20 Feb Building Government Contractor Relationships
A special thanks goes out to Tanya Spann Roche, for giving us this great info. Tanya is a producer, writer and editor making her a triple threat. Her website is www.thinkspeakact.com
So you want to do some video or production work with the US government. Building a work relationship with them can lead to some lucrative jobs so why not. However, before you get started there are a few basic things you will need.
-A TIN, Tax Identification Number, or EIN, Employer Identification Number, can be obtained for your company at http://www.irs.gov/business/index.html under Employer ID Numbers in the left-hand column – you can also use your Social Security Number if you are a sole proprietor.
-A DUNS#, Data Universal Numbering System, Dunn & Bradstreet www.dnb.com – -a DUNS# is free, but they will try to sell you their other services. Go to the section D-U-N-S Numbers at the top right.
–New In 2012! Registration in the SAM (System for Award Management) database www.sam.gov Replaces the previous CCR database – even if you were in the CCR
*Click on create user account (your CCR login info will not work) – select individual account, enter personal info to create account.
*You can then register a new entity and add your company information (or migrate it from the CCR)
*You’ll need to enter the same kind of information entered into the CCR database previously, but there is an additional section called “Representatives and Certifications” that includes questions about specific FAR sections – this is somewhat painful to complete, but there is a fallback answer “Vendor will provide information for specific offers” that can cover you if you don’t understand the specifics of the question.
*When registering, take the time to also complete the additional info for the SBA, which allows buyers to find your company in their small business searches.
*Need to be able to accept EFT payment (electronic funds transfer) to your bank account.
-Optional but very important: Method to accept credit cards (mainly MasterCard and Visa) with a Merchant Services Account (Papal does Not count)
Effective September 8, 2009, federal contractors awarded new contracts of $100,000 or more with a performance period of longer than 120 days are required to use E-Verify to verify their employees’ eligibility to legally work in the U.S. http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify
Contracting Opportunity Resources
- FedBizOpps www.fedbizopps.gov – Vendor Notification Services
- PTAC, procurement technical assistance center www.aptac-us.org
- DoD agencies – start at www.dod.gov and scroll down to the resources section “Business & D0D” http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/contracting/contracting-opportunities contains information on a wide variety of contracting opportunities, including subcontracting.
- Federal Procurement Database Systems-Next Generation http://fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/ contains data on all federal contracts over $25,000
- If you are cold-calling government agencies to find their video production units, start with their Public Affairs Office.
- GSA schedule – For information about getting on GSA Schedule, go to http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100611 and you can find on-line training at https://interact.gsa.gov/gsa-training