working to make it easier for veterans to take advantage of a special veterans-focused contracting program while also protecting it from abuse.  The VA released proposed amendments to its Veteran-Owned Small Business …

In the Nov. 18, 2015 edition of the Federal Register, there’s a proposal to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to re-designate the terminology for unique identification of entities receiving Federal awards. The change to the FAR would remove the proprietary standard …

As a Federal contractor, you already know that the FAR requires you to retain certain project records (books, documents, etc.) for audit and inspection purposes – typically for a period of at least three years after final payment.  But did …

The SBA is moving toward implementing its proposed “universal” mentor-protege program for all small businesses.  According to testimony presented by the SBA’s Associate Administrator for Government Contracting Business Development at a recent Congressional hearing, the SBA has put together a …

Effective  November 1, 2015, the Army will shut down Army Single Face to Industry (ASFI). Vendors may find opportunities for contracting on the Federal Business Opportunity (FBO) portal. Vendors are encouraged to pay close attention to instructions outlined in each solicitation and …

The start of new federal fiscal year 2016 brings statutory inflation adjustments to federal acquisition thresholds, including: the micro-purchase base threshold of $3,000 increases to $3,500; the simplified acquisition threshold of $150,000 remains unchanged; the FedBizOpps preaward and post-award notices …

For contracting with service-disabled veterans, two federal agencies stand out from the pack: the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments. TOP 20 U.S. government agencies for SDVOSB contractingFY2014 DOD $7.0 billion VA $3.6 billion DHS $824 million DOJ $229 million HHS …

This October, the U.S. will take a major step to mitigate fraud and improve our financial security by migrating away from outdated credit and debit cards that transmit sensitive customer data using magnetic stripes. In 2015, it should not surprise us …

On September 14th, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published their final rule allowing sole source awards to Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) or Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSBs) in certain circumstances, implementing a provision in the FY15 National Defense Authorization …