Knowledge base
The contractor's guide to compliance, teaming and capture
Practical guides to CMMC, SPRS, clearances, export controls, small business rules, contract vehicles and proposals. Every guide cites its official sources and links straight into the tools that put it to work.
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Featured guides
CMMC & cybersecurity
CMMC phase-in timeline: what changes in each phase
The four CMMC implementation phases under 32 CFR 170.3(e), from Phase 1 in November 2025 to full implementation, and how to read the CMMC requirement in a solicitation during the phase-in.
Read the guide· 5 min
Small business programs
Limitations on Subcontracting (FAR 52.219-14): the 50% rule, worked out
What FAR 52.219-14 and 13 CFR 125.6 limit on set-aside contracts, how the amount-paid calculation works for services, supplies and construction, how similarly situated subcontractors count, and how to plan compliant workshare.
Read the guide· 5 min
Capture & proposals
Building a compliance matrix: trace every requirement to your proposal
How to build a compliance matrix that maps every Section L instruction, Section M factor and statement-of-work requirement to an owner and a proposal location, with the columns to use, a step-by-step method and final compliance checks.
Read the guide· 4 min
Capture & proposals
Positioning for recompetes: an 18-month capture plan
How to find expiring contracts in USAspending.gov award data, read the incumbent’s position, shape the requirement through market research, and time your capture from 18 months out to proposal submission.
Read the guide· 4 min
CMMC & cybersecurity
CMMC levels and phase-in, NIST SP 800-171 scoring in SPRS, assessment currency, and handling CUI.
CMMC 2.0 overview: levels, assessments and what primes expect
What each CMMC level requires, who performs the assessment, how long a status lasts, and how CMMC flows down to subcontractors under 32 CFR Part 170.
5 min read
CMMC phase-in timeline: what changes in each phase
The four CMMC implementation phases under 32 CFR 170.3(e), from Phase 1 in November 2025 to full implementation, and how to read the CMMC requirement in a solicitation during the phase-in.
5 min read
Final vs. Conditional CMMC status: POA&Ms and the 180-day closeout
When a CMMC assessment can end in Conditional status, which gaps can sit on a POA&M, what the 180-day closeout means for your contracts, and how validity and affirmations work.
5 min read
NIST SP 800-171 scoring in SPRS: how the 110-point method works
How the DoD Assessment Methodology turns the 110 NIST SP 800-171 requirements into a score from 110 down to -203, how Basic, Medium and High assessments differ, and what is posted to SPRS.
4 min read
DFARS 252.204-7019 and -7020: keeping your NIST SP 800-171 assessment current
Why a NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment must be no more than three years old to be considered for award, what -7019 and -7020 require of offerors and subcontractors, and a renewal calendar that keeps you eligible.
4 min read
CUI and Zero-CUI practices for teaming and capture
What Controlled Unclassified Information is under 32 CFR Part 2002, how it differs from FCI, what DFARS 252.204-7012 requires when you handle it, and how capture teams can work with partners and tools without spreading CUI.
5 min read
The FedRAMP Marketplace: Reading Cloud Authorization Status for Teaming
What FedRAMP Ready, In Process and Authorized mean on the official Marketplace, why DFARS 252.204-7012 makes cloud status a teaming question, and how to read a listing correctly.
4 min read
Clearances & export controls
Facility clearances under the NISP, and how ITAR and EAR shape who can work on what.
Facility clearance (FCL) basics: sponsorship, levels and the DD Form 254
What a facility security clearance is, why you need a sponsor, what DCSA evaluates under 32 CFR Part 117 (NISPOM), how the DD Form 254 sets security requirements, and what primes check.
4 min read
ITAR and EAR basics for defense and aerospace teams
How the ITAR and the EAR differ, when DDTC registration is required, why releasing technical data to foreign persons can be an export, and how to screen partners for export-controlled work.
4 min read
The Consolidated Screening List: Restricted-Party Screening for Teaming Partners
What the ITA Consolidated Screening List combines from Commerce, State and Treasury, why name matches need human review, and a routine for screening partners before you share data or sign.
4 min read
Small business programs
Size standards, set-asides, Limitations on Subcontracting, similarly situated entities and mentor-protégé.
NAICS codes and SBA size standards: are you small for this contract?
How SBA size standards in 13 CFR Part 121 work by NAICS code, how receipts, employees and affiliates are counted, when size is decided, and how to keep your SAM.gov size representations accurate.
5 min read
Small business set-asides: 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB and the rule of two
How agencies reserve work for small businesses under FAR Part 19, how the rule of two works, who qualifies for the 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB and SDVOSB programs, and what a set-aside changes for the prime and its team.
5 min read
Limitations on Subcontracting (FAR 52.219-14): the 50% rule, worked out
What FAR 52.219-14 and 13 CFR 125.6 limit on set-aside contracts, how the amount-paid calculation works for services, supplies and construction, how similarly situated subcontractors count, and how to plan compliant workshare.
