If you’ve become frustrated with the process of SAM government registration, you might be tempted to just give up and forget about the idea or government contracting. While getting started with government contracting can be confusing, we’ve compiled a list of reasons why it’s well worth your time.
1. There’s A Job For Just About Everyone
Many people mistakenly believe that the only types of government jobs are construction related or perhaps related to FEMA and disaster relief. But that’s simply not true. Browse through the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) booklet and you’ll find that just about every industry imaginable is included.
When you complete your SAM government registration, you will want to add one or more NAICS codes on the application. These codes are identifiers for different types of businesses and government agencies often will search for contractors using these codes.
While there are certainly plenty of codes that relate to construction projects and engineering projects, you also find codes for taxi and limousine services, as well as for scenic and sightseeing transportation via land or water. There are codes for businesses that handle many different types of food services, for advertising companies, for book publishers, video production companies, notary services and even interior design services. And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
2. There’s Tons Of Support Out There
Once you get past the completion of your SAM government registration (and we can help with that), then it’s time to start looking for contracting jobs, subcontracting jobs and learning how to deal with bids and RFPs (Requests for Proposals). This might all sound overwhelming, but there are people out there who spend every working day helping people with government contracting.
Once you’ve completed SAM registration and have your CAGE code, sign up with your local PTAC. But what is a PTAC? This stands for Procurement Technical Assistance Center. If you head to the APTAC (Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers) website at http://www.aptac-us.org/, you can find the local PTAC for your area.
The representatives at your PTAC can answer many questions about government contracting, and it’s free to sign up. According to their website, in 2017 alone, PTAC clients were awarded more than 180,000 contracts worth $20 billion. Be sure to look around the APTAC website and take advantage of the helpful information on this site, such as info about upcoming workshops and training sessions for those new to government contracts.
If you qualify as a small business, don’t forget to use the resources available at the Small Business Administration. Head to SBA.gov, and you can sign up and take advantage of all of the information and guidance this group provides for all types of small businesses.
3. Federal Jobs Are Just One Piece Of The Pie
With SAM government registration, you can take advantage of federal contracting jobs, but there also are jobs available from state, county and local governments as well. After you get your CAGE code, be sure to sign up with your state (or any states where you do business) as well as your county governments. States hold conferences and workshops all of the time to help government contractors find work and learn more about the bidding process.
These workshops typically are very affordable, and you often have an opportunity to learn about the many different agencies in your area that need contractors. Even if you never end up bidding on a federal job, you’ll still need to register with SAM before signing up with your local and state governments.
4. Government Income Has Its Advantages
When you bid on government jobs, you don’t always get paid on a weekly or monthly basis. Sometimes it might take a set amount of time to receive payment, but at least you can rest assured that the government is one client that is definitely going to pay you for your services.
Haven’t we all had the nightmare of a client that either doesn’t pay or pays their fees late or perhaps declares bankruptcy and leaves us in a lurch? With the government, this isn’t going to happen. The payment schedule might be a bit different than what you are used to dealing with, but you will get that check and it definitely will clear the bank.
Obviously, a government shutdown can cause payment delays, but these aren’t that common, and they also don’t necessarily affect your payment, especially when it comes to state and local governments.
Getting started with government contracting can feel like a slow process, but the rewards can be fantastic. At various workshops and training sessions, you also come into contact with people from the private sector along the way, and increase your network of possible clients.
But first one must deal with SAM government registration, and if you aren’t looking forward to this task, just hire a company such as Federal Contractor Registry. We are a third-party registration service that can handle all SAM registrations and renewals.
We do charge for our services, but it can be well worth the expense to have a SAM expert handle the registration process. It’s complicated, often frustrating and it can take 10 or more hours to complete the registration process.
We are a lot like an accountant. Sure, you could fill out all of your tax forms on your own, but they are complicated and frustrating, so it’s just easier to pay an accountant and focus your precious time on running your business.
If you need someone to handle your SAM government registration, give us a call at any time or click on the green New Registration tab on our homepage.