System for Award Management

While it doesn’t always seem like the government is a helpful entity, the federal government has set up many programs to boost small businesses. If you are interested in bidding on federal contractor jobs, small business owners sometimes have an advantage over mid-size and larger firms. Here are a few helpful tips and facts for small business owners.

 

Discover If You Qualify As A Small Business

Even if you have several hundred employees, you might qualify as a small business. The government sets size standards and what they consider “small” might surprise you. To see if you qualify, head to https://www.sba.gov/size-standards, which is the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Size Standards Tool.

 

Once you click the red Start button, the system will ask for your NAICS codes. This stands for North American Industry Classification System, and this system assigns codes to just about every good or service imaginable. For instance, if your company is a nursery or garden store, the code would be 444220. If you have 500 or fewer employees, you meet the SBA’s small business size standards.

 

If you don’t know your NAICS codes, the SBA provides a link on its Size Standards Tool page, or you can simply head to https://www.census.gov/naics/ and click on the 2017 manual and browse until you find the codes that best describe your specific goods or services.

 

Take Advantage Of SBA Programs

Once you determine that you do qualify as a small business, be sure to take advantage of all that SBA has to offer. The SBA has many resources for small businesses and not just those that relate to federal contractor jobs. The SBA provides loans and resources to help you manage and grow your business. They offer free business counseling and some helpful resources for those interested in government contracting.

 

The SBA sponsors several contracting assistance programs for companies that want to bid on government contracting jobs. The federal government sets aside a portion of all of its federal contracting budget and these contracts are known as “set asides.” There are several different types of set asides, including:

 

Small Disadvantaged Business – About 10% of all federal contracting jobs are set aside for companies that are considered “small disadvantaged businesses.” These companies must be 51% or more owned and controlled by a person or people that are considered either socially disadvantaged or economically disadvantaged (or both). This includes people of any group that has been “subject to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias within American society,” such as Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, etc.

 

Women-Owned Small Business – If your business is 51% or more owned and controlled by a woman or women, this can be a good set aside category for your company, which is often called the WOSB program. There is also a subcategory called Economically-Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB).

 

Veteran-Owned Businesses – There are two set asides in this category. The first is for a general veteran-owned small business that is 51% or more owned by a veteran or veterans. The second is for those injured during their service and this is known as the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.

 

8(a) Business Development Program – This is another program designed for businesses that are 51% or more owned by persons that are considered socially and economically disadvantaged. This could be due to race or creed or due to gender, sexual orientation, disability or other factors. There are several other requirements for this program, which include caps on personal net worth, adjusted gross income and total assets, but if you qualify, 8a contracts can be quite lucrative and easier to win than other types of government contracts.

 

HUBZone Program – HUBZone stands for Historically Underutilized Business Zones and there are many HUBZones throughout the United States. These typically are located on Indian reservations, in rural areas and in urban areas where the economy needs a boost. There also can be temporary HUBZones in areas hit by a natural disaster to help rebuild the economy in those areas.

 

To qualify, your business must have its principal office be located in a HUBZone and be 51% owned or more by a U.S. Citizen, a Community Development Corporation, an agricultural cooperative, an Alaskan Native Corporation, a Native Hawaiian organization or a Native American tribe. Additionally, at least 35% of your employees must live in a HUBZone, although not necessarily the same zone where your business is located.

 

You can get certified for several of these programs, including the 8(a) Business Development Program, the WOSB program and the HUBZone program at https://certify.sba.gov/am-i-eligible. For veterans’ programs, go to https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/veteran-assistance-programs for more information.

 

Discover If Your Goods & Services Are Needed

Of course, even if you qualify for any set asides, you also need to determine if the government needs your goods and services. The System for Award Management, which is the government’s database for government contracting, includes a search engine at Beta.SAM.gov where you can check to see if you match any current government contracts.

