The $15K–$350K Band Is Reserved for Small Business. Start There.
Contracts under the simplified acquisition threshold carry relaxed competition rules, faster awards, and a fraction of the proposal burden — and the whole band is reserved for small business by default.
We’ll Cover
Core Intel Report — Why the simplified acquisition band is the smartest first-award target, and the 2026 change that widened it
Week in Numbers — The thresholds that define the entry ramp
The Edge: The MPT-to-SAT Sweet Spot — The band that’s set aside for small business by law
Competitive Advantage Monitor — Why the lighter proposal burden favors newcomers
Opportunity Alerts — Where these buys live and how to find them
Signal vs. Noise — What wins simplified acquisitions
The Play of the Week — Target your first simplified-acquisition win in five moves
Bottom Line Up Front
First-time contractors chase the wrong first target — big formal RFPs with brutal competition and 50-page proposals. The smarter entry ramp is simplified acquisition: buys under the simplified acquisition threshold, which just rose from $250,000 to $350,000 effective October 1, 2025. These carry relaxed competition rules, faster award timelines, and a light proposal burden — and the whole band from the micro-purchase threshold up to the SAT is reserved for small business by default when two capable firms are expected. It’s the best-designed on-ramp in federal contracting, and most newcomers walk right past it.
Week in Numbers
$350,000 — The simplified acquisition threshold as of October 1, 2025, up from $250,000. Below it, agencies use faster, lighter procedures under FAR Part 13. Your “realistic first win” just got bigger.
$15,000 — The micro-purchase threshold, raised from $10,000 in the same adjustment. Below it, no competitive quotes are even required.
$15K–$350K — The band reserved for small business. Acquisitions above the micro-purchase threshold and at or below the SAT are generally set aside for small firms.
2 — The number of capable small businesses that makes a set-aside mandatory in this band under the Rule of Two. This is where that trigger does its heaviest lifting.
Core Intel Report
Here’s the mistake that stalls most first-time contractors: they aim at the biggest, most formal opportunities — full FAR Part 15 negotiated procurements — where they face the most competition, the heaviest proposal requirements, and the longest timelines. Then they lose, burn out, and quit.
There’s a far better first target, and the FAR practically built it for you.
What simplified acquisition is. Under FAR Part 13, agencies use streamlined “simplified acquisition procedures” for buys at or below the SAT — now $350,000. These procedures are deliberately lighter than a full negotiated procurement: quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources instead of an elaborate RFP, reduced publicizing requirements, informal competition, and a faster path from solicitation to award. Contracting officers can compare quoted prices directly instead of running formal negotiations.
