I'm trying to research past federal awards for janitorial services. Some older guides I have say to go to FPDS-NG, but when I click the link, it redirects to SAM.gov. The reports on SAM.gov look different from what I remember seeing in FPDS-NG screenshots. I also see USAspending mentioned sometimes for award data. Is FPDS still a thing, or did all the contract award data move into SAM.gov? Does USAspending show the same information as SAM.gov's award reports?
FPDS is still the system for reporting federal contract award data, but it is accessed through SAM.gov. Marcus is right about the reporting requirement under FAR 4.606(a)(1). The data in SAM.gov includes the Product Service Code (PSC) as a 4-character value and the NAICS code as a 6-character value. This helps narrow down your search for janitorial services. Remember that state and local government awards are typically not in SAM.gov or USAspending; you will need to check individual state or county procurement portals for those.
FPDS is still a thing, but it is now integrated into SAM.gov for reporting and access. Agencies must report every contract action over the micro-purchase threshold to the Federal Procurement Data System, as stated in FAR 4.606(a)(1). The data is then presented through SAM.gov.
USAspending.gov also shows federal spending data, including contract and grant awards. The USAspending API lets the public access comprehensive U.S. government spending data, including who received federal contracts or grants, with geographic and agency breakdowns. It pulls from the same core data sources, but the presentation and filtering options are different. I use both, depending on what I am trying to find. For janitorial contracts, I look up NAICS code 561720, janitorial services, and then filter by state and county. This helps me see who won what and for how much, which helps me price my bids.