 

Once you go to Beta.SAM.gov, click on the Contract Opportunities tab and this takes you to the search engine. From there, click on Advanced Search and we recommend that you search using your NAICS codes as this can help you find matches to your specific goods or services. If you find several matches, chances are that your business might be a good fit for federal contractor jobs.

 

Of course, state governments also acquire the bulk of their goods and services from the private sector, so don’t forget to sign up with your state procurement system. Additionally, check for federal contractor jobs using the SBA’s SubNet search engine at https://eweb1.sba.gov/subnet/client/dsp_Landing.cfm.

 

This database includes subcontracting opportunities for small businesses. Subcontracting is a great way to get started with federal contractor jobs as the Prime Contractor will handle all of the details with the federal government agency and you simply provide goods or services. Many Prime Contractors are required to use small businesses as subcontractors in order to win large government contracts.

 

Complete Your SAM Registration

Of course, you cannot bid on any federal contractor jobs (or state government jobs) until you have completed your SAM registration. The System for Award Management (SAM) includes all active government contractors and to become a government contractor, you must complete SAM registration and have your application approved.

 

Completing SAM registration can be a huge stumbling block for many small businesses because, while the government charges no fee to complete SAM registration, the application process is confusing and time-consuming, and many people just give up after they have spent several hours trying to figure out if they are completing the process correctly. Make any mistakes, and this will delay your approval and you won’t be eligible to bid on any federal contractor jobs.

 

An easier option would be to simply hire a third-party SAM registration service. While we do charge a fee for SAM registration, we have completed thousands of SAM registration applications for all types of businesses and can complete your registration quickly and accurately.

 

Yes, this is an extra expense, but SAM registration can take 12 or more hours to complete, and we will focus on your SAM registration so that you can focus on your business responsibilities. It’s just like hiring an accountant to do your taxes. You could complete tax forms on your own for free, but it’s difficult, confusing, time-consuming and, mistakes are costly. Sometimes it’s just easier to hire an expert.

 

If you are interested in bidding on federal contractor jobs and would like us to handle your SAM registration, 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 soon as possible to gather some details and get started on your SAM registration.

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Government contracting jobs can be an excellent, recession-proof form of income. The government will always need goods and services, even when the economy is not at its best. There are several ways to find active government contracts, including using the government’s own search engine at Beta.SAM.gov. Here are a few tips to help make using this search engine a bit easier.

 

1. The Web Address Beta.SAM Is Misleading

If you place Beta.SAM.gov into a search bar and click enter, this web address actually directs you to the SAM.gov homepage, which can be a bit confusing. What you need to do is look under the first header “The Official U.S. Government System For:”

 

Under that, you will see several options and the first one is labeled “Contract Opportunities.” Of course, instead of placing the address “Beta.SAM” in there, it just states, “was FBO.gov.” This is confusing for those using the system for the first time, especially since those new to government contracting probably have zero ideas as to what FBO.gov even was.

 

FedBizOpps was the name of the previous search engine for federal contracting jobs, and it was located at FBO.gov. That site no longer exists, it’s all about Beta.SAM at the moment. At any rate, click on that “Contract Opportunities” tab and you will be able to access the Beta.SAM search engine (which is sometimes just called Betasam as a nickname).

 

2. Use The Advanced Search Option

When you click on the “Contract Opportunities” tab it takes you to a page with a little search box and encourages a federal contractor to enter the unique identifier for a contract or perhaps some random search term. Rather than search this way, we recommend clicking on the Advanced Search option that’s to the right above the search box.

 

Once you get into this section, you will notice that it allows you to filter by Keyword, Federal Organization, Dates, Notice Type, Product or Service Information, Set Aside, Place of Performance and Contract Awardee. You also should note that the Status defaults to “Active” which is what you want, otherwise you will end up with results that you cannot even bid on because they are closed or old contracts.

