Federal market data

Federal market data and methodology

This page explains where the figures on Sweetspot's federal market pages come from, how records are grouped, and what the labels mean.

Data sources

Contractor profiles

Browse contractors
Sources
SAM.gov entity records and USAspending.gov award records.
How records are connected
Entity details are keyed by Unique Entity ID (UEI). Award activity is associated through federal recipient identifiers, not by company-name similarity alone.
Important limitation
Entity registration data and award data update separately. A recent award does not prove that every registration field is current, and a company can have more than one entity registration.

Federal Capture Intelligence

Browse markets
Sources
USAspending.gov prime contract records.
What it shows
Historical market activity organized by funding agency and NAICS code, including leading primes, buying patterns, award activity, and changes over time.
Important limitations
Federal award records can change as agencies update them. Funding-office labels do not always identify the actual buyer or requiring activity. Market changes and contract dates are research signals, not forecasts or confirmed future opportunities.

Contract vehicles

Browse contract vehicles
Sources
Agency program pages and ordering guides linked from each vehicle profile, SAM.gov contract opportunities, and USAspending.gov award records.
How figures are grouped
Award activity is rolled up across the known parent IDV identifiers associated with the vehicle. Obligations shown are observed award activity, not the vehicle's ceiling.
Important limitation
An incomplete parent-IDV set or delayed agency reporting can understate orders, obligations, and participating companies. Current holder status should be confirmed with the managing agency.
Sources
The spending references named at the bottom of each guide, USAspending.gov, and official agency procurement and acquisition pages.
How to use them
Agency guides are editorial summaries, not live agency records. Spending, budgets, and outlays are different measures and should not be compared as if they were interchangeable.
Important limitation
Forecasts, contacts, set-asides, and acquisition procedures can change. Confirm current requirements on SAM.gov and the agency's own website.

Understanding federal award figures

Dollar figures and record counts describe different parts of an award.

1. Dollar figures measure different things

Federal awards are described using ceiling, obligations, and outlays. Each answers a different question about value.

Ceiling
The maximum potential value. It is not guaranteed spending.
Obligations
Money the government has committed through award actions. Modifications can raise or lower this amount.
Outlays
Money the government has paid. Outlays often occur after obligations.

2. Counts have different levels

A vehicle can contain many IDVs. Common structures include IDIQs and multiple-award contracts. Agencies issue task orders under those awards, which can also have a base action and later modifications.

  1. Vehicle

    The program

  2. IDVs

    Holder awards

  3. Task orders

    Work awarded

  4. Transactions

    Actions and changes

Official references: Obligations versus outlays USAspending Analyst's Guide

Vehicle inclusion and spend rules

  1. A vehicle can be included when official program or award documentation identifies it as a multiple-award vehicle, including before meaningful order activity appears.
  2. Vehicles discovered from award records must show awards to at least two companies. This excludes single-award IDIQ contracts from the vehicle directory.
  3. Rollups use the known parent IDV set for that vehicle. The set can include multiple award waves, on-ramps, or predecessor identifiers when documented.
  4. Observed obligations below $1 million are not shown as vehicle spend. Newly awarded IDVs often carry nominal base obligations before task orders begin.