Every year, the government spends billions on disaster relief, and they use companies from the private sector for all of their disaster cleanup jobs. If your company can provide disaster relief or cleanup services, we highly recommend that you expand your scope into government contracting. Here are a few facts to get you started.
- Disaster Relief Jobs Aren’t Just Cleanup Jobs
After a hurricane, tornado or fire, there is plenty of debris left behind, so disaster cleanup jobs are very common. If you can provide any type of debris removal services, you’ll find plenty of jobs to bid on, but that is not the only service the government needs after a disaster.
For instance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was called in to help with the Covid-19 pandemic, as this was a national emergency that required an influx of goods and services. For this emergency, the government needed supplies such as refrigeration systems to store vaccines, tents and supplies for setting up testing sites and vaccine sites, and many medical supplies, as well.
In general, disaster relief includes a vast array of goods and services. For instance, if your company sells bottled water or can provide shelf-stable meal kits, this is something always needed in a disaster. Security services are in high demand, and the government often needs companies that can provide repair services or that can set up emergency fencing.
- FEMA Needs Goods & Services All Year
FEMA’s needs extend beyond disaster relief jobs, such as hurricane relief jobs or flood relief jobs, and they need goods and services throughout the year. This includes office items such as printer cartridges and paper, as well as general facilities maintenance and repairs.
If you head to Beta.SAM.gov, you can do an advanced search for Contract Opportunities and check out what FEMA needs currently or will need in the near future. Beta.SAM.gov is the contracting search engine that is part of the System for Award Management (SAM). SAM is the database that includes information about all government contractors as well as providing information about current and past contracting jobs.
To determine if your goods and services might be a good fit for FEMA, head to Beta.SAM.gov and do an advanced search, selecting FEMA as the agency. It also is recommended that you also search using your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes and/or your Product and Service Codes (PSCs).
These codes describe the types of goods and services you can provide to the government. If you don’t know your NAICS codes, go to go to https://www.census.gov/naics/ and click on the 2017 manual. For Product and Service Codes, go to https://www.acquisition.gov/psc-manual. There are several options, here including an Excel spreadsheet and a Word-based manual where you can search for your codes.
- Think Beyond FEMA
Once you select FEMA and enter your codes in the Beta.SAM search engine, you should see search results that match your goods and services, but if you don’t, this doesn’t mean that government contracting jobs aren’t available for your company. Simply de-select FEMA and do a general search and you are likely to find other agencies that might need your goods and services.
When it comes to disaster relief jobs or disaster cleanup jobs, FEMA disaster jobs aren’t the only option. Agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service often need help with cleanup and debris removal. However, there are hundreds of federal government agencies out there and all of them buy goods and services from the private sector so chances are good that your company will be a match for some federal contractor jobs.
Additionally, state governments often post disaster cleanup jobs as well as other government contracting jobs on their procurement websites, so don’t forget to sign up with your state procurement system. Government contracting isn’t just about taking on federal government contractor jobs, there are many opportunities at the state and even at the county level.
- GSA Schedules Can Be A Good Option
The General Services Administration procures many goods and services for other government agencies. For instance, they provide automobiles for government agencies and they maintain many federal buildings. They also have created special GSA contracts known as GSA schedules. If you consistently provide the government with goods and services, you might consider applying for a GSA schedule contract.
To get started, go to https://www.gsa.gov/buying-selling/purchasing-programs/gsa-schedule and select the Sell Through Schedule option. This will provide you with information as to whether or not your business is a good fit with GSA schedules and how to get on a GSA schedule.
Keep in mind, it can take a long time, even more than a year to get onto a GSA schedule. However, if you do get on a schedule, this helps you bypass the formal process of bidding on government contracts. Another fact to keep in mind is that just because you get on a GSA schedule, this doesn’t guarantee that your company will be chosen to provide goods and services. However, it is free to apply and it can be a good option for some companies, so it is something to think about as you become more familiar with government contracting.
- SAM Registration Is Required
In order to do business with any government agency, federal or state, you do need to complete your SAM registration. Once you complete this process and are approved, you will receive a special code known as a CAGE code (Commercial and Government Entity). Federal government agencies require that you have a CAGE code and an active SAM registration to bid on contracts, but this is also true of all state governments and many local or county governments.
The government does not charge a fee for SAM registration, but many people hire a third-party registration service to complete the SAM registration. The application for SAM is complicated and can take more than 10 hours to complete. It’s filled with confusing government-speak and many people find that the whole process is so frustrating that they simply give up on the idea of government contracting.
Rather than give up on the idea of government contracting, which can be very lucrative, we can complete your SAM registration quickly and accurately. We do charge a fee, but we compare ourselves to accountants because, while you could fill out your tax forms on your own, the tax code is complicated, and mistakes are costly.
We’ve been providing SAM registration and SAM renewal services for more than a decade and have handled thousands of SAM registration for companies of all sizes, including small businesses up to Fortune 500 firms. If you want to bid on disaster cleanup jobs or any types of government contracts, we can help. To get started just click on the green New Registration tab on our homepage and fill out our quick contact form. A registration specialist will be in touch as quickly as possible to get started on your SAM registration.