 

3. Consider Searching By Category

We find one of the easiest ways to find government contract jobs that truly fit an individual company is to use the Product or Service Information filter. When you click on the arrow next to this option, it allows you to search using NAICS codes or Product and Service codes (also known as PSCs). These are codes that describe the goods or services that your company can provide and your company might fit several codes.

 

To find your NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes, 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.

 

Once you find your codes, head back to Beta.SAM and enter them into the search bar. The result should be any contacts that fit the goods and services that you can provide. Be sure to read the proposals carefully to ensure that you can deliver what the government needs and in a timely fashion.

 

4. Use Multiple Parameters

It often can be smart to search using several parameters. For some companies, it makes sense to search using NAICS codes and also search using the Place of Performance tab. Some companies can provide services nationwide as well as in U.S. territories, but some are more limited in scope.

 

For instance, if you want to bid on FEMA disaster jobs, such as hurricane relief jobs, you might only be able to assist with jobs in Florida or perhaps Louisiana or even in a specific metro area, such as Houston or Biloxi. The Place of Performance tab allows you to search either by Zip Code or by state name, so you can select whichever is the best fit for your company.

 

Another option would be to search using your PSCs or NAICS codes and also the Set Aside search option. The government “sets aside” a portion of its annual contracting budget specifically for small businesses. There are several categories of small businesses set asides, including woman-owned small business, HUBZone businesses and service-disabled, veteran-owned businesses, etc. Additionally, you can sign up for the 8a contracts, via the 8(a) Business Development Program.

 

More information about all of these programs can be found at the Small Business Administration’s website at SBA.gov. If you are a small business, we recommend that you sign up with SBA and see if you qualify for any of the aforementioned set asides. Even if you do not, most general small businesses also can earn some set aside contracts and also work for bigger Prime Contractors, which is known as subcontracting.

 

5. Don’t Solely Focus On Beta.SAM

Good old Betasam is not the only option you can use to find government contractor jobs. In fact, we recommend that you think beyond simply searching for federal contractor jobs and also consider that all state governments have procurement systems and also buy the bulk of their goods and services from the private sector.

 

State contracting jobs can be just as lucrative as federal jobs, so even if your heart was set on bidding on fed contracts, state contracts can be a great option. Additionally, you can look into GSA contracts. Getting on a GSA schedule can take more than a year, but it does help you bypass the difficult bidding process for traditional types of government contracts.

 

Subcontracting is a good option for small businesses, and you can search for subcontracting opportunities at SBA.gov’s SubNet search engine at https://eweb1.sba.gov/subnet/client/dsp_Landing.cfm. With subcontracting, you are working with a Prime Contractor. They will pay your fees and handle all interaction with the federal government. This can be a great way to learn the ropes of government contracting.

 

Get Started Today!

Of course, before you can bid on government contracting jobs, you do need to complete your SAM registration, and we can help! While the government does not charge a fee to register with the System for Award Management, it can be extremely difficult and time-consuming to complete the registration process. Many people simply hire a third party, such as our company, to complete SAM registration for them.

 

We liken ourselves to accountants because, while the government does not charge a fee to file your taxes, the tax code is confusing, and mistakes are costly so it just makes sense to hire a tax expert. The same is true with SAM registration. It’s difficult and if you make mistakes, this can delay your approval significantly.

 

Until your SAM registration is approved, you cannot bid on any contracts in Beta.SAM, so if you’d like for us to complete your registration, just click on the green New Registration tab on our homepage, fill out our quick contact form and a registration specialist will get in touch with you as soon as possible. We also handle SAM renewals, so if your registration is nearing that expiration date, we can quickly complete the renewal process for you.

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If you have recently completed your SAM registration (or perhaps several months ago), you might be wondering if your listing in the System for Award Management needs to be renewed. The answer is yes, but the exact time when you need to renew SAM registration might surprise you.

 

SAM registrations must be renewed every year, and once your initial registration is approved, you will receive an email from the government indicating the date when your registration expires, which is one year from your approval date.

