Opportunities for Small Businesses

  • Purchases under $100,000 MUST be set-aside for small businesses.
  • The Small Business Administration (SBA) uses the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) to determine industry type & size standards. Size standards are usually determined either by the number of employees, or average annual receipts. www.sba.gov/size http://www.naics.com/

How the Federal Government Buys What it Needs.

  • "Micro-Purchases" under $3,000 can be made without obtaining competitive quotes, using a Government Purchase Card.
  • FedBid is an online reverse auction site: www.fedbid.com
  • Online bidding is available at the Dept of Defense site: www.dibbs.bsm.dla.mil
  • Purchases over $25,000 are found on FedBizOpps: www.fbo.gov
  • "Best Value" purchasing allows an agency to award contracts based on criteria other than price - a better warranty, or a faster delivery date for example.
  • Multi-Agency Contracts (MACs) & Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs ) centralize purchases of commonly used items like carpeting, furniture, office supplies, maintenance, perishable foods and so on.
  • A "GSA Schedule" contract is a great way to gain exposure in this marketplace; but remember that you will be competing with many other companies. www.gsa.gov

Codes, Numbers and Registrations

  • DUNS. Your Dun & Bradstreet number certifies that you are financially capable of fulfilling your obligations. You must have a different DUNS number for each location. www.dnb.com
  • TINS. Your Tax ID number certifies your organization type (Incorporated, Sole Proprietor etc). It can either be your IRS-assigned Employee ID number, or your Social Security number
  • CAGE. Commercial and Government Entity Codes are used to identify your company for payment purposes. You must have a different CAGE code for each location. http://www.dlis.dla.mil/cage_welcome.asp
  • FSC. Federal Supply Classification codes are assigned to both products (1-99) & services (A-Z). They are then sub-divided, to give a more exact description.
  • CCR. You MUST register here in order to be awarded government contracts. You provide basic company information, which is used to confirm your company status, and allows payments to be made to you via EFT. www.ccr.gov
  • ORCA. Certify your company profile at the Online Representations & Certifications site http://orca.bpn.gov/

Find out more in my book “Winning Government Contracts” available now at Amazon.com!

 
   

Copyright © 2005-2010 Malcolm Parvey