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Understanding Contract Data

The Intelligence Center displays comprehensive government contract information from authoritative federal sources. This guide explains what each field means, where the data comes from, and how to interpret it for capture decisions.

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Data Sources

Contract data is merged from two authoritative federal systems:

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USASpending.gov

  • Primary source for contract values and award information
  • Official federal spending transparency portal
  • Provides: total amounts, agencies, award dates, descriptions
  • Updated: Daily from federal agency submissions

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FPDS (Federal Procurement Data System)

  • Detailed source for modifications and administrative data
  • Official contract writing system used by contracting officers
  • Provides: modifications, task orders, Points of Contact, detailed classification
  • Updated: Real-time as contracting officers update contracts
When data conflicts between sources, the system shows warnings and uses USASpending as the primary source of truth.

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Contract Overview Fields

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Contract ID (PIID)

The Procurement Instrument Identifier - a unique ID for the contract. Format Examples:
  • W15QKN19C0123 - Army contract
  • FA812020C0456 - Air Force contract
  • GS00Q17NSD3079 - GSA contract
What it tells you:
  • First characters: Identify the agency or department
  • Year digits: Award year (19 = 2019, 20 = 2020)
  • Letter: Contract type (C = cost-reimbursement, D = delivery order)

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Vendor Information

Vendor Name: The legal name of the contractor
  • May differ from the “doing business as” name
  • Includes parent company or subsidiary designation
Vendor UEI: Unique Entity Identifier
  • 12-character alphanumeric code
  • Required for all federal contracts since April 2022
  • Links all contracts to the same legal entity

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Contract Values

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Total Obligated Amount

The actual amount of money the government has obligated (committed) to the contractor. Interpretation:
  • This is real money, not a ceiling
  • Includes all modifications to date
  • May be less than the base contract value
  • Can be higher if modifications increased funding

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Base Contract Value

The original contract amount when first awarded. Interpretation:
  • Starting point before any modifications
  • May be $0 for IDV contracts (funding comes via task orders)
  • Compare to total obligated to see growth/reduction
A large difference between base value and total obligated indicates significant modifications - either scope growth or reduction.

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Dates

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Start Date

When contract performance begins.
  • May be before award date (retroactive coverage)
  • Indicates when work commenced

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End Date

When contract performance is scheduled to end.
  • Original end date, not including option periods
  • May be extended through modifications
  • Check modifications for actual current end date

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Last Modified

Most recent date when contract data was updated in FPDS.
  • Indicates data freshness
  • Recent dates suggest active contract management
If “Last Modified” is more than 6 months old, the contract may be complete or the data may not be current.

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Classification Fields

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NAICS Code

North American Industry Classification System code and description. Example: 541512 - Computer Systems Design Services What it tells you:
  • Primary industry classification for the work
  • Used for small business size standards
  • Indicates the type of work performed

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PSC Code

Product and Service Code - more specific than NAICS. Example: D302 - IT and Telecom - IT Systems Development Services What it tells you:
  • Specific service or product being provided
  • More granular than NAICS
  • Used for market research and spend analysis
When researching competitors, look for companies with similar NAICS and PSC codes to find relevant past performance.

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Agency Information

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Awarding Agency

The department or major agency that awarded the contract. Examples:
  • Department of Defense
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • General Services Administration

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Awarding Sub-Agency

The specific organization within the department. Examples:
  • United States Army
  • United States Coast Guard
  • Public Buildings Service
Why it matters: Understanding the specific buying office helps you:
  • Identify relevant past performance
  • Map relationships with the same buyer
  • Understand agency-specific requirements

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Contract Type

Common contract types you’ll see:
TypeDescriptionRisk Profile
FFPFirm Fixed PriceLow risk for contractor
CPFFCost Plus Fixed FeeHigher risk for contractor
CPAFCost Plus Award FeePerformance-based incentives
T&MTime and MaterialsHourly rate based
IDIQIndefinite Delivery/Indefinite QuantityVehicle for task orders
IDIQ contracts (also called IDV - Indefinite Delivery Vehicles) are important to identify because they generate task orders which represent the actual funded work.

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Modifications

Modifications show the history of changes to the contract. Each modification can:
  • Add funding (positive amount)
  • Remove funding (negative amount - deobligation)
  • Extend performance period
  • Change scope or requirements
  • Exercise option periods

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Modification Fields

Modification Number
  • 0 or Base: Original contract
  • 1, 2, 3…: Sequential modifications
  • P00001: Administrative modifications
Obligated Amount
  • Positive: Added funding
  • Negative: Removed funding (deobligation)
  • Zero: Administrative change only
Signed Date
  • When the modification was executed
  • More recent dates indicate active contract
Description
  • Brief explanation of the modification
  • May indicate option exercise, funding increase, scope change
Many modifications with positive amounts indicate a growing contract - a sign of good performance and customer satisfaction.