 

However, you will need to renew your well before this expiration date. For instance, if your registration expires on September 1, don’t wait until August 30 to renew SAM registration. In fact, it’s best to start thinking about renewal two or three months before the expiration date.

 

Government agencies are allowed only to work with active government contractors. If your SAM registration expires, an agency can no longer work with you as your status will be marked as inactive. Therefore, if you bid on a contract, but your registration is just a few weeks from expiring, you may lose out on that government contracting opportunity because the procurement agents for that agency will be hesitant to award a contract to a company that might not renew its SAM registration.

 

Another reason to renew a few months ahead of the expiration date is that it can take several weeks or longer to have your SAM renewal approved, depending on how busy the Federal Service Desk is at the time. The Federal Service Desk is the agency tasked with handling SAM registrations and SAM renewals.

 

Currently, this agency has been overwhelmed with SAM registrations and SAM renewals, and many businesses received extensions this year because the Federal Service Desk simply cannot handle the influx of renewals and registrations. Even if you are one of these businesses that received a notice of a 120-day extension, it is still wise to renew SAM registration well in advance of this new deadline.

 

Why Renew SAM Registration?

If you’ve won one or more government contracting jobs, you probably are eager to renew SAM registration, but if you’ve not yet won that first contract, you might be wondering if government contracting is worth it. We encourage you to stay with it and try a few new strategies to help increase your chances of winning a contract.

 

First of all, if you’ve only been signed up with the System for Award Management for a year, it’s important to know that most government contractors don’t win their first contractor during the first year of contracting. It can take up to two years to win your first contract on average.

 

Learning about the different types of government contracts and how to bid on those contracts can be tricky, but some private companies offer seminars, workshops or classes that can help. Additionally, there are private companies that also help you find contracts and win bids. Obviously, these companies charge a fee for their services, but it can be one way to break into government contracting and learn the ropes.

 

For companies that qualify as a small business, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has many helpful aids for new government contractors. Many government contracts are set aside specifically for small businesses, which are simply called “set asides.” These include set asides for woman-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, HUBZone businesses and companies participating in the 8(a) Business Development Program.

 

HUBZones are “historically underutilized” business zones, and these include areas where the government hopes to improve the economy of an area. Sometimes these are located in impoverished urban areas, sometimes in rural areas and sometimes there are temporary HUBZones in areas hit with natural disasters to help build up the economy again. All Native American lands are considered HUBZones, as well.

 

The 8(a) Business Development Program is open to many small businesses that are majority-owned by a person who belongs to a historically marginalized group. This would be a group of people that have faced discrimination based on race, creed, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation or other factors.

 

8a contracts can be quite lucrative, so if you qualify, we highly encourage you to sign up for this program. Even if your small business is not eligible for these aforementioned set asides, you can still sign up with SBA and bid on contracts and your designation as a general small business can make it easier to win certain types of contracts.

 

The SBA has its own government contracting search engine just for small businesses at https://web.sba.gov/pro-net/search/dsp_dsbs.cfm. This is called the Dynamic Small Business Search, and you can search for government contracting jobs in a variety of ways, such as by location, set asides and more.

 

If you are a smaller business, we also encourage to consider you to think about subcontracting. The government awards huge, lucrative contracts to large Prime Contractors every year, and many of these contractors are required to use small businesses as subcontractors to win a job.

 

No matter what size business you own, we also recommend that you learn how to market yourself to the government. Create an amazing capability statement and build a page on your website just for government contracting. Sign up with your state procurement agency, as well. Not only are there many government contract jobs at the state level, but many states also hold events for contractors where they can meet with agency representatives and learn about contracting in general.

 

Let Us Renew SAM Registration

We encourage everyone to consider renewing SAM registration and continuing to take a change on government contracting. If you aren’t sure when you need to renew SAM registration, just go to our homepage and click on the Status Check tab, fill out our quick form and we will complete a status check for you and email the results in about an hour.

