In the private sector, if a company wants goods or services, they do some research, find a vendor and hire them. With government contracts, jobs aren’t given out quite that easily. In fact, it often can be a very long process, and take weeks or even a couple of months to get approved. Patience definitely is a virtue with government contracts, but the rewards can be great, so it’s often well worth the time invested.
If you’ve been working solely in the private sector, you definitely will find that the world of government contracting to be a vastly different experience. Here are some facts/tips that will help prepare you for this new world of government contracting.
1. Get To Know Your Contracting Officers
In the private sector, if your boss wants you to buy a product, such as copy paper, you probably go out, get a few price estimates and choose the best option and make a purchase. This might take you a couple of hours at most, and your company is all set.
If a government agency wants a new vendor for paper, this process might begin with a supervisor thinking about copy paper, but this cannot simply be passed off to an employee to handle. Only Contracting Officers have the authority to handle aspects of contracting for any given government agency.
Contracting officers are the people that know all of the rules and regulations regarding government contracting, and government agencies are required to follow procedure. So even if you meet up with an agency supervisor and he likes your business and wants to work with you, your company will need to follow the procedures and work with the contracting officer and abide by the restrictions set forth in the contract or bid.
2. But, The End User Can Be Important
While a contracting officer is the person that ultimately makes decisions about government contracting jobs, it doesn’t hurt to get to know the End User, as well. What is an End User? This is the actually office or agency or agency representative that will be using your goods and services.
While the contracting officer is crucial, it’s perfectly fine to talk with an end user, as well. After all, if you do get the contract, you probably will be in contact with this person or persons, so you may as well spark a positive relationship during the contracting phase. In some cases, the end user will have some say in deciding who is awarded a contract, although this is not true in every case.
For instance, sometimes a contract has to go to the lowest bidder or the contract has to go to meet set-aside goals or other factors might be in play. Still, there’s no harm in establishing a relationship with the end user as well as the contracting officer as the contracting officer often consults with the end user or program manager before making a decision.
After all, it’s best when these two individuals work together. The contracting officer understands the contracting procedures, while the end user understands specifically what is needed in their office, department or agency. Just as with the private sector, building relationships with key players is big step toward success.
3. Talk With Each Agency’s Small Business Representatives
With government contracts, jobs often are “set aside” for small businesses. In fact, most federal agencies will have an Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) to help encourage small businesses to bid on contracting jobs.
Let’s talk about this one for a minute. Even if you aren’t a small business, these reps still might be important. The federal government sets aside a portion of contracts for several categories of small businesses. For instance, if your business is 51% (or more) woman-owned and operated, it might qualify for the Woman-Owned Small Business set-aside.
There are set asides for veterans, Native American organizations and individuals, those who own a business in an area typically known to be under-utilized and so forth. Generally speaking, the goal is to provide extra help to new and emerging small business as well as people who might have faced historic disadvantages, such as discrimination.
As for larger businesses, it often is a requirement of a contract that you subcontract a portion of a job to a small business, so this small business rep can be a valuable resource to help you find some small businesses for subcontracting jobs.
4. It’s Essential To Learn About Contract Types
There are many different types of government contracts and in past blogs, we’ve written about some of the types you might encounter. Each type of contract will have different rules and regulations.
There are fixed-price contracts, cost-reimbursement contracts, time & materials contracts, indefinite delivery & quality contracts, and incentive contracts. Within each of these types, there can be subcategories, as well, and learning a bit about all of these types can make bidding easier.
One single government agency might advertise all of these different types of contracts, depending on what they need. Some contract types are riskier for businesses, while others are riskier for the government agencies, in terms of finances.
5. The Federal Government Is Not The Only Player
In the world of government contracts, jobs aren’t just available at the federal level. While virtually every federal agency needs contractors from time to time, you also can bid on state contracts and local government contracts. These can be very lucrative, as well, so don’t forget to look at what’s available in your area.
To sign up with your state government, simply do an internet search that includes your state name and the word “procurement.” For instance, if you search up “Nebraska” and “procurement,” you will find several entries, but you want to look for URLs that end in .gov to ensure that you end up at the actual government agency that handles procurement.
6. It All Begins With SAM, But Renewals & Updates Are Crucial
At Federal Contractor Registry, we are a third-party registration service that can complete your initial SAM registration as well as any subsequent renewals. Why should you pay us if SAM registration is free?
After reading through this article it’s probably become apparent that while government contracting can be profitable, it also can be confusing, especially at the beginning. SAM registration is no exception. It can take many hours (10+) to complete your registration and if you don’t complete this process correctly, you won’t be approved and you’ll have to make adjustments and continue to wait week after week until you are approved.
We are SAM registration experts, and can quickly and accurately complete your registration, leaving you free to concentrate on running your business. We are similar to accountants because, while you can do your taxes for free, it’s complicated and it’s often best left to the experts.
So, SAM registration is your first step and you cannot become a government contractor for any federal, state or even local government agency without completing this process, gaining approval and being assigned what is known as a CAGE Code. Once we’ve completed the registration and you have your CAGE Code, you can bid on contracts.
However, it is crucial that if you have corporate changes, such as a change of phone number, a change of address or perhaps a change in your NAICS codes, you must make these changes as soon as possible in your SAM account.
Additionally, you must renew your SAM registration every year and we highly recommend that you renew several months in advance, as it can take weeks for renewals to be processed and approved. Meanwhile, government agencies might be wary of doing business with you if they see that your SAM registration will expire in a month or two.
This is because if you do not have active SAM registration, you cannot work with an agency, even if you are in the middle of a job. Be sure to renew early, or contact us and we can handle your renewal quickly and easily. We do, of course, charge a fee for our services, but we can save you a lot of time and, as the saying goes, time is money.
When it comes to government contracts, jobs are plentiful, but it does take some time to get into the swing of things. We hope the information above has been helpful, and if you are ready to deal with SAM registration, we encourage you to contact us and let us handle this arduous process for you so that you can concentrate on more important aspects of government contracting.