Guides for government software buyers
Updated
Short, sourced guides from Tualatin Federal Solutions for federal, state and local buyers of commercial software and IT products. Each one answers a question buyers ask us, quotes the rule it comes from, and links to the official source so you can check it yourself.
Paying and buying methods
- Buying software with a government purchase card: the $15,000 micro-purchase threshold, the FAR's purchase card rule, and what changes once a buy goes over it.
- How to buy from us: purchase card, purchase order and set-asides, with the rules at each dollar level.
Set-asides and the nonmanufacturer rule
- What a veteran-owned reseller can and cannot supply on a set-aside: the nonmanufacturer rule for software on SDVOSB, VOSB and small business set-asides, with a worked $100,000 example.
Accessibility
- Section 508 and VPAT help: what an Accessibility Conformance Report is and how we include one with every software quote.
Coming next
We publish a new guide every week or two. Planned topics include small business set-asides for software, why software is not on SBA's class waiver list, what a VPAT is, buying through NASA SEWP VI, GSA schedule ordering, licenses versus subscriptions, renewals across the SEWP V to SEWP VI changeover, Northwest federal buyers, and buying from a veteran-owned business in Oregon.
Questions people ask
Who writes these guides?
Tualatin Federal Solutions publishes these guides for the buyers it quotes. Every rule, threshold and date is quoted from an official source such as the FAR, the Code of Federal Regulations, SBA, NASA SEWP or Section508.gov, and each guide links to that source and shows the date it was last checked. We are a reseller, not a law firm, so the guides are not legal advice.
How current are the guides?
Each guide shows the date it was last checked against its sources. Federal buying rules are changing: the FAR is in the middle of a government-wide rewrite, and agencies apply parts of it through temporary deviations. When a rule we quote changes, we update the guide and its date, and your solicitation always has the final word.
Can I suggest a topic?
Yes. Tell us the question you or your buyers keep running into, and if it fits, we will write a guide that answers it with sources. Send it through the quote form with the category "other," or through our contact form. Real buyer questions are how we choose what to write next.
Send us a question or a quote request, or read our answers to common questions.