 

SAM renewals aren’t always as complicated as the initial SAM registration, but many companies simply hire a third party to handle renewals and save time. If you would like to hire us to renew your SAM registration, simply head to our homepage and click on the blue Renew Registration tab. Then just fill out our quick contact form, and a registration specialist will be in touch as soon as possible.

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Throughout the year, the federal government, as well as state governments, offer a variety of storm cleanup jobs to companies in the private sector. While these jobs can help boost your business, you do need to take a few steps before you can bid on these government contracting jobs. The first step in the process is SAM registration.

 

What Is SAM Registration?

The System for Award Management (SAM) is the centralized database that includes all active federal contractors. If you want to be listed on this database, you will need to complete your SAM registration. This is an online application available at SAM.gov. You can complete the application on your own at no charge or you can hire a third-party SAM registration service, such as Federal Contractor Registry.

 

While the government does not charge a fee for SAM registration, they admit on their own website that it can take several days to complete the SAM application. If you aren’t familiar with government terminology or cannot afford to take 10 or 12 or more hours to complete the application, you can hire us to complete SAM registration.

 

Many people get started with the SAM registration process only to become frustrated and give up on government contracting. However, we can complete your SAM registration quickly and accurately so that you can be approved quickly and eligible to work for any government agency, including FEMA and even state government agencies.

 

Hiring us is basically just like hiring an accountant because while the government charges no fee to complete your tax forms, these forms can be complicated, and mistakes are costly. SAM registration is complicated and if you make mistakes, it can delay your application approval.

 

If you do decide to complete SAM registration on your own, be sure to include yourself in the Disaster Response Registry on the SAM application. This registry includes all businesses that can provide emergency support such as debris removal, emergency supplies and other disaster-related support. FEMA and other agencies can look for businesses on this registry and bypass the traditional contracting process during an emergency.

 

Think Beyond FEMA

When you think of storm cleanup jobs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) probably springs to mind immediately, but a few other federal agencies often offer cleanup jobs. For instance, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency often need cleanup services.

 

Additionally, your goods and services might be needed by many other agencies. There are hundreds of agencies, and they are required to purchase most or all of their goods and services from private contractors. While FEMA disaster jobs certainly can be profitable, it’s a good idea to think about other opportunities.

 

To see what’s currently available, you can head to Beta.SAM.gov, which is the search engine for government contractor jobs. Once you are on that page, click on Contract Opportunities and then when you reach the search bar, click on the Advanced Search option. From there, we recommend that you search using your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. These codes describe your exact goods and services.

 

To search using your NAICS codes, you will have to click on the More Filters tab and then click on the tabs that you don’t want to deselect those filters. Then you will see that the page looks a bit blank, but you will want to click on the words Product or Service Information. A box will load up where you can enter your NAICS code.

 

Once you enter that code, you should see a list of possible contract opportunities. Some of these will be a good match for your business, while others won’t, so you will need to read each notice carefully to ensure that you can provide the exact goods and services needed by the agency. You also could look using keywords – such as “cleanup” or “hurricane,” etc., but typically using your NAICS codes is a good way to find matching contracts.

 

Types of Storm Cleanup Jobs

While debris removal is an important service after a hurricane, flood or another disaster, these aren’t the only types of jobs related to storm cleanup. Storm cleanup jobs technically include all of the relief services needed when a disaster occurs. The government needs everything from debris removal to repair services as well as temporary housing, bottled water, food, medical supplies and much more.

 

If your company can provide any type of good or service that might be needed during a disaster (this includes disasters such as the current pandemic), then there are probably government contract jobs available. If you just do a search on Beta.SAM.gov for FEMA, you will see a wide variety of items that are needed, including printer cartridges, media services, security services, AV equipment and much more. FEMA may be focused on disaster relief and storm cleanup jobs, but they have many other needs, as well.

