Learn · free to read, no account
Where are you right now?
Four honest stages of getting into federal work. Pick yours and read the pages that matter next, and skip the rest.
Never bid on anything
What this world is, whether it fits, and getting registered
Registered, no wins yet
Reading notices, being findable, and the certifications that widen the field
Bidding and losing
Sections L and M, pricing, the no-bid discipline, and learning from losses
Winning, want more
Vehicles, recompetes, and the machinery behind steady work
Wondering if you need us at all?
Doing it yourself vs using Quarry
Straight comparison · 5 min
The vocabulary
Glossary
77 terms, one sentence each
The address check
HUBZone map checker
Any address, answered in a sentence
All 104 pages
Certifications
8(a), do you qualify?
Do you qualify · 6 min
8(a), how to apply
Step by step · 9 min
8(a), what it is
Explainer · 7 min
Affiliation, the size trap
Explainer · 8 min
HUBZone, do you qualify?
Do you qualify · 4 min
HUBZone, how to apply
Step by step · 7 min
HUBZone, staying certified
Step by step · 7 min
HUBZone, what it is
Explainer · 6 min
Joint ventures, in plain English
Explainer · 7 min
SDVOSB, do you qualify?
Do you qualify · 6 min
SDVOSB, how to certify
Step by step · 7 min
SDVOSB, what it is
Explainer · 6 min
Self-certified small business
Explainer · 6 min
Stacking certifications
Explainer · 6 min
Status and size protests
Explainer · 7 min
The Mentor-Protege Program
Explainer · 7 min
Tribal, ANC, and NHO-owned 8(a) firms
Explainer · 7 min
Where to apply, every certification in one place
Where to go · 6 min
Which certification is worth your time?
Explainer · 7 min
WOSB, do you qualify?
Do you qualify · 6 min
WOSB, how to certify
Step by step · 7 min
WOSB, what it is
Explainer · 6 min
Doing the work
Accounting a government auditor will accept
Explainer · 7 min
Becoming a prime who subcontracts
Explainer · 7 min
Buy American, TAA and Section 889
Explainer · 7 min
CPARS, your permanent record
Explainer · 6 min
Cybersecurity requirements
Explainer · 7 min
Getting paid
Step by step · 7 min
Modifications, options and scope changes
Explainer · 6 min
Outgrowing small
Explainer · 7 min
You won. The first 30 days
Explainer · 7 min
Finding work
Agency procurement forecasts and how to read them
Step by step · 6 min
eBuy, DIBBS, FedConnect and agency portals
Where to go · 6 min
Hunting recompetes 12 to 18 months out
Step by step · 7 min
Notice types decoded
Explainer · 6 min
Reading a solicitation, section by section
Explainer · 7 min
Responding to a sources sought
Step by step · 6 min
Searching SAM.gov without drowning
Step by step · 7 min
SOW vs PWS vs SOO
Explainer · 5 min
The Q4 spending surge
Explainer · 5 min
USAspending and FPDS, find who holds the work now
Step by step · 6 min
Where opportunities are actually posted
Where to go · 6 min
Why set-aside filters mislead you
Explainer · 5 min
Bidding
Bid mistakes that get you thrown out on page one
Explainer · 6 min
Bid or no-bid, a decision you make in 20 minutes
Explainer · 6 min
Bonding and insurance for construction bids
Explainer · 7 min
Building a compliance matrix
Step by step · 7 min
Debriefings, how to ask and what you learn
Step by step · 6 min
LPTA vs best value tradeoff
Explainer · 6 min
Pricing basics
Explainer · 7 min
Protests
Explainer · 6 min
Representations and certifications
Explainer · 6 min
Sections L and M are the whole test
Explainer · 6 min
The question period
Explainer · 5 min
Wage determinations
Explainer · 6 min
Contract vehicles
BPAs vs IDIQs
Explainer · 7 min
Contract types 101
Explainer · 7 min
Getting on the Schedule
Step by step · 8 min
Getting onto an IDIQ
Step by step · 8 min
GWACs and who they're for
Explainer · 6 min
How task orders work under an IDIQ
Explainer · 7 min
Is an IDIQ worth chasing at your size?
Do you qualify · 5 min
Living on the Schedule
Step by step · 7 min
OASIS+ and the big services vehicles
Explainer · 7 min
Purchase cards and micro-purchases
Explainer · 5 min
Requirements and delivery-order contracts
Explainer · 7 min
Single award vs multiple award
Explainer · 6 min
The GSA Schedule, what it is
Explainer · 6 min
Vehicle decoder, which vehicle is this opportunity on
Explainer · 7 min
What an IDIQ is
Explainer · 6 min
Foundations
Contracting myths
Explainer · 7 min
Dollar thresholds that change the rules
Explainer · 7 min
Federal vs state vs local buying
Explainer · 7 min
How to get government contracts
Step by step · 9 min
Is government work a fit for your business?
Do you qualify · 7 min
Prime or subcontractor, which should you be first
Explainer · 7 min
The FAR, in plain English
Explainer · 7 min
The honest timeline and cost of your first win
Explainer · 6 min
The procurement lifecycle, start to finish
Explainer · 8 min
What a set-aside is and why it exists
Explainer · 6 min
What government contracting actually is
Explainer · 6 min
Using Quarry
Doing it yourself vs using Quarry
Straight comparison · 5 min
Quarry vs a consultant, a bid-matching service, and SAM.gov alerts
Straight comparison · 6 min
What Quarry actually does (and what it doesn't)
Straight comparison · 5 min
Why we don't charge for leads
Straight comparison · 5 min
Why we give you verdicts instead of scores
Straight comparison · 5 min
Your first 30 days with Quarry
Step by step · 6 min
Getting registered
Getting set up to invoice and get paid
Step by step · 6 min
Getting your UEI
Step by step · 6 min
Past performance when you have none
Explainer · 6 min
Picking your NAICS codes
Step by step · 6 min
PSC codes and why buyers search by them
Explainer · 5 min
Register on SAM.gov
Step by step · 8 min
SAM renewal, and the six things that get registrations rejected
Step by step · 7 min
Size standards, are you actually small?
Do you qualify · 8 min
What a CAGE code is
Explainer · 5 min
Writing a capability statement
Step by step · 6 min
Your SBA DSBS profile
Step by step · 6 min
More pages land as we write them. Every page shows the date we last verified it.