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Government Contracting For Small Business

June 17, 2021
Bill Kimball

small business contractors

Firms that are interested in exploring subcontracting opportunities with various DOE sites are encouraged to visit ourSmall Business Points of Contactpage. It contains a map of the DOE Sites, Laboratories, Field Offices, and Power Marketing Administration Offices. The page also provides a link to our downloadable directory of our DOE and M&O/FMC Small Business Program Managers , who are our front-line resources to help you do business with DOE. Unsolicited Proposalsallow businesses to share innovative ideas and solutions to DOE’s requirements. TheFederal Energy Management Program helps federal agencies meet energy-related goals by facilitating streamlined partnerships with Energy Service Companies and their small business subcontracting partners.

To succeed, construction firms have to focus on safety, price, quality, and reliability. Our members recognize the benefits the Federal government provides to small and disadvantaged contractors, including the need to provide assistance to small firms that do not qualify for any assistance programs. AGC believes current Federal rules need to be updated to generate more collaboration, mentoring, and assistance for all small and disadvantaged firms. For starters, federal government business is not as exposed to the vagaries of the U.S. consumer economy as pure B2B or B2C businesses. It is true that the federal sales cycles can be much longer than in the commercial sector. DCMA is the Department of Defense contract manager, ensuring acquisition programs are delivered on time, within cost, and meet performance requirements.

  • Once the Census Bureau publishes the NAICS codes, the SBA applies small business size standards to the NAICS codes.
  • There is no doubt about it- teaming up with other contractors is a great way for small businesses to succeed.
  • You can find a more detailed description in our other guide aboutindependent contracting.
  • If you intend to conduct business from home and need to meet with clients, make sure you have a separate, properly equipped and furnished home office space.

While you may be restricted to a certain page count, make those pages really count! Condense what you have to say to the most important concepts and give the evaluators pictures, graphs and charts to help them understand what you are conveying quickly and easily – even in the cost volume.

The Boeing Company

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Another way to have a proactive and more targeted approach is to pick a specific agency (i.e. Homeland Security) whose needs are aligned with your products/services and are best suited to meet those needs. Once you’ve identified your target, begin networking and reaching contacts to form relationships. Having key players recognize your company and your efforts to get involved in the industry can go a long way to positioning you for success. The top five departments by dollars obligated in 2015 were the Department of Defense ($212.5 billion), Department of Energy ($23 billion), Health and Human Services ($21 billion), Department of Veteran Affairs ($20 billion), and NASA ($13 billion).

All contracts with “N/A” listed for periods of performance are Indefinite-Delivery-Indefinite-Quantity contracts that have task orders with their own periods of performances; the task orders are not listed; only the IDIQ contract. Make sure the contract, NDA (non-disclosure agreement), service agreement, schedules and any other required documents are clear and legally binding.

This lists active government procurements and is now called Contract Opportunities on Beta.SAM.gov. The NAICS is the standard used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. Once the Census Bureau publishes the NAICS codes, the SBA applies small business size standards to the NAICS codes. The SBA’s Latest Table of Small Business Size Standards helps small businesses assess their business size. In addition to DOE resources, the SBA’s Procurement Center Representatives and the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers offer free resources to assist you in pursuing government contracts.

Small Business

L. No. , and the SBA’s implementing regulations, agencies have placed increased emphasis on setting aside contracts of all types and sizes for small businesses. See Alert – SBA Issues Final Rule Addressing Small Business Set-Asides in Connection with Multiple Award Contracts. The Jobs Act also included several new reporting requirements for large businesses with small business subcontracting plans aimed at increasing subcontracts awarded to small business. See Alert – SBA Final Rule Attempts to Prevent the Use of “Bait and Switch” Tactics with Small Business Subcontractors.

small business contractors

There are also high barriers to entry into the federal marketplace, including regulatory compliance programs and requirements to demonstrate experience. Finally, the size and creditworthiness of the customer, coupled with the relative “stickiness” of contracts awarded, make these investments financeable by lenders knowledgeable about the sector. Given these attributes, it is little wonder that more and more private equity sponsors are expanding into the federal market space. Ensures minority and women-owned businesses have greater access to public contracting opportunities. The incoming Biden administration is likely to increase contracting opportunities for small and minority-owned businesses. TheMentor-Protégé Programenables small businesses to partner with current DOE contractors.

There is no cost to registering your business, so please take an advantage of this opportunity! GSA will eventually transition all SAM functions to Beta.SAM.gov but for now both systems will operate in parallel with functions split across the two platforms. Once SAM.gov fully transitions into the new website, the moniker “Beta” will be removed, and the website will be called SAM.gov. As a result of the unique DOE M&O/FMC contract structure, SBA allows DOE to take credit for all M&O/FMC first tier subcontract awards in calculating the Department’s prime SB award total for the SBA scorecard. DOE tracks all first-tier subcontract awards in the M&O/FMC Subcontract Reporting Capability database. Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation (FPDS-NG) is a Federal Government website used to report on all contract actions using appropriated funds as specified in FAR 4.6 whose estimated value is $3,500 or more.