 

Sign Up With Your State

Sometimes a state handles storm cleanup, especially if the storm or disaster does not meet the requirements to call in FEMA. It is wise to also sign up with your state procurement system. To find your state system, simply do an internet search with your state name and the word “procurement.”

 

In the search results, look for websites that feature a .gov suffix. For instance, if you search for “Virginia procurement,” the first result is eVA.virginia.gov and it is listed as Virginia’s eProcurement Marketplace. With the .gov suffix, you know that this is an official government website.

 

Keep in mind, that state procurement agents will expect that you have completed SAM registration when you sign up and will want to know your Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code. CAGE codes are assigned to businesses after their SAM registration is approved, and it serves as a company’s unique identifier within the System for Award Management.

 

Get Started Today!

Helping with storm cleanup jobs is not just profitable, but you also are helping serve your country during a time of need. If you are interested in disaster cleanup jobs or any type of government contracting and would like us to help with SAM registration, just head to our homepage and click on the green New Registration tab. From there, you just need to fill out our quick contact form and a registration specialist will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

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The world of government contracting can be quite confusing, especially if you are just getting started. One of the first steps you need to take is to learn about the different types of government contract jobs that are available. In this blog, we are going to look at seven different options that you will find when you start looking for contracting opportunities.

 

1. Fixed-Price Contracts

With a fixed-price contract, government procurement agents have set a price for goods and services. This means that the agency has a solid idea of how much the contract is worth and presumably sets a reasonable fee for the goods or services. In general, the value of the contract is not negotiable, but there are variations of these contracts, such as fixed-price contracts with economic price adjustments or fixed-price contracts with prospective price redetermination.

 

2. Cost-Reimbursement Contracts

With these contracts, the government might not have as clear of an idea of how much a project will cost to complete. This doesn’t mean that the government is willing to pay a sky-high price for the goods or services, it simply means they aren’t 100% sure of the costs for this government contracting job. They still expect bidders to provide reasonable cost estimates, but there’s just no fixed price.

 

3. Incentive Contracts

With an incentive contract, the government typically needs a job completed by a very firm deadline and they are willing to provide an incentive if the job is completed on time or earlier than expected. These contracts also are used to ensure that a contractor completes a job at a specific cost. While cost-incentive contracts are the most common type of incentive contracts, there are also performance-incentive contracts and delivery-incentive contracts and sometimes there might be a mix of these three incentives.

 

4. Time & Materials Contracts

Just as the name suggests, these contracts set an hourly rate for labor as well as for the cost of materials needed to complete a job. For contractors, these can be the least desirable type of government contract jobs because you have to track your hours carefully as well as calculating material costs, and you have to front the costs yourself and then submit paperwork to the government for reimbursement.

 

5. Indefinite Delivery & Quantity Contracts

Sometimes a government agency doesn’t know how much of a good or service they need or for how long or perhaps when they will need an item, which is why we have the indefinite-delivery contracts. The contractor agrees to supply the goods as needed by the agency for the duration of the contract. Typically, you will have a general idea regarding the scope of supplies or services as well as a general timeline, but it won’t be as exact as it would with a fixed-price contract.

 

6. Set-Aside Contracts

The government spends billions of dollars in government contacts every year, and a portion of these are “set aside” for small businesses. There are set asides for woman-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, businesses located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) and businesses that take part in the 8(a) Business Development Program. These government contract jobs might be fixed-price, cost-reimbursement or any other type of contract, they simply are awarded to small businesses. Often, these contracts are smaller in value than contracts awarded to a prime contractor, but small businesses can bid on any size contract they wish provided they can meet the requirements of that contract.

 

Additionally, there are competitive set-aside contracts and sole-source set-aside contracts. Sole-source contracts bypass the bidding process, but these are rare, and you are much more likely to be competing against other small businesses in a competitive format. To learn more about options for small businesses and 8a contracts, go to SBA.gov.

 

7. GSA Schedules

The General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible for acquiring goods and services for federal government agencies. If you can acquire GSA contracts, which are known as GSA schedules, government agencies can purchase goods or services from you directly without having to deal with the bidding process.

