How to Get Government Contracts for a Small Business
Obtaining government contracts is an excellent way to enhance your business and expand it. The government contracts billions of dollars to small businesses annually. Any business has the ability to bid on contracts, however, some are given priority. They are women-owned businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, veteran-owned businesses, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses.
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Instructions
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Get a CCR profile. To bid on government contracts, you need to register with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). To register, you prepare a profile of your business explaining what it is you offer and what makes you unique. CCR is the primary registrant database for the U.S. Federal Government. CCR collects, validates, stores and disseminates data in support of agency acquisition missions.
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Become Sec 8a certified. Becoming Sec 8a certified can make your company's disadvantaged standing more concrete. The Sec 8(a) status enhances your company's chances of landing a contract since the SBA works with federal purchasing agents and functions as a prime contractor, subcontracting work to 8(a) firms. To qualify for sec8(a) status, a company must be at least 51 percent owned and operated by women or minorities. Download an application from the SBA website. Processing of the application begins when SBA receives it. There is a 15 day screening period and a 75 day overall processing time. If your initial application is declined, you can request that SBA reconsider its decision. You have 45 days from the date you receive SBA’s initial decision to request it be reconsidered. You must provide the information requested in the decision letter by that date or you will not be allowed to apply for one year.
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Attend a "Business Matchmaking" event. Business Matchmaking is a program that matches small companies with federal, state, and local government agencies, and large corporations that have actual contract opportunities for products and services. Business Matchmaking provides unprecedented opportunities for small businesses to secure selling opportunities from government agencies and major corporations at key events and through our online network.
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Read a copy of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). This document contains the rules of government contracting which were created based on decades of the government’s contractor experience; these regulations were compiled in order to counter every viable scam any business could drop on it.
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Submit Request for Proposals (RFPs), a formal document issued by government agencies inviting contractors to bid on projects and purchases. Notices can be found in government bureaus, local newspapers and trade publications. There are also a variety of services that announce RFPs to the public. If you are new to government contracting, you can look for RFPs online and prepare your bid within the prescribed 30 days.
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Tips & Warnings
The Commerce Business Daily, which is published every Monday through Saturday, lists proposed procurement actions of $25,000 or higher, as well as subcontracting leads and other information.
