DoingBusinessonepagerRev.doc

Doing Business with the Federal Government First Steps To qualify and compete for federal opportunities there are some first steps your company can take to become eligible to contract with the government:

1. Register your company with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) http://www.ccr.gov Registration in this system is free and it is required to do business with the government. The database provides basic company information and is used by government contract specialists for market research.

2. Register your company in the Online Representations and Certifications Applications (https://orca.bpn.gov) Registration in this system is free and it is required to do business with the government.

3. Register for project notifications in FedBizOpps (FBO). (http:www.fbo.gov) FBO is used government-wide to post opportunities valued over $25,000. The website provides demonstration videos and tutorials on how to sign up to receive notifications that meet your search criteria and interest. You can tailor your searches and customize your search agent so you receive daily, weekly, or monthly opportunity notices of postings.

Pg 54 of the Vendor User Guide describes how to set up your search agent and schedule it to run and send you notices. https://www.fbo.gov/downloads/FBO_Vendor_Guide.pdf How to find Opportunities

· FBO is the best resource for identifying project prime and subcontract opportunities. Consider creating search agents for design and lease opportunities in addition to construction project notices.

· Design - Monitoring design notices will help identify possible future construction opportunities at the earliest stages.

· Leased - Approximately 50% of GSA’s inventory is in leased space. As part of a new lease there is generally some buildout required to meet the government’s requirements which become the responsibility of the lessor. Monitoring lease award notices will help identify lessors that may require construction services.

· Construction – Monitor construction notices for prime contract opportunities as well as potential subcontract opportunities. Use FBO construction award notices to large businesses as a tool to identify those firms that potentially have subcontracting requirements.

· Monitor Federal Budget documents. Federal budget requests that the President sends to Congress for consideration are typically available on agency websites. For capital construction projects these documents will provide the first public notice of potential project opportunities. GSA’s Congressional Justifications are available here: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/102463

· Monitor Federal Agency Forecast websites: http://www.gsa.gov/smallbusinessforecast GSA Schedules Under the GSA Schedules program, GSA establishes long-term government-wide contracts that allow customer agencies to acquire a vast array of supplies (products) and services directly from commercial suppliers. To become a GSA Schedule contractor, a vendor must first submit an offer in response to the applicable GSA Schedule solicitation. Vendors are also encouraged to consider teaming and subcontract opportunities with existing GSA Schedule contractors. For more information on the Schedules program, please visit http://www.gsa.gov/gettingonschedule Available Resources

Investigate Small Business Size Standards for your industry. It is always stated as either the number of employees or the three-year average of annual receipts. � HYPERLINK "http://www.sba.gov/sizestandards" ��www.sba.gov/sizestandards�

Take advantage of some of the free resources and training offered by SBA and the federal government for small businesses

Training – � HYPERLINK "http://www.sba.gov/training" ��www.sba.gov/training�

SBA district offices – � HYPERLINK "http://www.sba.gov/localresources" ��www.sba.gov/localresources�

Small Business Development Centers – �HYPERLINK "http://www.sba.gov/sbdc"��www.sba.gov/sbdc�

Women’s Business Development Centers – � HYPERLINK "http://www.sba.gov/services" ��www.sba.gov/services� and choose “Women’s Business Centers” from the “Counseling & Assistance” heading at the bottom

Procurement Technical Assistance Centers - � HYPERLINK "http://www.aptac-us.org/" ��www.aptac-us.org/�

GSA Great Lakes Small Business Office

1-888-353-5383

� HYPERLINK "http://www.gsa.gov/r5smallbusiness" �http://www.gsa.gov/r5smallbusiness�

Doing Business with GSA, Small Business guide � HYPERLINK "http://www.gsa.gov/smallbizguide" �http://www.gsa.gov/smallbizguide�

GSA “Getting on Schedule” information page for vendors. � HYPERLINK "http://www.gsa.gov/gettingonschedule" �http://www.gsa.gov/gettingonschedule�

GSA, PBS Great Lakes Acquisition Management Division

Susan Lynch susan.lynch@gsa.gov

312.886.0539