 

This might sound ideal, but it can take a year or more to get on a GSA schedule and just because you are on a GSA schedule, this doesn’t guarantee that your goods or services will be needed or purchased. Still, for some businesses, this can be a good option. To learn more about GSA schedules and to determine if your business would be a good fit, go to https://www.gsa.gov/buying-selling/purchasing-programs/gsa-schedule and click on the Sell Through Schedule box.

 

The information provided in this blog is simply basic information about the types of federal contractor jobs you might see available from various federal government agencies. State government agencies also use similar types of contracts, and we do recommend that you sign up with your state procurement office as well as with the federal government as lucrative government contracting jobs are available from states as well as the federal government, and sometimes it can be easier to win a state contract than a federal contract.

 

The best course of action for any government contractor is to spend some time learning more about the different types of government contracts as well as how to bid on these types of contracts. There are a few private companies out there that provide helpful tutorials and workshops and companies that you can hire to create your bid proposals. When you are just getting started with government contract jobs, hiring some expert help can be a smart way to learn the ropes.

 

Let Us Help With SAM Registration!

Of course, before you can bid on any government contract jobs, you must complete your System for Award Management (SAM) Registration. At Federal Contractor Registry, we complete SAM registrations (and SAM renewals) for hundreds of companies every year and can help you get through this arduous process.

 

You can complete SAM registration on your own at no charge, but many business owners find the processing confusing and too time-consuming, so they hire a service like ours instead. It’s just like hiring an accountant to do your taxes and saves you time and the headache of trying to understand each section of the SAM application.

 

Our SAM registration specialists can complete your application quickly and accurately so that you can bid on government contract jobs as soon as possible. To get started, just click on the green New Registration tab on our homepage, fill out our quick contact form and a registration specialist will be in touch as soon as possible.

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If you’ve been thinking about becoming a government contractor, this can be a great way to build your business and make it stronger. There are thousands of government contractor jobs available every year, but before you can bid on any of them, you must complete US federal contractor registration via the System for Award Management.

 

The System for Award Management (SAM) is the database that contains information about every active government contractor. You can complete SAM registration yourself or hire a third-party registration service to complete this process, such as Federal Contractor Registry.

 

People hire us because, while the government does not charge a fee for SAM registration, it is a complicated and time-consuming process. In fact, it can take 10 or more hours to complete, and many people give up in frustration and miss out on lucrative contracting opportunities. If you are having trouble or just want to avoid the frustration of SAM registration, give us a call and we will complete your registration as quickly as possible so that you are approved and ready to start bidding on contracts.

 

Whether you decide to complete SAM registration on your own or hire us, there are a few things to consider before you get started with US federal contractor registration, be sure to read through the following tips.

 

1. Determine If You Are A Good Match For Government Contracting Jobs

Many people mistakenly believe that the government only needs services such as construction, clean-up or perhaps something related to the military or defense, but that’s not the case. The government spends billions of dollars each year on government contracts. The hire private sector companies to provide everything from appliance repair to zoological support.

 

The government needs paper, computers, cars, culinary services, security services, medical supplies, fencing, tree trimming janitorial services, repair services and much, much more. However, before you consider US federal contractor registration, take a look at Beta.SAM.gov to see if you are a good match for federal contracting jobs.

 

Beta.SAM.gov is the government-run search engine for government contracting opportunities. Once you get to the home page, there is a box that explains what you can do on this website and one of the top listings is “Contract Opportunities.” This used to be known as FedBizOpps or FBO.gov, but that has changed.

 

Click on this and then click on “Advanced Search.” From here, you can search using one or more parameters. We recommend using your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. These codes describe what goods or services your business provides. If you are not sure which codes apply to your business, go to   https://www.census.gov/naics/.

