Column: Tune up for the New Year

The start of a new year is a perfect time to update your government paperwork, contracting reports and filings, and saved searches in federal databases. It is also a good idea to update your listings in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) government databases.

Here is a checklist of things to do now, at the start of a new year, and throughout the year.

Confirm your NAICS Codes

What NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes have you registered for your business? And what other NAICS codes are you tracking in available opportunities, “just in case”?

Are you in the wholesale or retail distribution market? Did you know that NAICS codes in the range of 42xxxx, 44xxxx and 45xxxx series are ignored in Federal acquisition markets, and you should list yourself under the relevant manufacturing codes?

Review all of your NAICS codes and confirm every one of them. Do you have too many NAICS codes listed? If you’ve got codes for too broad a variety of industries, your listing will become suspect.

On the other hand, are you sure you have covered everything you do? There are some “umbrella”-type codes that may also apply to you, such as those in the construction series.

For example, Industrial Building Construction might be used when the job is really only painting or carpentry. Alternatively, a project may be listed as Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611) when it is actually Office Administrative Services (561110).

Be alert for these nuances and select your codes accordingly. One way to verify your choices is to do a search in FedBizOpps on alternate codes and see what comes up.

Confirm product/service codes

We have learned that Product/Service Code searches on the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.FedBizOpps.gov or FBO.gov) are often more reliable than NAICS code searches.

Product Service Codes (PSC) were designed for federal procurement use, while NAICS codes were designed for Census purposes. PSC codes are part of FedBizOpps listings. The full PSC list is at https://goo.gl/0IUybo.

DSBS listing

The DSBS pages are used by many contracting officers and Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) offices to identify qualified small businesses. Compare your DSBS listing with those of a couple of your competitors. If a contracting specialist is looking for bidders, which ones will be selected? Does your company fade away against the competition?

To make changes in your listings in federal databases, we recommend starting with Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS). Go to http://dsbs.sba.gov and search your company by name and by telephone number. Is your listing up to date? Some things you need to do to put your best foot forward:

• Include past contracts in the performance history section
• Enter descriptive, searchable keywords
• Note professional and industry certifications
• List special equipment or processes (e.g., Agile, CAD)

Take note of all items that are missing or need updating. You will need to go to SAM to actually make the corrections. Address changes require additional actions through Dun & Bradstreet.

Address change

If your business has changed addresses, go to the Dun & Bradstreet website (https://iupdate.dnb.com) to make the appropriate changes. Follow through a few days later to make sure the changes were passed on into SAM and DSBS.

SAM.gov listing

Use your username and password to access the editing functions at SAM.gov.

As you progress through the SAM edit process, thoroughly check your SAM registration listing. Look for inaccurate data, old contact information, missing NAICS codes and other gaps. Make the necessary changes, and confirm your submission at the end of the process. As you finish your updates on www.SAM.gov, you will have access to a link to your SBA Profile, which takes you to the editing functions for DSBS.

Make the necessary updates to your DSBS listing, using the editing function. During your update of your DSBS listing, be sure to add certifications, keywords, past contracts, website URLs, email addresses and export interests.

FBO.gov review

Review the process you use to monitor the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.FBO.gov). Are you looking at all small business set-asides, not just special categories such as 8(a), HUBZone, or women-owned? Our daily e-mailed Contract Opportunities bulletins make it easy for you to be sure you have seen all available federal set-aside jobs.

Training & networking

Have you budgeted time and resources to participate in national and local conferences, networking and training opportunities? Keep up to date with your industry and with government contracting rules, regulations, programs, legislation, technology and legal decisions.

Conclusion

The pace at which new solicitations are issued is currently at a low point. Use this opportunity to fine-tune your processes and make sure your company is displayed at its best in the government databases.

Tom Johnson is the publisher of Set-Aside Alert and president of Business Research Services in Bethesda, MD. He can be reached via email at tjohnson@setasidealert.com.

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Column: Tune up for the New Year

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