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Reading Modification Patterns

Growth Pattern (Good Performance Indicator) 
Mod 0: $500,000 (Base)
Mod 1: $250,000 (Added scope)
Mod 2: $300,000 (Option year 1)
Mod 3: $150,000 (Additional work)
Total: $1,200,000 (140% growth)
Reduction Pattern (Potential Issues) 
Mod 0: $1,000,000 (Base)
Mod 1: -$200,000 (Deobligation)
Mod 2: -$150,000 (Deobligation)
Total: $650,000 (35% reduction)

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Task Orders

Task orders are individual orders placed against an IDIQ/IDV contract.

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Task Order Fields

PIID: Unique identifier for the task order
  • Usually the parent contract number + additional characters
  • Example: W15QKN19C0123-0001
Amount: Funded amount for this specific task order
  • Represents actual work value
  • Sum of all task orders ≈ total contract value
Description: What work is being performed
  • Specific statement of work for this order
  • May be more detailed than parent contract
Performance Period: Start and end dates
  • Specific to this task order
  • May overlap with other task orders
When evaluating an IDIQ contract, focus on the task orders to understand the actual scope and scale of work performed.

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Points of Contact (POC)

POC information comes from FPDS and includes government personnel managing the contract.

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Contracting Officer (KO)

  • Has legal authority to obligate government funds
  • Signs contracts and modifications
  • Primary decision-maker for contract actions

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Contract Administrator

  • Day-to-day contract management
  • Handles administrative actions
  • May approve invoices and deliverables

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Approving Official

  • Reviews and approves contract actions
  • Typically in the contracting chain of command
The system automatically filters out fake or invalid email addresses. If no POCs are shown, the contact information in FPDS may be incomplete or invalid.

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Data Quality Indicators

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Data Source Badge

Shows where the contract information originated:
  • USASpending: From USASpending.gov only
  • FPDS: From FPDS only
  • Merged: Combined from both sources
Interpretation:
  • Merged = Most complete (recommended)
  • USASpending only = May lack modification details
  • FPDS only = May lack total value accuracy

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Validation Warnings

The system may display warnings when:
  • ❗ Amount Mismatch: USASpending and FPDS totals differ by more than 1%
  • ⚠️ Missing Modifications: FPDS shows no modifications but USASpending shows value
  • 📅 Stale Data: No updates in over 6 months
  • 🔍 Deobligations Present: Contract has negative modifications
Validation warnings don’t mean the data is wrong - they indicate areas to investigate further or verify with other sources.

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Interpreting Data for Capture

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Competitive Analysis

Contract Values
  • Compare competitor contract sizes to understand their typical deal size
  • Look for growth patterns indicating strong performance
Agencies
  • Note which agencies the competitor works with most
  • Identify relationship strengths
Contract Types
  • FFP indicates they’re comfortable with risk
  • Cost-plus suggests complex, uncertain work
  • IDIQ shows ongoing relationships

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Past Performance Evaluation

Modification Patterns
  • Consistent positive mods = good performance
  • Multiple deobligations = potential problems
  • Administrative mods only = stable execution
Contract Duration
  • Multi-year contracts indicate trust
  • Short contracts may be trial periods
  • Extensions suggest satisfaction
Task Order Volume
  • Many task orders on IDIQ = active partnership
  • Few task orders = underutilized vehicle

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Relationship Mapping

Points of Contact
  • Identify contracting officers to target
  • Note if same KO awards multiple contracts
  • Build relationship strategy
Agency Concentration
  • Single agency = deep relationships
  • Multiple agencies = broader reach
  • Consider for teaming opportunities

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Common Questions

This is common and usually not concerning. Possible reasons:
  • Different update timing between systems
  • Task order amounts tracked differently
  • Accounting for deobligations varies
The system uses USASpending as primary source and shows warnings when differences exceed 1%.
Some contracts genuinely have no modifications, especially if:
  • Recently awarded
  • Firm fixed price with no changes needed
  • Administrative data not entered in FPDS
USASpending should still show the total contract value.
The system filters out:
  • Generic emails (noreply@, admin@, etc.)
  • Test accounts
  • Invalid addresses
This ensures you see only real, contactable government personnel.
  • USASpending: Updated daily from agency submissions
  • FPDS: Updated real-time as KOs make changes
  • Intelligence Center: Fetches live data on each search
Check the “Last Modified” date to assess freshness.

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What’s Next?

Multi-Company Analysis

Compare multiple competitors

Capture Use Cases

Apply intelligence to capture

Searching for Companies

How to search and select companies

Competitive Intelligence

Building competitive analyses