Column: Important homework assignment

      The pace of new set-aside opportunities typically starts to rise at this point in the federal fiscal year, and fiscal 2018 is no different. About a month ago we were seeing 50-80 new federal set-asides posted each day, and now the average is 110+ per day. The busy season begins in May, when we will see 200+ each morning.

      This is the perfect time to update your listings in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) government databases, and your saved searches in federal databases.

      Here is a checklist of things to do now, and whenever there are changes in your address, your qualifications or your certifications.

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 “just in case”?

      Review all of your NAICS codes and confirm every one of them. Do you have too many NAICS codes listed? If you have codes for too many 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 also may apply to you, such as those in the construction series.

      For example, a solicitation might indicate Industrial Building Construction (236210) 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).

      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? You should list yourself under the relevant manufacturing codes.

      Be alert for these variations and select codes accordingly. One way to verify your choices is to do a search on the Federal Business Opportunities website (FBO.gov or FedBizOpps) utilizing alternative codes or keywords and see what comes up.

Confirm Product/Service Codes

      We have learned that Product/Service Code (PSC) searches on FedBizOpps often are more reliable than NAICS code searches.

      Product Service Codes 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://www.acquisition.gov/PSC_Manual.

DSBS listing

      The Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) pages are used by many contracting officers and Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) specialists 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 one 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. Go to http://dsbs.sba.gov and search your company by name and by telephone number. Is your listing up to date?

      Here are some things you can 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.gov to actually make the corrections. Address changes require preliminary input 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. IMPORTANT: As you finish your updates on 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. Be sure to add certifications, keywords, past contracts, website URLs, email addresses and export interests. Contracting offices use this information every day to identify potential contractors.

FBO.gov review

      Review the process you use to monitor 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.

Do your homework

      Over the next few weeks we are going to perform confidential reviews of subscribers’ DSBS listings. Will we give you an “A” or an “F”?

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: Important Homework Assignment

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