Working with businesses already performing government contracts allows a small business that’s new to the market to gain valuable insights. Once you have all your codes and any relevant set-aside certifications, you can start looking for contracting opportunities on the government’s site, . Using the site’s search function, enter your NAICS code to find solicitations for contracts for which your business may qualify and that you would be interested in pursuing. Paul J. Karch, president of SelltoGovernment.com, which helps small businesses earn government contracts, says that the application process is a lengthy one, so now is the time for small businesses to start laying a foundation. Knowing that the government does not move at a breakneck speed, Karch advises small business owners to be prepared for an extensive process and not expect immediate results. Bass, Berry & Sims GovCon & Trade blog features news, commentary and insight on the demanding and ever-changing regulatory environment of contracting with federal, state and local governments, and international trade issues when conducting a global business.

Fluor Government Group

A PASSPort account puts your business on the Citywide Bidder List, while a PIP account provides you with a NYC Vendor Number. Registered vendors receive alerts about contract opportunities, including contracts not advertised anywhere else. Howard also speculated that the new administration could use infrastructure spending as a form of “stimulus” for small business contractors. Biden is widely expected to revoke President Trump’s executive order that required two regulations to be eliminated for every new one issued, which could allow for more regulations policing contracting.

Counseling small and large businesses on limitations on subcontracting requirements (also known as the “50 percent rule”) and the nonmanufacturer rule. Litigating size protests against contract awardees before the SBA and Representing small businesses in bid protests before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims , including pre-award and post-award protests of small-business sole-source and set-aside contracts.

small business contractors

A claim against your business that is not covered by insurance could be financially catastrophic, especially if your business is not incorporated. Be aware that home insurance will not cover business activities from home. How much capital will you need for business premises, machinery, equipment, etc.? Capital financing may not be an issue for a computer consultant who can start a home-based consulting business with only a laptop and mobile phone, but starting an excavating business, for instance, may require hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment. Being your own boss has many advantages, but it also means all the responsibility for the success of your business rests on your shoulders. If your personality is such that dealing with the uncertainties of self-employment is likely to cause you a great deal of stress and anxiety, then being an entrepreneur is probably not for you. The Small Business Administration’s “Subcontracting Assistance Directory” identifies people you should contact if you have questions about subcontracting.

Overseas contracts, valued at nearly $100 billion per year, will now be measured toward the SBA small business goals. This opens up the entire world to small businesses, who may lack the resources or experience to try working globally on their own. Your company can also get a leg up on the competition by obtaining a small business set-aside certification. These set-aside categories include woman-owned, disadvantaged-owned, service-disabled-veteran–owned and HUBZone small business. “Set aside” means that the contract needs to go a small business that has one of those certifications, preventing large businesses from submitting proposals or bids on the solicitation.

small business contractors

Agencies are able to avoid having to do any sort of economic impact analysis simply by adding a component that small businesses are not performing to a contract that would otherwise meet the bundling definition. A revision to the definition would clarify that contract bundling rules apply to construction procurements and that these procurements are reviewed for any impacts on small companies.

Approximately 80% of DOE’s annual procurement base is allocated to the Department’s Management and Operating contracts (M&Os), also commonly referred to as Facility Management Contractors . For most small businesses, there is essentially no difference between M&Os and FMCs and they are often used interchangeably. The key is that most Small Business dollars flow through the M&Os and FMCs to Small Business contracting partners as subcontracts. This single-user version of ProPricer supplies the pricing power companies need to win more federal government business. The product provides contractors with a practical user interface and a powerful database where professional cost proposals are created as an alternative to complex, unstable spreadsheets. If bidding on your own seems daunting, look at the interested vendors list for that opportunity. Martin-Rosa encourages small businesses to contact other small or large businesses to explore teaming up on a contract.

While there are many rules and regulations you need to adhere to, the job of responding isn’t difficult if you break the job down into bite size pieces and work diligently to respond to what is asked in the solicitation. There are more than enough resources and companies available that can help you work through the complexities of the process. There are a few ways to overcome this hurdle and get information on these requests before they go live to thousands of companies. For one, there are sufficient database services available, such as GovWin by Deltek, that you can utilize to find appropriate partners with requisite expertise and the right network you can tap. However, as many small business owners know, this option doesn’t come cheap, so it has to be weighed carefully before pursuing. General Services Administration as part of its tracking of U.S. federal government procurement.