5 min read
Similarly situated entities: subcontracting without breaking the 50% rule
Who counts as a similarly situated entity under 13 CFR 125.1, how their work counts toward the prime’s share under FAR 52.219-14, how to verify status and size, and what to put in the subcontract.
4 min read
The SBA Mentor-Protégé Program: how it works and how to use it
What SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program under 13 CFR 125.9 offers protégés and mentors, who can participate, how a mentor-protégé joint venture qualifies as small, and how to make the relationship deliver.
5 min read
SBIR/STTR Phase III: What It Allows and How to Team Around It
Phase III lets agencies award follow-on work without a new competition, but only for work derived from a firm’s SBIR or STTR projects. How the phases work, the limits, data rights and teaming steps.
4 min read
Teaming & partner due diligence
Teaming agreements versus joint ventures, and screening partners for exclusions and responsibility.
Teaming agreements vs. joint ventures: choosing the right structure
How FAR Subpart 9.6 contractor team arrangements work, when a prime-subcontractor teaming agreement or a joint venture fits better, what SBA rules add for small business joint ventures, and the terms every teaming agreement needs.
5 min read
SAM exclusions and responsibility: screening teaming partners
How suspensions, debarments and other exclusions recorded in SAM.gov affect awards and subcontracts under FAR Subpart 9.4, what FAR 52.209-6 asks of primes, and a partner-screening routine.
4 min read
Subcontract Reporting (FSRS) and Sub-Award Data: Proving Who You Have Worked For
How FAR 52.204-10 subaward reporting works, what USAspending sub-award records do and do not show, and how to use a proven teaming history to find primes and win work.
4 min read
Contract vehicles
GWACs, IDIQs, schedules, BPAs and Other Transaction agreements: how work flows through them.
Contract vehicles explained: GWACs, IDIQs, GSA Schedules and BPAs
How IDIQs, GWACs, multi-agency contracts, the GSA Multiple Award Schedule and BPAs work under FAR Parts 8, 13 and 16, how orders are competed, and how to win work when you are not on the vehicle.
4 min read
Other Transaction agreements (OTAs): prototypes, consortia and follow-on production
What DoD Other Transaction authority under 10 U.S.C. 4021 and 4022 allows, who can receive a prototype OT, how consortia and Commercial Solutions Openings work, and when follow-on production can be awarded without competition.
4 min read
GSA CALC+ Labor Rates: Benchmarking Ceiling Prices for Proposals and Teaming
What GSA CALC+ awarded ceiling rates show, why they are not prices paid, and how to use labor rate benchmarks to price proposals, check teaming splits and support price reasonableness.
4 min read
Capture & proposals
Recompete positioning, the proposal process, compliance matrices, past performance and capability statements.
Positioning for recompetes: an 18-month capture plan
How to find expiring contracts in USAspending.gov award data, read the incumbent’s position, shape the requirement through market research, and time your capture from 18 months out to proposal submission.
4 min read
The proposal development process: from RFP release to submission
A practical workflow for federal proposals: reading the uniform contract format, bid/no-bid, kickoff, outlining to Sections L and M, color team reviews, pricing, final production and debriefings, with the FAR Part 15 rules that shape evaluation.
5 min read
Building a compliance matrix: trace every requirement to your proposal
How to build a compliance matrix that maps every Section L instruction, Section M factor and statement-of-work requirement to an owner and a proposal location, with the columns to use, a step-by-step method and final compliance checks.
4 min read
Past performance that wins: relevance, recency and CPARS
How agencies evaluate past performance under FAR 15.305, how CPARS evaluations under FAR Subpart 42.15 follow you into future bids, how teams can use partners’ records, and how to write references that score.
4 min read
Capability statements that get you on the team
What contracting officers and primes look for in a one-page capability statement, the identifiers and credentials to include, how to tailor it for an agency, a prime or a sources sought response, and the mistakes that get it ignored.
4 min read
Getting started
SAM.gov registration and your UEI, how blind SPRS brackets work, and using AI responsibly in capture.
SAM.gov registration and your UEI: the foundation of every award
Why an active SAM.gov registration is required to receive a federal contract, what the UEI and CAGE code are, how to keep your registration current, and how TeamingIndex uses SAM data.
4 min read
Blind SPRS brackets: prove your posture without exposing your score
How TeamingIndex turns an exact NIST SP 800-171 score into thresholds primes can filter on, who can ever see the exact number, and how verification and provenance work.
4 min read
Using AI responsibly in capture and proposals
Where AI helps in federal capture and proposal work, where it creates risk (CUI, export-controlled data, procurement integrity, unsupported claims), what to ask about any tool, and a review routine that keeps proposals accurate.
4 min read
Glossary: 117 acronyms and terms
From C3PAO and DD Form 254 to Section M and similarly situated entities: short definitions, each linked to the guide that explains it in depth.
Not legal advice. TeamingIndex guides are general information to help you plan, not legal advice. Regulations, clauses and program rules change and solicitations can tailor them: always work from the current regulation and the clauses in your solicitation, and confirm decisions with your contracting officer or counsel.