 

You also can look using keywords. For instance, if you provide janitorial services, that could be the keyword. If you do HVAC repair, use that as a keyword, etc. You also can search using keywords and other parameters, such as location, place of performance, set aside and more. We will cover the term “set aside” in tip four.

 

At any rate, doing a quick search will help you see if you are a good match for government contracting. State governments also offer government contracting jobs, so don’t forget to check your state’s procurement system and consider bidding on state or county-level jobs, as well. You will need to complete SAM registration for state government jobs, as well, as state’s will ask you to provide your Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code when you sign up with the state procurement system.

 

You will receive your CAGE code after you have completed SAM registration and are approved by the Federal Service Desk. This is the agency in charge of the System for Award Management and all of its features.

 

2. Don’t Start SAM Registration Without These Six Things!

In order to complete US federal contractor registration, you need to gather some information together. This includes the following:

• Employer Identification Number (EIN) – Located on your tax forms
• Physical Address of Your Company
• DUNS Number – Get one for free at https://www.dnb.com
• Business Bank Account Number
• NAICS Codes – We can help with this if you use us for SAM Registration
• Product Service Codes (PSCs) – We also will help with this

 

You will need the bank account number and routing number because the government agencies will pay you using this account. You also need to provide the actual physical address of your business and not a PO Box. The DUNS stands for Data Universal Numbering System. You might have already filed for one when you first opened your business, but you can check at the website listed above and sign up for one if you do not yet have a DUNS number.

 

Product Service Codes are similar to NAICS codes and describe your goods and services. You will need to know those codes (we can help) as well as all of these other pieces of information when you register for SAM or for your state procurement system.

 

3. Don’t Forget About Your Notarized Letter Requirement

Several years ago, the government started asking all new registrants to provide a notarized letter identifying a company’s Entity Administrator. This is the person authorized to make changes to your SAM account.

 

You can find instructions for this letter at https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0016652&sys_kb_id=df025fd01b9d3cd42fe5ed7ae54bcb2c&spa=1. If you scroll about halfway down the page, you will see links to three templates. Most people will simply need to follow the instructions provided under Template 1.

 

Be sure to complete this letter, get it notarized and send it in as soon as possible. This is a requirement for SAM registration, and in the past, failure to send in this letter, would keep you from attaining SAM registration approval. While that is no longer the case, it is required and failing to send it in could alter your SAM status from active to inactive, which means that no government entity can do business with you.

 

4. Small Business? Sign Up With SBA Now

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers a great deal of support for small businesses. They can help with loans and provide support to help you manage and grow your business. They also help with government contracting for small businesses.

 

The United States government (and many state governments) set aside a portion of all of their government contracting jobs for small businesses. The SBA has created several categories of “set asides” and if you meet the criteria for the set asides, you might have an easier time earning a government contract. There are set asides for a woman-owned small business, a veteran-owned small business and several other categories as well as the 8(a) Business Development Program.

 

If you don’t meet a specific set aside category’s criteria, you can still attain small business status. Small businesses not only have certain contracts set aside for them, but owners of these businesses can also bid on any size contract or work with a large Prime Contractor. Prime Contractors often are required to use small businesses as subcontractors in order to win big government contracts. To see if you qualify as a small business or for any special set asides or 8a contracts, go to https://www.sba.gov/size-standards.

 

When it comes to comes to SAM registration, if you plan on completing your own registration, be prepared for a lengthy and sometimes frustrating process. Set aside a day or two just to complete your registration. Once this process is complete, the staff at the Federal Service Desk will review your application and either approve it or reject it. Typically, companies are rejected because there are mistakes on the SAM registration application, and you will need to correct these mistakes and resubmit the registration for approval.

 

If you prefer to hire someone else to complete your SAM registration, contact us at any time. We are US federal contractor registration experts, and we can complete your SAM registration quickly and accurately, so that you are eligible to bid on government contracts as soon as possible. To get started, just click on the green New Registration tab on our homepage and fill out our quick contact form.

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