How we get our numbers
Where the figures in AwardRight's guides and trade pages come from, how we count them, and what to keep in mind when you use them.
Every figure in our guides and trade pages comes from public government data, and each page lists its sources at the bottom. This page explains how we count, so you can check our work or run the same search yourself.
Where the data comes from
- Contract awards come from USAspending.gov, which publishes what agencies report to the Federal Procurement Data System: who won, for how much, under which code and where the work is done.
- Open bids come from SAM.gov, where agencies post their notices. We check it every business day.
- NAICS codes and the kinds of work under each come from the Census Bureau's 2022 NAICS manual and index.
- Size limits come from the SBA's table in 13 CFR 121.201.
- Rules link to the regulation itself: the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the Code of Federal Regulations or the Federal Register.
How we count
- Place. When a page is about certain states, we count work by where it's performed, not where the agency or the company is based.
- Time. We count a contract in the year it was first awarded, and spending in the federal fiscal year it was obligated (October to September).
- Contracts and orders. Some figures include orders placed under larger existing contracts. Others count only standalone contracts and purchase orders, because orders usually go to firms that already hold the larger contract. Each page says which.
- Value. "Obligated" is money the government has committed so far, often just the first year. "Yearly value" is a contract's total possible value, options included, divided by its length in years.
- Set-asides and bidders are as the agency reported them.
What to keep in mind
The data is only as good as what agencies report. Codes are sometimes chosen loosely, values get corrected later, and Defense Department contract data is published 90 days late, so the most recent months always look lighter than they will. Treat our figures as a guide to the market, not an exact count, and check the notice itself on SAM.gov before you bid.
Updates and corrections
Each page shows when its data was pulled. We refresh the trade pages every quarter. If you spot something wrong, email info@awardright.com and we'll check it and fix it.