How Do Small Businesses Attain Government Contracts?

If you’re a small business providing certain goods and services, government contracts are a great way to go to develop a great source of recurring revenue. The United States government is one of the largest purchasers in the world, and if you can secure a contract, you can usually rely on it for a good source of revenue. But how, exactly, do small companies get started with it?

There is a process that you need to go through though if you are interested in supplying the government with the items that they need. The good news is that the government has set targets that at least a certain percentage of their purchases should come from small businesses.

Any business that bids on government contracts has to go through a certain process. This includes properly classifying their company by the size and type of industry or business they are in. These standards are dictated by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the SBA size standard.

Government agencies will need this information in order to open bids on these contracts. Since some contracts are awarded to certain types of businesses, it is also a good idea to check and see whether or not your company qualifies as a woman-owned business, a veteran-owned business, a service-disabled business, or a HUBZone business.

The next step is in getting government contracts is to register your business with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database. Many government agencies use this database in order to find out about companies that might be able to provide the goods and services that they need. This requires an NAICS code, the SBA size standard for the company, the company’s DUNS number, Federal Tax Identification number, and Standard Industrial Classification codes.

Once your company is in the CCR database, you will start receiving the various opportunities to start bidding on different contracts. Some agencies may even contact you if they feel like you have the particular products or services they need. However, you shouldn’t wait for offers. You should always look for your own opportunities as well.

There are many different resources available to help businesses do this. There is, for example, the FedBizOpps.gov website. This is where any projects worth more than $25,000 are listed. You should frequent this site to see if there are any projects that are right for your business. There are many agencies that will also list their smaller projects on the Bid Boards or on their websites. A company interested in pursuing these contracts should check these sites often.

Another way to get involved with various bidding opportunities is to become a GSA Schedule Contractor. Sometimes the government will purchase products exclusively through the GSA, so this is a good place for many companies to get started. Just stay organized and stay focused and you’ll be able to keep generating a good income.

The process of adding an application for a request for proposal (RFP) is tricky when not understood clearly. Once understood it is critical to present well written government contracts. Evelyn has had enough writing practice with construction contracts, government procurement and other similar topics that she understands the process. For additional information, see her other resources.

Published by: Evelyn LeGrand on November 21st, 2009 | Filed under Legal



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