The value of the SAM Registration to vendors and government officials

Editor’s note: As the 2015 federal fiscal year heads for its Sept. 30 finish, GPN checked in with Max Timko on federal contracting opportunities and specifically, SAM Registration. Timko is director of marketing/public relations at US Federal Contractor Registration. The firm is based in St. Petersburg, Fla. Timko’s thoughts are below.

System for Award Management (SAM) is the required federal database that every business must be registered in to conduct business with the United States Federal Government. The SAM registration replaced the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and Online Representations and Certifications (ORCA) database in July 2012. The General Services Administration (GSA) created SAM in an effort to streamline the registration process and consolidate multiple federal websites into one sole source.  However, even with the new streamlined process, businesses still find the entire government contracting process a bit overwhelming.

Businesses must properly register in SAM in order to be an active government contractor. The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) “estimates that at least 20 percent of the 600,000 firms presently registered in the SAM Registration have errors. These errors range from misspelled words to empty data fields, to incomplete entries, to selection of incorrect procurement codes and other flaws. As a result, these vendors miss out on government contract opportunities either because they are screened-out for not exhibiting attention-to-detail, or because of incomplete information that cannot be identified by government buyers.” Make sure your business is properly registered and is avoiding all of these possible pitfalls. Businesses can use third-party registration firms like US Federal Contractor Registration in order to have a case manager handle all of the required federal paperwork.

Please keep in mind that the SAM registration is just a database. Procurement officers and government buyers do not use SAM to find active contractors. Government buyers use federal websites like Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) to locate active small business government contractors that qualify for federal set-asides such as:

– 23 percent of prime contracts for small businesses;
– 5 percent of prime and subcontracts for women-owned small businesses;
– 5 percent of prime contracts and subcontracts for Small Disadvantaged Businesses;
– 3 percent of prime contracts and subcontracts for HUBZone small businesses;
– 3 percent of prime and subcontracts for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.
–    remaining percent (%) on Total Small Businesses

The federal government must spend 23 percent of its contract budget every year on businesses that qualify for any of the categories in the list of federal set-asides above.

That is why over 65,000 businesses have decided to use the professional services of US Federal Contractor Registration to handle the required SAM registration and assist their business with government marketing and networking.

For contractors looking to enter the federal marketplace, our firm can help you become registered in SAM and begin marketing to government buyers. Call 877-252-2700 Ext 1 or visit this site.

US Federal Contractor Registration gives small businesses access to the same tools and strategies used by Fortune 500 companies contracting with the government.

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