The federal fiscal year starts on October 1, so the end of March marks its halfway point. For contractors, that makes the last week of the second quarter a natural moment to stop, look at the first six months honestly and adjust the plan for the six that remain. The questions below are meant to be answered in an afternoon, not a retreat.
What did the first half actually produce?
Pull up every opportunity your firm touched since October: sources sought responses, quotes, proposals, teaming conversations. For each one, note the outcome and, where you know it, the reason. Patterns show up quickly. Maybe you answered many sources sought notices but never saw the solicitations. Maybe you lost on price twice in a row. Maybe the wins came from one agency you had not considered a priority.
The point is not to grade yourselves. It is to see where effort turned into results and where it did not, so the second half of the year is spent on the opportunities that fit.
Is the administrative foundation still solid?
Several things can quietly go stale between January and March:
- Your SAM.gov registration and its expiration date
- Points of contact who have changed roles or left the company
- Small business certifications with annual updates or recertification dates
- GSA Schedule catalogs, pricing and sales reporting, if you hold one
- Your capability statement, especially the past performance it cites
Fixing these in March is easy. Discovering them in August, when a quote is due in two days, is not.
Are the target agencies still the right ones?
Agencies reorganize, change leadership and shift priorities. A buying office that was active last year may be absorbed into a larger one. A continuing resolution may have delayed the programs you were counting on. Re-read the forecasts and recent award notices for each target agency and ask whether your short list still deserves its place. Dropping a target is not failure; it frees time for the ones that remain.
What does the second half need from you?
The third quarter, April through June, is when many agencies finalize the requirements they intend to award before September 30. The fourth quarter is when the awards happen. That means the relationships, vehicles and documents you will rely on in the summer should be in place by late spring.
Ask practical questions. Do you have the staff to respond to two quick-turn requests in the same week? Are your pricing templates current? Have you spoken with the small business specialists at your target agencies this fiscal year? If a teaming partner is part of the plan, is the agreement signed? If you hold a contract vehicle, do the buyers who use it know what you offer?
Write the answers down
A half-year review is only useful if it changes what happens next. Capture the decisions in a one-page document: the targets you are keeping, the ones you are dropping, the administrative fixes with owners and dates, and the two or three capabilities you will lead with through September. Then revisit that page at the end of June, when the fourth quarter is in sight. Firms that check in twice a year rarely get surprised by the calendar.