Federal contracting glossary
The terms you meet in award records and on this site, in plain words.
- Unique Entity ID (UEI)
- The 12-character ID that SAM.gov assigns to every entity doing business with the US government. It replaced the DUNS number in April 2022. Award records carry the winner's UEI. Look up a UEI
- CAGE code
- A five-character Commercial and Government Entity code that identifies a company location for federal contracting. It is assigned during SAM.gov registration.
- SAM.gov
- The System for Award Management: the official US government site where companies register to receive federal awards, and where opportunities and exclusions are published.
- USAspending.gov
- The official source of US federal spending data, including every contract award reported by agencies. Every award on DataInside links to its record there.
- NAICS code
- A North American Industry Classification System code of up to six digits that names an industry. Each federal contract lists one, and it sets the small-business size standard for that contract. Find a NAICS code
- Product and Service Code (PSC)
- A four-character code that describes what the government bought on a contract, alongside the NAICS code that describes the industry.
- Size standard
- The limit, in employees or average annual receipts, under which a company counts as small for a given NAICS code. The Small Business Administration (SBA) sets them.
- Obligation
- A binding commitment of federal money on a contract. Award totals on DataInside are obligations: they are not company revenue, and not necessarily money already paid.
- Prime contractor
- The company that holds a contract directly with the government. Primes often hire subcontractors for parts of the work.
- Subcontractor
- A company hired by a prime contractor to perform part of a federal contract.
- Set-aside
- A contract whose competition is limited to small businesses, or to a group of them such as 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned or women-owned small businesses. Set-aside contractors
- 8(a) Business Development program
- An SBA program for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people. Agencies can award contracts to 8(a) firms competitively or as sole-source awards.
- HUBZone
- The Historically Underutilized Business Zone program, for small businesses based in, and employing people from, designated areas.
- Service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB)
- A small business owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans. Contracts can be set aside for them.
- Women-owned small business (WOSB)
- A small business at least 51% owned and controlled by women. The WOSB program allows set-asides in industries where women-owned businesses are underrepresented.
- Sole-source award
- A contract awarded to one company without competition, allowed only in specific circumstances.
- IDIQ contract
- An indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract: it sets the terms and a ceiling, and the agency places task or delivery orders under it as needs arise.
- Task order and delivery order
- An order placed under an existing contract such as an IDIQ: a task order for services, a delivery order for supplies.
- GWAC
- A government-wide acquisition contract: a contract for IT products or services that any federal agency can order from.
- Place of performance
- Where the work on a contract is done. DataInside's state pages count companies by it, which can differ from where a company is based.
- Awarding agency and office
- The agency, and the office within it, that signed the contract. It can differ from the funding agency that pays for it.
See these terms on real awards
Every company page shows its awards with agency, office, NAICS code and amount obligated, linked to USAspending.gov.